This Monday the 17th was South Georgia Possession Day, marking 247 years since the first landing on the island was made by Captain James Cook.

Cook was on his second world voyage aboard HMS Resolution. Many had made sightings of the small island in the South Atlantic before him, but Cook and his men were the first to reach the land, plant a British flag, fire a volley of musket shot, and claim the island for King and Country.

While South Georgia might not look much different today than when Cook first landed in Possession Bay all those years ago, the islands have undergone some important changes, and are now the subject of scientific research by the British Antarctic Survey, and are home to a sustainable fishing industry.

We took a look at Possession Day and South Georgia’s history, and give an update on recent developments in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.