Most travelers to Antarctica know that the Seventh Continent is not sovereign territory belonging to any one nation, but rather is governed by an international agreement: the Antarctic Treaty. That’s not to say that there weren’t pre-existing claims of sovereignty prior to the Treaty’s coming into force. Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom all had territorial claims to parts of Antarctic, some going back to the 19th century. But with the signing of the Treaty in December 1959, these sovereign states mutually agreed to put their claims in abeyance for the duration of the Treaty’s life, 100 years.