Henry Hudson - 1609-1611

Henry Hudson

Accomplishments:

• Hudson's first search for the Northwest Passage in 1609 yielded the discovery of the mouth of the Hudson River
• in 1610 a group of London merchants, later to be known as "The Adventurers", sent Hudson out on the Discovery to search for a route to the Orient
• Hudson entered Hudson Strait and explored its southern shores
• upon reaching the western end of the strait, he passed between the islands and the mainland, naming the headlands Cape Digges and Cape Wolstenholme
• he then continued along southwards to the head of James Bay, where the Discovery was frozen in for the winter
• reports of giant tides from the west, reaching heights of more than 20 feet, were brought back to England
• this led the "Adventurers" to the conclusion that the Northwest Passage lay west or northwest of Digges Islands

Interesting Facts:

• Hudson's expedition became the first ever to spend the winter in the Canadian North
• towards the end of Hudson's journey in 1611, mutiny broke out
• Hudson, his son and a few others were cast adrift in a small boat; they were never heard from again
• the mutineers headed home but only eight were to make it back to England
• the others either died from scurvy and starvation or were killed in an attack by the Inuit off of Digges Island
• no attempt was ever made to search for Hudson, nor were the surviving mutineers ever punished

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Information taken from Arctic Canada, Volume I, Third Edition, 1982

Image courtesy of Alfred Sandham/NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF CANADA/C-10492