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The
Vikings | Columbus
| John Day |
John Cabot |
Martin Frobisher |
Jacques Cartier
| John Guy |
Henry Hudson |
Samuel De
Champlain |
Native Perceptions |
Francis Drake |
Humphrey Gilbert
As with many other English
explorers, Henry Hudson set out to discover the Northwest Passage from the
Atlantic over the Arctic circle to the Pacific and China. His name and exploits
continued the tradition which maintained the idea, in the minds of
Europeans, of a New World waiting to be discovered and claimed by bold
representatives of Christendom's Kingdoms.
He grew up in a seafaring
environment and studied navigation in an age where that skill was a life of
death knowledge for ships and sailors depending upon their navigator. His
abilities developed quickly and 1607 he was chosen to by the English Muscovy
Company to try and help find a Northeastern passage from England, North over
Russia to China. His contention that an ice free route would be established lead
him north to the Svalbard Archipelago and here he ran into ice packs and was
forced to turn back. In 1608 he made a second attempt and once again sailed to
the Northeast passage where this time he reached the islands of Novaya
Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean. Once again the ice flows forced him back and he was
unable to penetrate the mysteries of the North.
In 1609
the Dutch East India Company commissioned Hudson to try a third time to find the
Northeast passage. However, as he organized his supplies and crew in Amsterdam
and prepared for the voyage, his attention was drawn to several rumors of
another option - a great Northwest passage over the top of the New World. When
he once again met icepack in the Northeast he disregarded his formal sailing
instructions and sail west to investigate the rumors of a westward route. After
months of searching he came upon a large river emptying into the Atlantic from
the America coast. He travelled up the river which he believed might lead him to
the Pacific but finally had to admit that it was just a large river. The
location where he came to terms with this fact was probably near present day
Albany and he named the river after himself - the Hudson River in present day
New York State.
On
his return voyage to Amsterdam, Hudson was held at a
British Port where they were rather surprised that he
had been discovering new lands for the Dutch. The
British East India Company commissioned Hudson to
attempt a follow up on his America's voyage and follow
in the footsteps of earlier English explorers such as
Frobisher and Davis in an attempt to find the Northwest
passage for England. Hudson set sail in 1610 west and
then Northwest through the passages and straights
that led to a great inland seas. Hudson explored the
coasts of eastern Hudson Bay and spent months trying to
find a route through the land barrier to the Pacific.
Hudson was determined to find the passage and a winter
set in the ship was locked in ice and they were forced
to spend months without enough food, clothes or
supplies. Once spring arrived Hudson further alienated
his crew by telling them that he intended to continue
his search for the passage and was not going to return
to England that summer. By 1611 his crew had grown
restless, suspicious and disillusioned with Hudson and
issues came to head when they Mutinied. Hudson, his son
and some scurvy afflicted crew members were forced into
a lifeboat and set adrift with a musket, a kettle and no
food. Hudson and his group were never seen again, while
the crew returned to England.
On
his return voyage to Amsterdam, Hudson was held at a
British Port where they were rather surprised that he
had been discovering new lands for the Dutch. The
British East India Company commissioned Hudson to
attempt a follow up on his America's voyage and follow
in the footsteps of earlier English explorers such as
Frobisher and Davis in an attempt to find the Northwest
passage for England. Hudson set sail in 1610 west and
then Northwest through the passages and straights
that led to a great inland seas. Hudson explored the
coasts of eastern Hudson Bay and spent months trying to
find a route through the land barrier to the Pacific.
Hudson was determined to find the passage and a winter
set in the ship was locked in ice and they were forced
to spend months without enough food, clothes or
supplies. Once spring arrived Hudson further alienated
his crew by telling them that he intended to continue
his search for the passage and was not going to return
to England that summer. By 1611 his crew had grown
restless, suspicious and disillusioned with Hudson and
issues came to head when they Mutinied. Hudson, his son
and some scurvy afflicted crew members were forced into
a lifeboat and set adrift with a musket, a kettle and no
food. Hudson and his group were never seen again, while
the crew returned to England.
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