Martin Frobisher: The Pirate-Explorer

Third Voyage
May 31, 1578 to the end of August, 1578

On his third voyage, part of Frobisher's fleet mistakenly entered what is now called Hudson Strait before realizing that they had gone the wrong way Copyright/Source

Before it could be learned if the ore had gold in it, Frobisher left England again. This time he had 15 ships and 300 miners. On the way, part of the fleet became lost and went up what would one day be called Hudson Strait. When they realized the mistake, they turned around and went back to Frobisher Bay.

After a long summer of work, Frobisher and his ships went back to England. He hoped to become rich, but the ore was not full of gold. It held "fool's gold", and was worthless. Frobisher was disgraced.

Reconstruction of the cottage Frobisher stayed in while looking for gold in the Arctic Copyright/Source

The Doomed Third Voyage
The crew of one of Frobisher's 15 ships deserted and returned home, and the ship carrying lumber to build a settlement sank. The 1100 tons of ore Frobisher's men had mined turned out to be iron pyrite -- fool's gold.