|
|
|||||||||
Prehistory | 2 Worlds Meet | New France | England Arrives | Clash of Empires | Revolution | British America | Reform/Revolt | Responsible Government | Confederation | Nation Building | Laurier | The Great War | Roaring 20's | Great depression | WWII | The Peace | Cold War | Trudeau | PC's in Power | Modern Canada
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.
