henry hudson most important voyage

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Henry Hudson

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 6, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2009

Henry Hudson made his first voyage west from England in 1607, when he was hired to find a shorter route to Asia from Europe through the Arctic Ocean. After twice being turned back by ice, Hudson embarked on a third voyage in 1609. This time, he chose a southern route, drawn by reports of a channel across the North American continent to the Pacific. After navigating the Atlantic coast, Hudson’s ships sailed up a great river (today’s Hudson River) but turned back when they determined it was not the channel they sought. On a fourth and final voyage in 1610-11, Hudson spent months in the vast Hudson Bay before he fell victim to a mutiny by his crew. Hudson’s discoveries laid the groundwork for Dutch colonization of the Hudson River Valley, as well as English land claims in Canada.

Birth and Early Life

Though little is known about Hudson’s early life, most historians agree that he was born around 1565 in England, and later lived in London . It’s known that he received a better education than many, because he could read, write, and do mathematics. He also studied navigation and earned widespread renown for his skills, as well as his knowledge of Arctic geography.

Hudson married a woman named Katherine, and together they had three sons: Oliver, John and Richard. John would later accompany his father on his expeditions.

In 1607, the Muscovy Company of London provided Hudson financial backing based on his claims that he could find an ice-free passage past the North Pole that would provide a shorter route to the rich markets and resources of Asia. Hudson sailed that spring with his son John and 10 companions. They traveled east along the edge of the polar ice pack until they reached the Svalbard archipelago, well north of the Arctic Circle, before hitting ice and being forced to turn back.

Did you know? Knowledge gained during Henry Hudson's four voyages significantly expanded on that from previous explorations made in the 16th century by Giovanni da Verrazano of Italy, John Davis of England and Willem Barents of Holland.

The following year, Hudson made a second Muscovy-funded voyage between Svalbard and the islands of Novaya Zemlya, to the east of the Barents Sea, but again found his way blocked by ice fields. Though English companies were reluctant to back him after two failed voyages, Hudson was able to gain a commission from the Dutch East India Company to lead a third expedition in 1609.

The Half Moon

While in Amsterdam gathering supplies, Hudson heard reports of two possible channels running across North America to the Pacific. One was located around latitude 62° N (based on English explorer Captain George Weymouth’s 1602 voyage); the second, around latitude 40° N, had been recently reported by Captain John Smith .

Hudson departed from Holland on the ship Halve Maen ( Half Moon ) in April 1609, but when adverse conditions again blocked his route northeast, he ignored his agreement with his employers to return directly and decided to sail to the New World in search of the so-called “northwest passage.”

After landing in Newfoundland, Canada, Hudson’s expedition traveled south along the Atlantic coast and put into the great river discovered by Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524. They traveled up the river about 150 miles, to what is now Albany, before deciding that it would not lead all the way to the Pacific and turning back. From that time on, the river would be known as the Hudson River.

On the return voyage, Hudson docked at Dartmouth, England, where English authorities acted to prevent him and his other English crew members from making voyages on behalf of other nations. The ship’s log and records were sent to Holland, where news of Hudson’s discoveries spread quickly.

Hudson’s Final Voyage

The British East India Company and the Muscovy Company, along with private sponsors, jointly funded Hudson’s fourth voyage, on which he sought the possible Pacific-bound channel identified by Weymouth. Hudson sailed from London in April 1610 in the 55-ton ship Discovery , stopped briefly in Iceland, then continued west.

After traversing the coast again, he passed through the inlet Weymouth had described as a potential entry point to a northwest passage. (Now called Hudson Strait, it runs between Baffin Island and northern Quebec.) When the coastline suddenly opened up towards the south, Hudson believed he might have found the Pacific, but he soon realized he had sailed into a gigantic bay, now known as Hudson Bay.

Hudson continued sailing southward along the bay’s eastern coast until he reached its southernmost extremity at James Bay, between northern Ontario and Quebec. While enduring harsh winter conditions with no outlet to the Pacific in sight, some crew members grew restless and hostile, suspecting Hudson of hoarding rations to give to his favorites.

Last Days of Henry Hudson

In June 1611, as the expedition began heading back to England, sailors Henry Green and Robert Juet (who had been demoted as mate) led a mutiny. Seizing Hudson and his son, they cast them adrift on Hudson Bay with a few supplies in a small open lifeboat, along with seven other men who were suffering from scurvy.

Hudson, his 17-year-old son John, and his men were never heard from again. After further troubles on their return trip to England, by the time Discovery encountered a fleet of fishermen off the coast of Ireland in September 1611, the original crew of 23 was down to just eight survivors. They were arrested for mutiny, but never punished.

Henry Hudson. The Mariner’s Museum and Park . Henry Hudson. The Canadian Encyclopedia . Henry Hudson. PBS . Strangers In A New Land. American Heritage .

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Henry Hudson

English explorer Henry Hudson embarked on multiple sailing voyages that provided new information on North American water routes.

(1565-1611)

Who Was Henry Hudson?

Believed to have been born in the late 16th century, English explorer Henry Hudson made two unsuccessful sailing voyages in search of an ice-free passage to Asia. In 1609, he embarked on a third voyage funded by the Dutch East India Company that took him to the New World and the river that would be given his name. On his fourth voyage, Hudson came upon the body of water that would later be called the Hudson Bay.

Considered one of the world's most famous explorers, Henry Hudson, born in England circa 1565, never actually found what he was looking for. He spent his career searching for different routes to Asia, but he ended up opening the door to further exploration and settlement of North America.

While many places bear his name, Hudson remains an elusive figure. There is little information available about the famous explorer's life prior to his first journey as a ship's commander in 1607. It is believed that he learned about the seafaring life firsthand, perhaps from fishermen or sailors. He must have had a talent for navigation early on, enough to merit becoming a commander in his late 20s. Prior to 1607, Hudson probably worked aboard other ships before being appointed to lead one on his own. Reports also indicate that he was married to a woman named Katherine and they had three sons together.

First Three Voyages

Hudson made four journeys during his career, at a time when countries and companies competed with each other to find the best ways to reach important trade destinations, especially Asia and India. In 1607, the Muscovy Company, an English firm, entrusted Hudson to find a northern route to Asia. Hudson brought his son John with him on this trip, as well as Robert Juet. Juet went on several of Hudson's voyages and recorded these trips in his journals.

Despite a spring departure, Hudson found himself and his crew battling icy conditions. They had a chance to explore some of the islands near Greenland before turning back. But the trip was not a total loss, as Hudson reported numerous whales in the region, which opened up a new hunting territory.

The following year, Hudson once again set sail in search of the fabled Northeast Passage. The route he sought proved elusive, however. Hudson made it to Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Russia. But he could not travel further, blocked by thick ice. Hudson returned to England without achieving his goal.

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Hudson and his crew reached land that July, coming ashore at what is now Nova Scotia. They encountered some of the local Indigenous peoples there and were able to make some trades with them. Traveling down the North American coast, Hudson went as far south as the Chesapeake Bay. He then turned around and decided to explore New York Harbor, an area first thought to have been discovered by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. Around this time, Hudson and his crew clashed with some local Indigenous peoples. A crew member named John Colman died after being shot in the neck with an arrow, and two others on board were injured.

After burying Colman, Hudson and his crew traveled up the river that would later carry his name. He explored the Hudson River up as far as what later became Albany. Along the way, Hudson noticed that the lush lands that lined the river contained abundant wildlife. He and his crew also met with some of the Indigenous peoples living on the river's banks.

On the way back to the Netherlands, Hudson was stopped in the English port of Dartmouth. The English authorities seized the ship and the Englishmen among the crew. Upset that he had been exploring for another country, the English authorities forbade Hudson from working with the Dutch again. He was, however, undeterred from trying to find the Northwest Passage. This time, Hudson found English investors to fund his next journey, which would prove to be fatal.

Final Journey and Death

Aboard the ship Discovery , Hudson left England in April 1610. He and his crew, which again included his son John and Robert Juet, made their way across the Atlantic Ocean. After skirting the southern tip of Greenland, they entered what became known as the Hudson Strait. The exploration then reached another of his namesakes, the Hudson Bay. Traveling south, Hudson ventured into James Bay and discovered that he'd come to a dead end.

By this time, Hudson was at odds with many in his crew. They found themselves trapped in the ice and low on supplies. When they were forced to spend the winter there, tensions only grew worse. By June 1611, conditions had improved enough for the ship to set sail once again. Hudson, however, didn't make the trip back home. Shortly after their departure, several members of the crew, including Juet, took over the ship and decided to cast out Hudson, his son and a few other crew members. Mutineers put Hudson and the others in a small boat and set them adrift. It is believed that Hudson and the others died of exposure sometime later, in or near the Hudson Bay. Some of the mutineers were later put on trial, but they were acquitted.

More European explorers and settlers followed Hudson's lead, making their way to North America. The Dutch started a new colony, called New Amsterdam, at the mouth of the Hudson River in 1625. They also developed trade posts along the nearby coasts.

While he never found his way to Asia, Hudson is still widely remembered as a determined early explorer. His efforts helped drive European interest in North America. Today his name can be found all around us on waterways, schools, bridges and even towns.

QUICK FACTS

• Birth Year: 1565
• Birth City: England
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: English explorer Henry Hudson embarked on multiple sailing voyages that provided new information on North American water routes.
• Business and Industry
• Death Year: 1611
• Death date: June 22, 1611
• Death City: In or near the Hudson Bay
• Death Country: Canada

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• The land is the finest for cultivation that I have ever in my life set foot upon, and it also abounds in trees of every description.
• You cannot fly like an eagle with the wings of a wren.
• I sailed to the shore on one of their canoes with an old man who was the chief of a tribe consisting of 40 men and 17 women.
• I used all diligence to arrive at London, and therefore I now gave my crew a certificate under my hand, of my free and willing return, without any persuasion by any one or more of them. For when we were at Nova Zembla, on the 6th of July, void of hope of a northeast passage ... I therefore resolved to use all means I could to the northeast.
• This land may be profitable to those that will adventure it.

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World History Edu

• Famous Explorers / Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson: Facts and Major Achievements

by World History Edu · November 4, 2021

Henry Hudson – Biography and achievements

Henry Hudson was the English navigator and explorer who devoted much of his professional career searching for a “Northeast Passage” from Europe to Asia. Along the way, he made some very important discoveries that in so many ways enhanced the Age of Exploration in Europe.

Although all four attempts to find the northeast passage and northwest passage to Asia failed, his contributions had profound impact on future navigators and explorers of the North American continent. For example, Hudson was the first European to encounter the Hudson Strait and the Hudson Bay. In addition to those water bodies, the famous Hudson River in New York, U.S., was named for him.

What else was Henry Hudson most known for? World History Edu explores the life and major achievements of this renowned English explorer and navigator.

Quick facts about English navigator and explorer Henry Hudson

Born: c. 1565

Place of birth : England

Disappeared: June 23, 1611?

Place of disappearance and death : Hudson Bay?

Son: John Hudson

Most famous for : attempting to find the northeast passage as well as the northwest passage to Asia

Ships: Discovery , Halve Maen (“Half Moon”)

Major Accomplishments of Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson voyages

Below are 6 major accomplishments of English explorer Henry Hudson.

Henry Hudson’s quest for a short route from Europe to Asia through the North Pole

Henry Hudson’s search for the Northeast Passage from Europe to Asia began in the spring of 1607.

Being one of the few explorers in Europe who had extensive knowledge of the Arctic, Henry Hudson was able to secure financial backing from the Muscovy Company of London in his attempt to get to Asia via the North Pole.

In 1607, Hudson, along with a crew of 11 men, which included his son John Hudson, began his journey towards the Arctic. His goal was to find the highly-sought after passage via the North Pole to Asia. He hoped there would be an ice-free route that would enable him and his crew make it around the North Pole and then into the Pacific Ocean.

Henry Hudson experienced very minimal challenges until his journey was halted by a massive ice pack at the Svalbard archipelago (also known as the Spitbergen) near the Arctic Circle. Hudson and his crew, therefore, had to discontinue their journey.

In spite of that, Hudson’s first voyage into the Arctic was remarkable in the sense that it helped enhance what we knew about the North Pole at the time. His findings, thus, built upon the chartings made by early Arctic explorers like Dutch navigator Willem Barents.

Hudson’s Second Voyage (1608)

Although the first expedition of Henry Hudson was met with some challenges, his backers, the Muscovy Company of London, were inspired by the findings that emerged from it. And so, Hudson was once again commissioned to discover the Northeast Passage. The English explorer deployed a different approach this time.

Sailing from England on April 22, 1608, the explorer chose to pass between Svalbard and the islands of Novaya Zemlya. From there he made his way to the east of the Barents Sea. To his disappointment and that of his crew members, Hudson again encountered a big ice pack that prevented him from going further. After about 4 months at sea, Hudson sailed back to England.

The Third voyage – quest to discover the “northwest passage”

No sooner had he arrived in England from his second voyage than did he begin to receive reports of a two likely routs to the Pacific Ocean. According to those reports, the first possible route, which was said to be around latitude 62° N, was based on the findings from George Weymouth’s 1602 voyage. The second possible route, around latitude 40° N, had been inspired by the voyage of Captain John Smith.

Taking all of those reports into consideration, Hudson decided to embark upon a third voyage. This time, he was sponsored by the Dutch, i.e. the Dutch East India Company. On April 6, 1609, on board the ship the Half Moon (known in Dutch as the Half Maen ), Henry Hudson sailed from Holland and headed northeast. Unlike his first two voyages where massive ice packs halted him in his track, his third voyage was impeded by unfavorable winds. Rather than throw in the towel and return to Holland, Hudson sailed on, seeking the Northwest Passage instead. This went against the agreement that he signed with his Dutch financiers.

Hudson placed his bets on Captain Smith’s route and sailed for latitude 40° N. The Half Moon ’s journey took them along the Atlantic seaboard. Hudson and his crew arrived at Newfoundland in present day Canada. They then continued their travel south, along the Atlantic Coast, where they encountered the great river which was first discovered by Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524.

Hoping to discover an outlet, Hudson went up the river for almost 150 miles (240 km) until he made it to present-day Albany, New York. He and his crew came to a conclusion that there existed no route via the river to the Pacific. Therefore, Hudson turned his ship around and headed back to Holland.

Henry Hudson quotes

Henry Hudson’s fourth and final voyage

On his return journey to Europe from his third voyage, Hudson is said to have docked in England. He hoped to proceed from Dartmouth, which along the English Channel, to Holland. Around this same time, the English government had issued a ban on explorers and navigators from taking commissions on behalf of other European nations. Therefore, Hudson was left with no option than to send his findings from the third voyage to Holland.

Still committed to discovering the Northwest Passage, Hudson took the reports of English Captain George Weymouth’s 1602 voyage and planned sailing around latitude 62° N.

In April 1611, about a year after his third voyage, Hudson raised his sail again and journeyed from London aboard the 55-ton ship called the Discovery. His fourth and what eventually ended up being his final voyage was sponsored by the British East India Company, the Muscovy Company and other private individuals.

Hudson passed through Iceland before going west, hoping to follow Weymouth’s proposed Pacific-bound channel. By August of that year, he had sailed through an inlet (now called Hudson Strait) and then entered a bay area (the Hudson Bay). Thinking the Hudson Bay offered an outlet to the Pacific, Hudson continued heading towards the east coast until he encountered the James Bay, where he came to a dead end. There was no route to the Pacific, and the ship had to turn back and return to England.

Hudson had an enduring interest in finding a short route from Europe to Asia

Prior to Hudson, an English navigator John Davis journeyed (in 1585) to the Arctic on a quest to find the Northwest Passage to (from Europe) Asia. Some historians suggest that Henry Hudson was part of the preparation process of Davis’ expedition to the Arctic. If that were the case, that would likely explain Hudson’s interest in finding the Northwest Passage to Asia.

He was a committed and knowledgeable explorer

The fact that he  was commissioned for a whopping four times to discover a short route from Europe to Asia is testimony to the confidence people had him as an explorer and a navigator. Hudson must have thoroughly read the accounts of some of the first European explorers of the Age of Exploration, particularly the ones that ventured into the Arctic. It is therefore safe to say that Hudson was a well-versed explorer on Arctic geography.

Hudson is also most known for the sheer level of commitment he displayed on the four expeditions that he embarked upon. The extremely dangerous nature of the expeditions did not faze him as he went one expedition after the other. This trait of his was also one of the reasons why his wealthy sponsors had a tremendous amount of trust in him as an explorer and navigator.

How did Henry Hudson die?

John Collier’s painting of Hudson, his son, and loyal crew set adrift

Biting winter conditions compounded Hudson’s already despondent situation. The disappointment soon evolved into a bitter quarrel among his crew members, who were by this time restless and aggressive. Soon, some crew members accused Hudson of hoarding rations for his close crew members.

On his way back to England, crew members Henry Green and Robert Juet led a mutiny against Hudson. The mutineers took into custody Hudson, his son John Hudson, and seven other alleged allies of the captain. After a few deliberations, the mutineers cast Hudson and the eight men adrift on Hudson Bay.

On June 22, 1611, Hudson and the eight men, seven of which were suffering from scurvy, were given a small open lifeboat and then left to fend for themselves in a very hostile and unfamiliar environment.

It is unclear what fate Henry Hudson or the eight men suffered after they were cast away. None of them were ever heard from again. To this day, the whereabouts of the bodies of Hudson and the eight men remain unknown.

As for some of the leaders of the mutiny, it’s been stated that they were killed during a deadly confrontation with Eskimos. According to Abacuk Pricket’s account, alleged mutineer Juet died of starvation just a few days before the ship arrived in Ireland.

The ship, Discovery, did eventually make it back to England, however, with significantly fewer men than it had at the start of the voyage. No punishment was meted out to any of the eight sailors that returned with the Discovery .

Henry Hudson’s sponsors and patrons

Henry Hudson accomplishments | Image: Replica of the Halve Maen (Half Moon)

Henry Hudson was commissioned three times by England, i.e. the British East India company – 1607, 1608, and 1610/11. He was commissioned once by the Dutch, i.e. the Dutch East India Company, in 1609. Other sponsors and financiers of Hudson include: Muscovy Company of London and the Virginia Company of Plymouth.

More on Henry Hudson

Hudson took quite a lot of inspiration from voyage reports and findings of Dutch explorer Willem Barents and Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano.

Before the mutineers left Hudson and the eight other castaways in the Hudson Bay, they gave them some clothes, pikes, some food and other provisions. This account is from navigator Abacuk Pricket, one of the survivors, possibly a member of the mutineers, that made it back to England.

The leaders of the mutiny, Henry Green and Robert Juet, were very close friends of Henry Hudson. The latter even accompanied Hudson during his 1609 voyage. It remains unclear why Greene and Juet took such drastic decision as casting away Hudson.

All in all, Henry Hudson embarked upon four very dangerous voyages in his lifetime.

Henry Hudson was described by many as a strong-willed sea captain. He was never the kind to back down from challenges. However, he has been accused of endorsing favoritism on his ship. If the accounts are true, then it was very much evident towards the latter part of the fourth voyage.

In addition to the Hudson Bay, the Hudson River and the Hudson Strait bearing Henry Hudson’s name, the Hudson County in New Jersey, the town of Hudson in New York, and the Henry Hudson Bridge in New York City are named after the English navigator and explorer.

While cruising up the Hudson River, Henry Hudson came about 100 miles away from the expedition team led by French explore Samuel de Champlain. Even though the two explorers were so close to each other, they were not aware of each other’s presence in the region.

Known as Muhheakunnuk (“Great Waters Constantly in Motion”), the Hudson River served as an important waterway during the American Revolution. However, did you know that it was named in honor of English explorer and navigator Henry Hudson? Hudson exploration in the area in the early 17th century allowed for the Dutch settle in the Hudson Valley.  | Hudson River – The Bear Mountain Bridge across the Hudson River as seen from Bear Mountain

Bibliography

Butts, E. (2009).  Henry Hudson: new world voyager . Toronto: Dundurn.

Rink, O. A. (1986).  Holland on the Hudson: an economic and social history of Dutch New York . Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 29

Mancall, P. (2009).  The Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson . Basic Books

Sandler, C. (2007).  Henry Hudson: Dreams and Obsession . New York: Kensington Publishing Corp

Tags: English Explorers Henry Hudson Hudson Bay Hudson Strait

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The Ages of Exploration

Henry hudson, age of discovery.

Quick Facts:

English captain and navigator who discovered the Hudson River, Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay and sailed through parts of the Arctic on his search for a Northwest Passage to China

Name : Henry Hudson [hen-ree] [huhd-suh n]

Birth/Death : ca. 1565 - ca. 1611

Nationality : English

Birthplace : England

Henry Hudson portrait

Portrait image of Henry Hudson, who explored North America looking for a Northwest Passage to Asia. The Mariners' Museum E129.H8 J64 1992

Introduction Henry Hudson made four voyages in search of a water route to the Far East. His first two voyages were through Arctic waters and proved to be unsuccessful due to ice. His third and fourth voyages were to North America where he discovered and sailed the Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay. Henry Hudson’s discoveries influenced other explorers and laid the foundation for future colonization and trading.

Biography Early Life Not much is known about Henry Hudson’s early life prior to his first significant voyage in 1607. Most historians believe he was born around 1565 in England, and lived for some time in London. 1 He would have received a good education, because it is known that he could read, write, and do mathematics. Most scholars believe that Hudson’s grandfather was one of the founders of the Muscovy Company. This was a very important trading company of this time, and would be the reason Hudson would go on his voyages. It is very likely that Henry worked on ships from a young age, probably as a cabin boy. He would have learned how to cook, handle sails, care for a ship, and keep a ship’s log. 2 He would also have learned navigational skills as well. It is not exactly known when, but at some point, Hudson married a woman named Katherine and they had three sons – Oliver, John, and Richard. 3 His son, John, would join him on all four of his voyages.

It is thought that Hudson sailed with fellow explorer John Davis in 1587. On Davis’s voyage, they sailed to the Arctic in search of the Northwest passage. Trade and commerce were two motivations for explorers during the 17th century. Much of the world had been mapped and settled by various countries. But the possibility of a sea route on top of the world was still unknown. Many countries in Europe were continuing to search for quicker passages to Asia. The desire for faster routes to Asia was driven by the demand for different goods, such as spices. The Muscovy Company was no exception. They had ships and a crew, but no one to captain the voyage. Richard Hakluyt, a respected priest and scholar, recommended Hudson for the job. 4 Before then, Hudson only had experience as a navigator, not a captain. But In 1607, Hudson was commissioned by the Muscovy Company lead a journey to sail across the Arctic Circle to China.

Voyages Principal Voyage Henry Hudson sailed out of Gravesend, England in April 1607 aboard the ship Hopewell . He had a crew of ten men, including his son John. It was a slow trip with bad winds. It took 26 days to reach the Shetland Islands north of Great Britain. Then another week and a half to reach the Arctic Circle. 5 Not only was the weather difficult, but along the way, he had trouble with some of his crew members. Hudson demoted two experienced men: first mate William Collins and James Young. John Colman replaced Collins as first mate. 6 This upset many of the crew, and would possibly lead to trouble for Henry Hudson later on. They sailed past Greenland’s coast into heavily ice packed waters. They continued toward the North Pole and reached Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago (part of Norway). Along the way they saw many whales, some seals and walruses, and several species of seabirds. He made several attempt to sail around the ice packs, but was unsuccessful. On July 27, the Hopewell and her crew headed back towards England. Hudson had failed to find his northern route to China.

The Muscovy Company was excited to hear about the whales Hudson saw in the arctic. Whaling in the 17th century was very profitable. Whale meat and fat were used to make oils that helped burn candles. The Muscovy Company quickly made plans to begin a whaling expedition. 7 But Hudson was not interested in whaling, he was interested in exploration. So in 1608, the Muscovy Company commissioned Hudson once again to find passage to the Far East. This time, Hudson planned to find a Northeast passage, sailing towards the Russian region of Novaya Zemlya. Hudson left on April 22, 1608 aboard the Hopewell once more, with a crew of 14 men, including his son John again. 8 Hudson had trouble once again with several of his crewmen. But they continued onward, and reached Novaya Zemlya. They saw several animals again, and Hudson even recorded in his journal seeing a mermaid. But like his last journey, Hudson could not navigate past the large ice packs and returned to England.

Subsequent Voyages The men of the Muscovy Company were unhappy with Hudson’s results. So they denied him the chance to make another voyages. So Hudson turned to the Dutch. He went to Amsterdam, and was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company in 1609 to find a Northeast passage to Asia. He sailed from Holland aboard the ship Half Moon on April 6, 1609. Not far above Russia, Hudson and his men were once again blocked by heavy ice packs. Hudson chose to ignore his orders from the Dutch, and instead headed in search for the Northwest passage. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean, made his way down Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in Canada. Continuing onward, he passed the sites that would become Plymouth and Boston (in present day Massachusetts). They made it as far down to the British settlement of Jamestown, Virginia. 9 They then turned back around, heading north, and entered into a river in present day New York. Hudson was hopeful this was the passage he had been looking for. This is the same area Giovanni da Verrazzano had explored previously in 1524. Hudson traveled 150 miles up this river, but found it was not the passage as he had hoped. This river would become known as the Hudson River. The expedition followed the river until the crew determined that it did not lead out to the Pacific Ocean. They headed back to Europe.

On his return to Holland, the Half Moon docked at Dartmouth, England. The English, who had poor relations with the Dutch, did not allow Hudson to return to Holland. He had to send his log book of information on without him. During this time, Hudson was one of the most experienced captains of Arctic exploration in Europe. 10 So they called on him once more to go back in search of a Northwest passage. Hudson, his son John, and Hudson’s crew set sail on the Discovery on April 17, 1610. They sailed across the Atlantic, reaching northern Canada, and then heading for the Hudson Strait. They soon found themselves in James Bay, at the southernmost part of the Hudson Strait. But they found no outlet leading to the Pacific Ocean towards Asia. After searching for sometime, they were forced to remain there as the Arctic winter set in. During these winter months, tension between Hudson and his crew would lead to a sad fate.

Later Years and Death Hudson and his crew spent the winter in James Bay since they were unable to sail through the icy waters. By June 1611, the Discovery was free of ice and could continue on her journey. But by the end of winter, the crew had only grown more upset with their captain. Many of them felt that their trip was a waste of time. In June 1611, Robert Juet, after being demoted as mate, led a mutiny against Hudson. Hudson, his son, and several sick crew members were sent adrift in a small boat. What became of the castaway men is still unknown today.

Legacy Henry Hudson was a determined captain, explorer, and navigator. He sailed through the uncharted, dangerous icy waters of the Arctic. But his poor leadership skills led to his unfortunate end. Although he never achieved in finding a passage to Asia, Hudson discovered various North American water routes. His discoveries led other Europeans to journey to North America where colonization and trading would take place. Many of the areas that he explored and sailed through are named after him today. A strait, a bay, and a river – the Hudson River in New York – are all named after him.

• Josepha Sherman, Henry Hudson: English Explorer of the Northwest Passage (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003), 13.
• Kristin Petrie, Henry Hudson (Edina: ABDO Publishing Company, 2007), 8.
• Anthony Dalton, Henry Hudson: Doomed Navigator and Explorer (Canada: Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd., 2014), 20.
• Dalton, Henry Hudson: Doomed Navigator and Explorer , 24.
• Dalton, Henry Hudson: Doomed Navigator and Explorer , 27.
• Dalton, Henry Hudson: Doomed Navigator and Explorer , 28.
• Edward Butts, Henry Hudson: New World Voyager (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2009) 49.
• Fergus Fleming, Off the Map: Tales of Endurance and Exploration (New York: Grove Press, 2004), 87.
• Corey Sandler, Henry Hudson: Dreams and Obsession: the Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (New York: Citadel Press Books, 2007), 2.
• Fergus Fleming, Off the Map , 88.

Bibliography

Butts, Edward. Henry Hudson: New World Voyager . Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2009.

Dalton, Anthony. Henry Hudson: Doomed Navigator and Explorer . Canada: Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd., 2014.

Fleming, Fergus. Off the Map: Tales of Endurance and Exploration . New York: Grove Press, 2004.

Petrie, Kristin. Henry Hudson . Edina: ABDO Publishing Company, 2007.

Sandler, Corey. Henry Hudson: Dreams and Obsession: the Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer . New York: Citadel Press Books, 2007.

Sherman, Joseph. Henry Hudson: English Explorer of the Northwest Passage. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003.

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Henry Hudson

Article by Douglas Hunter

Published Online January 2, 2008

Last Edited January 9, 2019

Early Life and Career

Little is known about Henry Hudson’s origins. He was probably born around 1570 and in his late thirties when he began making his known voyages in 1607. He may have been related to a number of men named Hudson (sometimes spelled Hoddesdon or Herdson) who were associated with the Muscovy Company, a London-based trading enterprise. He had a wife, Katherine, and three sons, Oliver, John and Richard. Together they lived in London’s St. Katherine district.

First Voyage (1607)

Henry Hudson (with his son John) made his first known voyage in 1607 in the Hopewell, with a crew of 12. The voyage was associated with Sir Thomas Smythe, a leading figure in the East India Company. It was an attempt to find a passage through the Arctic, over the North Pole , to Asia. At the time, Hudson and others thought that the long summer days of the high Arctic might create an ice-free zone at the top of the world. Hudson was able to sail above Spitsbergen, one of the islands of Svalbard, an archipelago between Norway and the North Pole. This placed him beyond latitude 80° north, a record-setting effort, but the cold reality of Arctic ice made further progress impossible.

On the way home Hudson sailed about 800 km off course and in the process sighted a volcanic speck of rock north of Iceland that became known as Hudson’s Tutches. English whalers subsequently called it Trinity Island, while Dutch whalers gave the landfall its enduring name, Jan Mayen island. Hudson was probably trying to gather additional information on the feasibility of the Northwest Passage , which would lead to Asia through what is now the Canadian Arctic, as his course was taking him towards southern Greenland. Although he failed to reach Asia, Hudson’s exploration in and around Spitsbergen led to a new whale and walrus fishery.

Second Voyage (1608)

In 1608, Hudson sailed again in the Hopewell , again in association with Sir Thomas Smythe, but now with the aim of finding the Northeast Passage, a route to East Asia over the top of Russia. Hudson and his crew of 14 were unable to progress beyond Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The voyage was otherwise noteworthy for a remark in Hudson’s journal that crewmembers had sighted a pair of mermaids: one was “as big as one of us; her skin very white; and long hair hanging down behind, of colour black; in her going down they saw her tail, which was like the tail of a porpoise, and speckled like a mackerel.”

Third Voyage (1609)

For his third voyage Hudson was hired by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to make another attempt at finding the Northeast Passage. He was provided a small, nimble vessel called the Halve Maen ( Half Moon ).

Hudson and the Half Moon , with a total crew of 17 (13 of them Dutch) left Amsterdam in April. He was no more successful in overcoming Novaya Zemlya than he had been with the Hopewell in 1608. Despite explicit instructions from the VOC to return home should he not find the Northeast Passage, Hudson made an extraordinary detour — all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, to the east coast of North America.

Hudson’s motivations are unclear. He may have made off with the Half Moon in hope of making a major discovery that could land another voyage commission. After crossing the Grand Banks , Newfoundland , Hudson had a dangerously close encounter with Sable Island before stopping at present-day LaHave , Nova Scotia , to replace a broken mast. There, Hudson met friendly Mi’kmaq , but after a few days a rift erupted between the English minority and the Dutch majority of his crew. A dozen heavily armed men, who were probably the Dutch faction, went ashore and “drove the savages from their houses,” according to crewmember Robert Juet’s journal. The Half Moon crew’s aggression may explain why in 1611 the Mi’kmaq took captive six men from a Dutch voyage that anchored at LaHave. None were ever seen again.

Hudson continued south to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and then briefly into Chesapeake Bay (an inlet between Maryland and Virginia), before turning north. He inspected Delaware Bay (between Delaware and New Jersey) before arriving at Upper New York Bay and the island of Manhattan. Upon entering Upper New York Bay he followed north the river that now bears his name. He probed 240 km of navigable water, all the way to present-day Albany, New York, before turning back.

Instead of returning to Amsterdam, Hudson sailed back across the Atlantic to the English port of Dartmouth. There he secured new backing for an English attempt at finding the Northwest Passage, and in July 1610 the Half Moon returned to Amsterdam without him.

Fourth Voyage (1610–11) — Exploration of Hudson Strait, Hudson Bay and James Bay

For his fourth voyage, Hudson was backed by a wealthy and influential group of men, including the Prince of Wales, and provided with the Discovery . The Discovery left London on 17 April 1610 with a crew of 23, among them Hudson’s son, John, and Robert Juet, who had been with him since at least his second voyage in 1608. Before he had even reached the sea, Hudson brought aboard another man, Henry Greene, to serve as a spy on the crew.

Provided with only a single ship and no messenger vessel, Hudson likely had only been expected to make a preliminary, one-season search for the Northwest Passage. But he sailed all the way across the strait named for him before turning south into a massive expanse of open water that also would bear his name. From Hudson Bay he probed still farther south, into James Bay , in which he sailed back and forth, “for some reasons to himself known,” according to one crewmember. In September, Hudson held an ad hoc trial of his mate, Juet, to air allegations that he was plotting to seize control. Hudson spared him from punishment, but replaced him as mate with Robert Bylot .

The voyage paused for the winter at the southern end of James Bay, probably in Rupert Bay. Remarkably, the Discovery crew endured the winter with the loss of only one man, but Hudson had a serious falling out with his shipboard spy, Henry Greene. In June 1611, after returning from a reconnoitering expedition in the ship’s boat, Hudson agreed to sail back to England. Before leaving, though, he replaced Bylot as his mate with another sailor, John King. The Discovery was stalled in ice on James Bay when a faction of the crew that included Juet, Greene and Bylot seized control of the ship on the morning of 22 June. Hudson, his son John, and seven other crewmembers (including King) were forced into the ship’s boat and cast adrift. They were never seen again.

Five mutineers died on the return voyage. Four, including Greene, were killed in a clash with Inuit at Digges Islands at the northern end of Hudson Bay; Juet died of starvation only days before the ship reached the British Isles. When the battered Discovery drifted into the company of a fishing fleet off the south coast of Ireland on 6 September, the original crew of 23 was down to eight.

Hudson’s third and fourth voyages ignited a flurry of exploration and trading activity. The Half Moon voyage led to fur trading opportunities for the Dutch. Dutch merchants were in the Manhattan area by 1612, and the colony of New Netherland was soon formed.

The French explorer Samuel de Champlain was told by a translator, Nicolas de Vignau, that Anishinaabe people at Lake Nipissing had secured an English boy from the Cree , the lone survivor of a wreck in the “northern sea” ( Hudson Bay ), and wanted to make a gift of him. The boy sounded like John Hudson and inspired Champlain to mount his 1613 journey up the Ottawa River . While the information Vignau provided was likely false, the failed 1613 journey led to Champlain’s more ambitious 1615–16 visit to Georgian Bay and the Huron-Wendat people.

Hudson’s explorations on the fourth voyage also inspired immediate follow-up voyages by the English in search of the Northwest Passage . Three survivors, Robert Bylot , Habakkuk (Abacuk) Prickett and Edward Wilson, participated in a 1612–13 voyage into Hudson Bay under Thomas Button. With William Baffin , Bylot made two significant voyages into the Canadian Arctic. Only after the final Baffin-Bylot voyage failed to locate the passage did Bylot and other survivors of the 1610–11 Discovery voyage stand trial for the murders of Henry and John Hudson and their companions. All were found not guilty in 1618.

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Henry Hudson’s Discoveries and How They Changed The World

Updated: Aug 21, 2023

Henry Hudson's exploration of Manhattan and the Hudson River changed the world, but not quite in the way he had intended. His pursuit of the elusive “ Northern Passage ” defined his career as a ground-breaking global navigator and took him on four documented voyages to find this theoretical shortcut to Asia over the top of the globe. But it would be Hudson’s unintended discoveries that would, in fact, be the most lasting. And included among these discoveries is the place that we now call “New York” .

This blog explores elements of Henry Hudson's biography, his nebulous career, tragic death and legacy, and examines the important lessons that we continue to learn from this historical anomaly.

Henry Hudson - Discoveries

Henry Hudson’s discoveries are remarkable not just for the accomplishments of a 17th century sailor in the absence of satellite technology or combustion engines, but also for the fact that his “ discovery ” of what would become the greatest city mankind would ever know, happened completely by accident.

The Hudson River

Henry Hudson’s “ discovery ” of the river that would come to eternally bear his name, was as inadvertent as his encounters with the Native Americans he met along that haphazard and schizophrenic voyage. And, in truth it would be those very encounters and not any of his intended findings that would lead to the discovery of the Island of Manhattan.

When the Englishman Henry Hudson was hired by the Dutch East India Company in early 1609, the specific purpose of this voyage was to find and successfully navigate the storied “ Northern Passage ” – a theoretical waterway shortcut to Asia over the top of the globe. The instructions from these staunch Dutch businessmen were as clear as they were concise – Hudson was to try the route “ above Nova Zembla (the top of Russia), towards the lands or straits of Anian (Bering Strait) and then to sail at least as far as the sixtieth degree of North latitude, when if the time permitted he was to return from the straits of Anian again to this country” (the Dutch Republic). And it was made clear in these instructions that Hudson was “… to think of discovering no other routes or passages, except the route around by the North and Northeast above Nova Zembla…that if it could not be accomplished at that time, another route would be subject of consideration for another voyage.”

In truth, before Hudson ever left the Amsterdam docks in April of 1609 in the East India Company’s 65-foot yacht called “de Halve Maen” (the Half Moon), he already knew that this specified route was impossible. Because he had already tried it…twice. You see, this 1609 voyage was in fact Hudson’s third attempt at this elusive shortcut to China , and from his hands-on experience and the information from his fellow explorers, including Captain John Smith and Bartholomew Gosnold , was that this passage was nowhere near the top of Russia, but rather on the western half of the planet – over the continent that we now call North America.

So, when Henry Hudson turned the Half Moon southeast and sailed over five thousand miles off his instructed course, he was not only defying his explicitly contracted directions, but he simultaneously set in motion a course of events that would eventually lead to the founding of the place that we call “ New York City ” today.

In disobeying his employer’s orders to “ to think of discovering no other routes or passages, except the route around by the North and Northeast above Nova Zembla ” Hudson took the Company ship across the Atlantic Ocean and into a series of encounters with Native Americans. These encounters started as early as Nova Scotia where on the tiny village of La Havre his crew, mostly Dutch sailors hired by the Company in Amsterdam, engaged in trading with the indigenous tribe, which ended tragically with a violent encounter that propelled this rogue voyage off to the rest of its North American exploration.

Upon reaching the eastern seaboard of today’s United States, Hudson’s ship then sailed as far south as Virginia, searching specifically for the inlet to this elusive “ Northern Passage ”. And after arriving at what Hudson already knew well was part of the English colony, he then turned the Half Moon around and headed back up the coast.

And it was on September 11, 1609 that Henry Hudson’s exploration, now into its fifth month, arrived at the river that would come to eternally bear his name. And when he entered what we now call the Upper Bay of New York, Henry Hudson was convinced that this majestic waterway was, at long last, the storied shortcut to China.

But much to his dismay, this channel did not in fact take him and his 65-foot Dutch yacht over the top of the planet, but rather to an increasingly narrowing section of the river at today’s Troy, New York, where the waterway narrowed into a diminishing stream. Now seven months at sea and with winter setting in, Hudson had little choice but to face the hard fact that this was not in fact the passage to Asia and sailed back across the north Atlantic. But Hudson himself would not return to Amsterdam ever again. He returned to London and entrusted his Dutch crew with the task of returning the Half Moon to the Company. As a result, Hudson was never paid the 800 guilders that the Company had contracted for him to pilot this voyage. Hudson neither returned himself, nor his charts and data to the Company. Because, in truth, Henry Hudson was never really working for the Dutch. Because he had been subversively working for the English the entire time.

The North American Fur Trade

In spite of Henry Hudson’s obsession with this elusive Northern Passage, it would have little to do with the navigational findings of this voyage that drew the subsequent interest of the Dutch. But rather, as a result of the crew’s casual trading with the North American natives, the Amsterdam businessmen were compelled to take a closer look at this land that Hudson’s mate Robert Juet had recorded as “Manna-hata”. You see, by trading inexpensive trifles – such as buttons and spoons or copper kettles -- the sailors received shiny pelts of beaver and otter, far finer than any such product available from the Russians, who had currently had a lock on the world fur market. This sudden opportunity compelled certain Dutch businessmen to quickly forget about the insubordinate Henry Hudson and refocus their efforts on this newfound territory, just above 40 degrees latitude.

But it would not be the Dutch East India Company specifically that would pursue this opportunity but rather a small, close-knit band of Lutheran businessmen living and working in Amsterdam. The group was led by a man named Lambert van Tweenhuysen and in spite of the ostensible “ failure ” of Hudson to find this shortcut to Asia, it was those shiny fur pelts that Van Tweenhuysen and his team were interested in. And so, they proceeded to invest in exploration back to this very river that Hudson had just returned from, specifically to explore and cultivate this potentially priceless fur trade. And the captain they entrusted with this exploration was the revered Amsterdam sailor by the name of Adriaen Block .

Hudson, however, seeing no value or future in this fur trade and remained thoroughly obsessed with his quest for this Northern Passage and by late 1609, had contracted for yet another voyage to find this elusive passage, contracting with another group of investors, this time back in London, for what would be his fourth and final attempt at this passage. This expedition which would leave England in early 1610, would in fact be Henry Hudson’s final voyage.

After nearly a year and a half at sea, his crew mutinied and Hudson and eight other crew members were cast off in a sloop (a large row boat) into the frigid waters of the ocean-like body of water that we call “Hudson Bay”[7] today. These nine were never heard from again and most certainly perished in the desolate and unforgiving waters. Among those nine was Hudson’s own son, thirteen-year old John Hudson.

Henry Hudson’s legacy

While his courage and tenacity cannot be questioned, Henry Hudson is no hero. A rogue explorer who increasingly proved that he was beholden to no man nor nation, Hudson and his crews engaged in multiple avoidable violent encounters with the North American native people. And while we cannot ever know the true circumstances of each of these tragic encounters, what we can do is compare Hudson’s behavior with that of subsequent explorers and settlers. And by comparison, the aforementioned navigator Adriaen Block had no such encounters with the natives of this land. In fact, Block would prove instrumental in forging an increasingly positive diplomacy with the native Algonquins that would prove pivotal to the progress not only of the cultivation of this fur trade, but of colonization here entirely. In many ways Adriaen Block was the great grandfather of American trade[7] and in essence, of the United States of America. Henry Hudson, in spite of his innovations and discoveries, most certainly was not.

Henry Hudson did in fact change the world …albeit inadvertently. His innovations served to not only inspire trade and exploration into the western hemisphere, but in fact served to catalyze the development of what would result in what we call “ the United States of America” today.

Embark upon a journey through the extraordinary Henry Hudson and the Discoveries of all those who followed him as we unravel his legacy and the lasting impact of his expeditions. The podcast Island explores this and remarkable components of our lost American history.

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The Voyages of Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson was born in London, England. Hudson spent his adult life at sea. He made two voyages trying to find the Northeast Passage to Asia- over the polar ice. His first two voyages were both unsuccessful. These were before he set sail for his more famous voyages to the west.

In 1609, Henry Hudson was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to find a passage to Asia by sailing north across the Arctic, north of Russia. Unable to make the passage due to ice blockages, Hudson decided to head westward in search of an alternative route. Aboard his ship, the Half Moon, he explored both the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, concluding that neither led to the Pacific Ocean. Hudson then entered New York Bay and sailed up the Hudson River as far as present-day Albany, before turning back. This expedition established Dutch claims to the region, which would later become New Amsterdam.

In 1610, Hudson secured backing from the British East India Company to resume his search for a passage to Asia. He sailed around the tip of Greenland and on June 25th, entered the Hudson Strait, leading to the expansive body of water now known as Hudson Bay. Hudson and his crew spent the summer exploring the bay, but by fall, their ship became icebound in James Bay. Forced to spend the winter ashore, tensions rose among the crew.

Come spring, Hudson wanted to continue exploring, while his crew insisted on returning to England. Disagreements led to a mutiny; Hudson, his son, and seven loyal crew members were cast adrift in a longboat without food or weapons. They were never heard from again. The remaining crew returned to England, where they were briefly imprisoned but ultimately released.

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49 Facts About Henry Hudson and His Voyages

Published: Dec 21, 2014 · Modified: Nov 11, 2023 by Russell Yost · This post may contain affiliate links ·

Henry Hudson was a famous explorer who sailed for both England and the Dutch during the Age of Exploration . He explored modern New York City, Canada, and a large body of water that would be named after him, Hudson Bay.

He laid the foundation for Dutch colonization of the New World and may have been the first man to circumnavigate the globe by taking the northern passage, but his crew mutinied and abandoned him, his son, and those loyal to him in Canada.

Early Life and Family

First voyage, second voyage, third voyage, fourth voyage.

They were never heard from again, although many legends survive.

There is some disagreement as to when Henry Hudson was born. The range of dates is from 1550 - to 1570s. There was a Henry Hudson in England who died in 1555, which suggests a possible father or grandfather. The 1550s date seems off since he would have been 60 by the time of his last voyage, which is unlikely.

He was from Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire, about 17 miles northwest of London.

As a young man, he was most likely employed by the Moscavy Company. His family had shares in the company.

In 1587, he may have sailed for the Northwest Passage with explorer John Davis. During the voyage, Davis named what would later be called the Hudson Strait the Furious Overhaul.

Henry married Katherine and had three sons: Richard, John, and Oliver.

By all accounts, Katherine was an incredibly strong woman. After Henry and John failed to return from their voyage, she petitioned for rescue missions. Henry and John's death left her poor and destitute, but she managed to acquire much wealth through her own ingenuity and resourcefulness.

Henry's son Richard also accumulated much wealth in India. He was one of the first Europeans to be given a permit to live in Imperial Japan. He stayed in India for the rest of his life and lived a life of luxury. Several of his children migrated to the New World.

Hudson's first voyage took place in 1607. During this time, the English and the Dutch were competing for different trade routes and trying to find a northern passage to Asia.

His first command was of the Hopewell and was financed by the Muscovy Company. The vessel was old and had a small crew.

After some initial delays, Henry Hudson set sail with his crew on May 1, 1607.

By May 26, Hudson reached the Shetland Islands

On June 13, Hudson sighted the eastern coast of Greenland. Greenland is known for its rough weather and difficulty to navigate. Even today, these waters are considered treacherous to vessels - even today's modern steel-hulled ships with manganese-bronze propellers.

Sailing Directions, published by the U.S Defense Mapping Agency, notes the waters around southern Greenland as "Notorious for foul weather and heavy seas... Dangerous rocks up to four leagues... Very strong mountain squalls... Winds from the southeast very strong gale strength..."

Small, wooden ships like the Hopewell would have had to progress carefully, always watching for ice, rock, and sudden shifts in weather. A little inattention could quickly result in disaster.

Early-Mid June, the weather became treacherous. Hudson had been mapping the unexplored coast of Greenland and was forced to proceed without any visibility. This shows remarkable bravery and skill.

By June 20, the weather cleared, and Hudson steered away from Greenland.

There was little success in finding a northwest passage, although Hudson did discover a few islands and different wildlife.

Unfortunately, his discoveries led to the decimation of wildlife around many of those islands. The whale and walrus populations were destroyed by hunters wanting their tusks.

Hudson's first voyage ended on September 15, 1607. He still believed there to be a northwest passage and began to prepare for a second voyage.

While making some discoveries in his first voyage, Hudson still believed there to be a shorter passage to the north that would take them to the wealthy Indies.

He took command of the Hopewell for a second time and again sailed for the Muscovy Company of England. This time, he would sail to the northeast around Russia, where he believed there would be a northeast passage.

On April 22, 1608, Hudson and his small crew set sail for the Northeast Passage.

On June 15, 1608, the crewmen sighted what they believed to be a mermaid. Hudson also described what they saw as a mermaid. He recorded what they saw in his log, saying that the creature had a tail like a porpoise, very white skin and was speckled, and had a woman's breast.

By June 27, Hudson reached an impasse. The waters were frozen, and he could not get through to the Kara Sea.

By July 5, Hudson decided that there was not a feasible northeast passage. He had explored many different rivers that proved to be too shallow, much of the arctic water remained frozen, and he had begun to fix his eyes on seeking the northwest passage. He secretly decided to set sail for the New World again.

The crew learned of Hudson's plan and forced his hand to return to England. They arrived in England on August 26, 1608.

After Hudson's second failed attempt to find the Northwest Passage, he could not find a sponsor for his mission. He would eventually be approached by the Dutch East India Company and sail under a different flag.

The Dutch East India Company made Hudson sign a contract that required him to search for the Northeast passage, which he failed to find on his second voyage.

By May, he reached the coast of Nova Zemlya and saw nothing but ice and worse conditions than the year prior. He turned west towards the new world, and the crew began to mutiny.

Hudson was able to calm the crew by showing them maps from a good friend of his, Captain John Smith. John Smith is known for his contributions at Jamestown, but he also explored the coast of the New World and made maps. He had heard the natives talk of a northwest passage but had not been able to document it.

By July, the crew had dealt with much treacherous weather but reached the coast of Newfoundland.

The crew met and traded with many peaceful natives. Unfortunately, the natives put their trust in the wrong place because even though they showed much kindness and fed the crew well, the Europeans would pillage their village and rob them of their spoils.

Hudson explored the coast of New York and met many friendly native tribes. There were many instances where he and his crew traded for food, were invited to the local Indian village for dinner, and had drinks with the natives.

Hudson returned to the Old World after his crew threatened to mutiny. They sailed into Dartmouth, England, where Hudson was put under house arrest for sailing with the East India Company. It was not uncommon for mariners to sail under different flags, which suggests that Hudson was a victim of jealous merchants.

He and his crew never returned to Amsterdam

Despite his arrest, Hudson was able to convince the Virginia Company to fund an exploration of the Northwest Passage.

Hudson and his crew left in mid-April and, by May 11, were passing Iceland.

Hudson was unable to navigate the Hudson Strait (which would be named later) due to ice and was forced to look for another passage.

By July, Hudson was trapped in Ungave Bay. He was forced to navigate slowly through the ice and deal with his mutinous crew, who began to want to go home. Hudson convinced them to press forward, and morale was boosted.

On August 2, 1610, Hudson came into what is now called Hudson Bay. He and his crew spoke of its beautiful waters and believed they had found the Northwest Passage.

He sailed along Hudson Bay and eventually James Bay, where he would eventually set up winter quarters.

Hudson's crew had shown signs of mutiny for months, and this did not change throughout the winter. His crew grew unhappier as time passed. By June of 1611, the crew wanted to head back to England, but Hudson wanted to press forward.

He continued to push his crew hard, and finally, they broke. They mutinied and left Hudson, his son John, and others behind.

Hudson and the others pursued in a small boat until the Discovery was out of sight.

Hudson and his remaining crew were never heard from again. He left behind many helpful resources for future mariners.

The Northwest Passage would not be successfully navigated until the Norwegian Explorer Roald Amundson explored it between 1903 - 1906.

Almost 300 years after Henry Hudson.

Introduction to an Expansionist Age

H enry Hudson was born at a turning point in English history. England was in a tumultuous era, rapidly changing from a predominantly agrarian society to a mercantile and maritime power. Strife between religious factions tore the nation apart, and upset international alliances. Economies were changing, European wealth and trade shifting from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. It was a turbulent, rich and exciting era.

Henry VIII's break from the Catholic Church in 1534 had isolated England from most of Europe, and for most of the century threatened war to restore Catholic power - preferably through a subservient Catholic ruler on the throne.

Henry's main allies were a group of small, rebellious states in Northern Europe. The Netherlands were fighting to slough off Spain's domination, some of the German states were fighting to establish their Protestant church free of the Pope and Catholic control.

The Protestant Reformation had begun with Martin Luther in 1517 and spread rapidly among many nations. Calvinism  became the official state religion of Scotland in 1560. Henry wasn't terribly sympathetic to the Protestants - he would have remained Catholic had the Pope been amenable to granting him a divorce. But the Pope didn't distinguish between the selfish source of Henry's quarrel and the argumentative Protestants like Luther and Calvin. So Henry VIII became the reluctant champion of the Protestant cause, despite his personal misgivings.

Henry was also not terribly interested in the New World, either, and was more intent on his own quest for an heir than in exploration. When Henry died in 1547, his sickly nine-year-old son, Edward, was placed on the throne. Edward's inheritance also included the debts left behind by Henry's uncontrolled spending.

Edward VI was the puppet of staunch -often radical - Protestant advisors. During his short time, the English economy further weakened, the continuing result of Henry's mismanagement. Money was devalued, products from the New World flooded English markets while demand for domestic products waned. The ambitious Earl of Warwick, John Dudley, controlled Edward's purse strings and virtually ruled England. He was undone by his attempts to place his family on the throne following Edward's death, through a forced marriage between Lady Jane Grey and his son.

Lady Jane was declared queen, but the people denied Dudley's ambitions and wouldn't support her. After nine days, Mary Tudor, Henry's eldest daughter and a staunch Catholic, rode into London on a wave of popular support. Lady Jane was imprisoned and executed. England briefly returned to Catholicism at the hands of "Bloody" Mary, whose short reign (1553-58) was marked by brutal repressions of Protestants. Those few, violent years served to push England firmly into the Protestant camp, and to push the treasury deeper into the red.

Elizabeth felt forced into war by the persecution of European Protestants by Spain and France. She sent an army to to aid the Huguenots (Calvinists who had settled in France) after more than 3,000 were massacred in France, in 1572. She also sent assistance to Protestant factions on the continent and in Scotland, and assisted the Netherlands in their bid to gain independence from Spain.

Philip II of Spain decided to end Elizabeth's interference by marrying her, but Elizabeth rejected his marriage proposal. That, combined with his outrage over continued English piracy and forays into Spain's New World colonies, was the final straw for Philip. The indignant Spanish King gathered his navy and sent a large Armada to raid England and bring Elizabeth to heel. However, the English won the naval battle and overnight England emerged as the world's strongest naval power, setting the stage for later English imperial designs.

It was also a time of spies. Philip II had his spies in England, and even in the court of Elizabeth. On the English side, Sir Francis Walsingham had created his own network of spies who sniffed out foreign intrigues and plots against Elizabeth. Double agents, disinformation and intrigue played a part in the activities of both countries.

The Catholic Church, reacting to the growing protestant movement, attempted to reform itself through the Council of Trent (1545-62) but its efforts failed to win back to the fold its Protestant critics. At the same time, the Council subordinated the church hierarchy to the rule of the Pope, and created a flurry of saints in an attempt to stiffen the weakening faith within its own supporters.

One of the advantages of the Protestant revolution was that Protestant monarchs gathered more power and financial control into their own hands than they had previously held. With such central authority, they were able to personally manage and direct overseas exploration without interference from the church or to subvert their goals to the church's agendas.

Since the voyage of Columbus, the competition to exploit the New World, and to gain advantages in the rich spice trade with the Orient had been frantic and aggressively pursued among most of the Western European nations.

Partly driving this hunt for new trade routes was the rapidly expanding Ottoman Empire, spreading from Turkey into Asia and Southeastern Europe. The empire had captured Constantinople in 1453; Turkish expansion reached its peak in the mid-16th century under Suleyman I (Suleyman the Magnificent). The Turks defeated the Hungarian army in 1526 and captured a large portion of Hungary. The Ottomans pushed deep into Persia and Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Algiers. Most of the Venetian and other Latin possessions in Greece also fell to the sultans. Mediterranean commerce was threatened by corsairs who sailed under Turkish auspices.

Suleyman also meddled in European politics. He allied with France, usually against Venice and the Holy Roman Empire, but he also supported Lutheran rebels in the Holy Roman Empire. He hoped by encouraging disunity in Christianity, he would decrease the chances of Christian Europe uniting in a Crusade against the Muslim Ottomans. Catholic forces were diverted from their war with the protestants to battle the expansionist Turks. Ottoman pressure may have played a decisive role in persuading the Habsburgs to grant concessions to the Protestants in the 16th century, thus encouraging the spread of Protestantism.

Having spread across the land trade routes, the Ottomans had settled down to control them and make a profit. Before they took control, trade caravans from the Orient had paid kings, warlords and bandits along their route so that the price of goods doubled, tripled - and even went to 50 or more times their original cost. Then the Ottomans added their "taxes" on top, putting great financial pressure on European merchants to find a less expensive way to get their goods. Along with the wars and the piracy in the Mediterranean region, the stranglehold on the land trade routes encouraged maritime nations of Europe to find a way around the Ottomans and restore some of the profits back to their own hands.

The base of mercantile power soon shifted from Venice and Genoa to the nations along the Atlantic where ships could roam freely without fear of Ottoman pirates. The Ottoman Empire was not pushed out of Europe until 1699, and in the meantime her economy decayed while overseas expansion enriched the West.

The New World had been discovered just over a century before Hudson enters recorded history. In the first half of that century, Spain and Portugal competed for control and trading dominance. The Portuguese proved capable and daring navigators, going to further reaches of the globe than anyone before them. They so challenged the larger and more militant Spanish that in 1493 and again in 1522 the Pope had to intervene and split the world into two realms of control, one for each nation.

Portugal, however, lost its lead when King Sebastian died in 1578. In 1580, tired of the factions vying for the throne in Lisbon, Philip II of Spain claimed to the vacant throne for himself and annexed Portugal. From 1580 to 1640, the two Iberian kingdoms were linked together under the Spanish crown. Phillip gained a navy, a treasury and a nation's colonies - but quickly discovered the efforts of maintaining its colonies and fleets had exhausted Portugal's financial resources. A century of war trying to retain control of the Netherlands cost Spain a fortune and forced her to dilute her forces over several fronts. By 1596, Philip II was formally bankrupt.

For most of the sixteenth century, Spain was the most powerful nation in Europe. Her armies conquered kingdom after kingdom in the New World, bringing untold riches into the Spanish coffers. Spanish colonies sprang up and Spanish merchants sailed unhindered around the world establishing lucrative trade routes in spices, materials and curiosities. Heavily-armed Spanish warships rules the oceans - but inexorably that was eroded: competition, war and the profligate spending of the Spanish monarchy soon took their toll.

Both Spain and France had recently consolidated their nations, uniting often warring kingdoms into the larger national entities, which opened new opportunities for commercial growth and capitalism.

France, although larger and richer than both England and the Netherlands, was initially less interested in this adventure than her neighbours. Unlike Spain's empire, "New France" produced no great sources of gold and silver even at its peak. The French traded for furs and fished off the coast of Newfoundland; New France was a loose population of trappers and missionaries, dotted with military forts and trading posts. Colonization was sporadic, and stifled by inconsistent policies and government interference. Although Jacques Cartier had tried to found a colony at Montreal, in 1536, the first successful French colony in the New World was Quebec, was not established until 1608, long after many other nations had done so. The French empire was slow to start, and failed to match the wealth of New Spain or the growth of the British colonies.

France and Spain were the bastions of the Catholic faith and a great part of their drive to colonize was done in concert with the Church's determination to convert the natives to Catholicism - by force where necessary. And in the process the native cultures were to be firmly but absolutely oppressed. Neither the British nor the Dutch were driven by this need to convert and thus "prove" the superiority of their faith, although Protestant missionaries were to arrive in greater numbers in the next century or two, but they were not driven by the same focus as the Catholics.

The other maritime nations of the West - the Netherlands and England in particular - didn't respect either the division of the world or the Catholic church's attempts to control things outside national borders. These nations wanted their share of the spoils. Both quickly sent explorers, whalers, fishing fleets and merchants to exploit the New World and to open trade routes. And along the way came inevitable clashes with the Spanish and Portuguese who claimed the waters and lands for themselves.

Despite the riches in the New World, most European nations were focused on trade with the Orient. The lure of spices, silks, gems and other luxury items was more compelling than mundane fish and furs that required more work to obtain. Worse, the New World was full of aggressive natives - "savages" - who fought with the Europeans and often won their battles. But geography was in the way. There were only two maritime trade routes to the Orient and the Spice Islands known: around the southern tip of Africa or the bottom of South America. Both voyages were long and dangerous. Pirates and privateers straddled both routes and could steal both cargo and the ships carrying it. Crews often got mutinous or sick on the long voyages. A long journey meant lower profits - more money was required to pay crews, ships needed more refits and repairs. A shorter passage through the north would both reduce the dangers and the time, as well as increase the profits. It was very attractive to the merchants who invested in the expeditions.

Europe's economy was rapidly changing in this period, nowhere more so than in England and Holland. The sudden increase in gold and silver caused both to become devalued: the more that arrived, the less valuable it became. The middle class of merchants was on the rise and land ceased to be the basis of wealth as trade propelled incomes. Bills of exchange began to replace cash as the staple of business transactions, and banks began to open in major cities. Businessmen combined their resources to become joint shareholders in large companies, rather than venture merely their own capital - a new concept for capitalism.

" A worthy merchant is the heir of adventure, whose hopes hang much upon the wind, " wrote Nicholas Breton in The Good and the Badde (1616). " Upon a wooden horse he rides through the world, and in a merry gale he makes a path through the seas. He is the discoverer of countries and a finder out of commodities, resolute in his attempts, and royal in his expenses. "

New plants introduced from the New World changed agrarian crop patterns - corn and potatoes in particular, but also beans, squash, tomatoes, pumpkins and peppers  - which mean a drop in domestic crop prices and a shift in rural economies. Farmers could harvest a lot more food from their small plots if they planted corn or potatoes instead of the traditional wheat.

More exotic foods were also imported: sugar, coffee and cocoa. In addition, the harvest from new fishing grounds in the New World meant an increase in protein. These new foods meant more and better food for peasants, which meant better health and longer lives. Better health meant more people (the average life expectancy in England in 1600 was 48 years, up from an estimated 36 years a century earlier).

The Dutch had quickly commanded the business of shipping grain from the Baltic states into the rest of Europe, a lucrative trade that reached its peak in 1618.

The rapid population growth in the 16th century strained the English economy. Serious harvest failures in every decade of Elizabeth’s reign further weakened it. Prices for food and clothing skyrocketed in the last decade of Elizabeth's reign, a time known as "the Great Inflation." Starvation, epidemic disease, and roving bands of vagrants looking for work marked the 1590s.

Europe overall saw a population surge in the 16th-17th centuries. A lot of people moved from the farms and small towns to the cities, causing great swells in urban populations, changing the job market. Many of the new industries moved to the countryside to be closer to the source of workers.

England's population in 1500 was about 5 million. By 1700 it had almost doubled to 9 million, a faster rate than any of its neighbours. In the same period, Spain and Portugal grew from 9 to 10 million; the Low Countries from 2 to 3 million and France 16 to 19 million. Germany - a collection of independent and often warring states - grew from 13 to 15 million.

New raw materials - woods, minerals, metals - were improving European industrial processes. The sawmill was invented in the late 15th century, and sped the pace at which planks for ships and houses could be manufactured. There were other advances in mining and manufacturing techniques. Blast furnaces - invented in the early 15th century - were producing 60,000 tons of iron by the next century.

England grew rapidly in prosperity under Elizabeth I and her successor, James I. In 1597 England was described as, "The realm aboundeth in riches, as may be seen by the general excess of the people in purchasing, in buildings in meat drink, and feastings, and most notably in apparel." But like the rest of Europe, England was in a century of inflation: prices rose, rents rose, taxes and the cost of living rose steadily. In France, grain purchased in 1600 cost seven times what the same amount had cost in 1500.

To counter the loss of faith in the English economy, Elizabeth issued a new currency with a standard amount of precious metal. This not only raised confidence in the English currency, but it allowed businesses to enter into long-term financial contracts - quickly resulting in expanded overseas trade.

The Royal Exchange was founded in the 1560s to help merchants find secure markets for their goods, while merchant companies were chartered to seek new outlets for English products and establish new trading opportunities.

Oxford and Cambridge universities grew in size and importance, increasing from 800 students in 1560 to 1,200 by 1630. Cambridge started its own printing press in 1584 and Oxford in 1587. In 1604, the two universities were granted representation in Parliament, and both later sent leaders to the New World.

By 1640 nearly 100 percent of the gentry and merchants in England were literate and as much as 50 percent of the yeomanry. But only 10 percent of the husbandry class, and none of the peasants were able to read or write. Literacy was higher in the towns and cities than in the countryside. See search.eb.com/shakespeare/macro/5009/49.html . London, with its population of 200,000 by 1600, was estimated to be 60 percent literate. Overall, England was about one third literate (30 percent for men and 10 percent for women). In contrast, in France and Spain only an estimated one sixth of the population was literate.

As a result of this increased literacy among the general public, the latter half of Elizabeth's reign saw literature, plays and poetry flourish. There was an unbridled surge in creativity and the arts that continued past the reign of James I. Many of the works were romantic and dramatic, and many new literary techniques and styles were developed, including the first English novels. It was the age of the great playwrights, including Johnson, Marlowe and Shakespeare.

As a result of this growing literacy, books were widespread as publishing developed and grew in Elizabethan England. English people could read the exploits of other explorers and navigators, read the theories about the world and the passages over the north. It created a culture of excitement and adventure. In 1577, the Countess of Warwick commissioned English translations of the latest works on China, Japan and India. The Countess was preparing herself for what she another other investors felt was the certainly Martin Frobisher's latest attempt to find a passage to Cathay would succeed.

The period between the mid-sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries became known as the "Scientific Revolution." New ideas, new inventions and new technology swept Europe, especially in the areas of astronomy, mathematics, optics and physics. It was the century that saw Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Bacon, Descartes and Pascal.

Two decades of war with Spain, plus a decade of war with Ireland, drained England's coffers. Queen Elizabeth was forced to sell roughly one-fourth of all crown lands to help pay for the burgeoning war debt of 4 million pds. She grew increasingly dependent on parliament for her income, which rose from an annual average of 35,000 pds. to more than 112,000 pds. a year by the time of her death.

The first two decades of the 17th century saw a rural and economic crisis. Harvests failed. More land was taken over by farming, but they were more than matched by a population increase that demanded more food. The shortages led to revolts in rural areas and even starvation. The rural economy did not fully recover until the middle of the century, long after Elizabeth had passed on. The nation that could barely feed itself in 1600 was exporting grain by 1700.

Spinning and weaving had traditionally provided employment for thousands of rural English families - upwards of 90 per cent of all English exports were broadcloth - "white cloth" - that went to the Low Countries and Germany for dyeing and finishing. That business reached its peak in 1550. In parallel with the harvest failures, the cloth trade suffered a collapse in the early part of the 17th century. When the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) began, trade routes became disrupted and new, cheaper sources of wool were sought by England's trading partners. Cloth exports had grown, but suffered stiff competition from finer Spanish products.

Worse, England lost its last hold on the continent in 1558, when Calais was recaptured by the French. English merchants had to find another port for their goods - Antwerp was the international marketplace they used until the Spanish captured and closed in in 1585. The decline and closing of the port of Antwerp again forced English merchants to seek other centres to sell their goods, going this time to Amsterdam.

The English mercantile economy struggled to transform itself from a single-commodity economy based almost solely on cloth exports, to a diversified one, offering dozens of domestic and colonial products for both internal and external sale.

Elizabeth's personal financial woes combined with the volatile nature of the English economy to create a swell of mercantile pressure that demanded new markets, new goods for trade and new sources of income. She was slow to encourage the voyages of discovery that would soon lead to England's dominance in the world of trade and empire. She was even partner in some of the ventures, and approved charters to allow English merchant combines to have monopolies on trade in specific areas. Elizabeth preferred to encourage the privateers who raided the shipping and ports of other nations.

Although the first English expedition to the New World - John Cabot - was sponsored in 1497 by Henry VII, the English showed little interest in exploration until Elizabeth arrived. In 1560, English merchants enlisted Martin Frobisher to search for a Northwest passage to India (and later set him up to mine gold he had discovered on Meta Incognita - but what he found onshore proved to be only pyrite). Frobisher was particularly determined to find a Northwest Passage, and owned both maps and a globe (a rarity in that time) showing a definite passage to Asia through the north.

Between 1576 and 1578 Frobisher and John Davis (Davys) explored the Atlantic coast searching for the passage. Queen Elizabeth also granted charters to Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh to colonize America. By the seventeenth century, the English had taken the lead in colonizing North America, establishing settlements all along the Atlantic coast and in the West Indies.

Beset with financial problems, faced with a rapidly changing economy, and trying to establish her nation in the forefront of maritime powers amongst a lot of competition, Elizabeth managed her balancing act for 45 years. She encouraged a series of trading companies and their explorations, right until her death. But for all her attempts and her parsimonious reluctance to spend her money, Elizabeth still left the Crown more deeply in debt than it was when she was placed on the throne.

Her successor, James I, continued to support these mercantile ventures, and also promoted the establishment of colonies in the New World. By the time James took the throne, the balance of power had shifted dramatically in Europe. The alliance between the Netherlands and England was giving way to competition and even suspicion. Spain's dominance was waning rapidly and France was becoming a serious contender in the trade wars. The Ottoman Empire was also stagnating and its economy weakened from decades of war and dwindling revenue from its overland trade routes.

James wanted peace and discouraged the piracy and lawlessness that Elizabeth had allowed (he imprisoned Sir Walter Raleigh in the Tower for 12 years). However, he proved even less capable of handling the fragile economy than Elizabeth, and wildly overspent his own income. James was far too generous with his favourites, was prickly and bristled under the tight controls Parliament tried to place on his spending. James inherited from Elizabeth a debt of 400,000 pds. By 1606, it had risen to 600,000 and 900,000 by 1618.

In his attempt to find more money, James raised duties, which further hurt the economy. A failed attempt to bring in widespread taxation forced James to sell titles for cash and raise rents on crown lands, neither of which proved popular. Parliament and James were soon to be at loggerheads over money.

It was in this turbulent atmosphere that Henry Hudson first set sail.

Contemporary history - 1498 to 1607:

• 1498: John Cabot, under the English flag, sailed with five ships to the North American coast. Cabot died on that voyage.
• 1519-22: Magellan circumnavigated the world. He discovered and claimed the Moluccas in 1519.
• 1521: Henry VIII asks London merchants to finance a company to pursue overseas ventures, but the merchants feared this would hurt their existing trade with Portugal and Spain, so they decline.
• 1521: Ferdinand Magellan discovers the islands he would name the Philippines, after Philip II of Spain. Magellan was slain later this year when he attempted to intervene in a dispute between native chieftains.
• 1524: Verazzano explores the eastern cost of America from 34 to 50 degrees north, entering what is now New York Bay.
• 1546: The Mary Rose, Henry VIII's grand, massive and expensive warship was launched in July. The only existing illustration of her shows a 4-masted barque, about 600 tons, with two castles (bow and stern). There are 90 guns in several rows along sides, the lower set lying close to the water level.  On that calm July morning, the Mary Rose sailed out of Portsmouth harbour into the Isle of Wight sound to do battle. She turned to starboard to present her broadside guns, heeled over and sank very suddenly in 40 fee of water without a shot fired.
• 1547: Henry VIII died.
• By 1550 , the Portuguese had established control over the sea routes to and in the Indian Ocean. They had found the source of the oriental spice trade, and established relations with China and Japan. The Portuguese spread their influence throughout the region with amazing rapidity and their dominance in trade continued until the late sixteenth century.
• 1552: London merchants finally realize the trade opportunities they're missing and form a joint-stock company with 200 shareholders. They call themselves "The Merchants Adventurers of England for the Discovery of Lands, Territories, Isles, Dominions, and Seignories." This would later become changed to the Muscovy Company.
• 1553: John Cabot's son, Sebastian, was made governor of the "Company of Merchant Adventurers" in London, and directed English trade missions to Muscovy until his death (1557?). He was commissioned to find a Northwest Passage over Russia, but was unsuccessful. Cabot not only believed there was a sea route north of Russia, but that it had been used by sailors in ancient times. Sebastian claimed to have accompanied his father on John's first voyage to North America, 1497, and that he had sailed on another expedition, in 1508, to the North American mainland, visiting Labrador and Hudson Bay (from 50 degrees north to the mouth of what is now Hudson's Strait). Later historians would question Cabot's claims.
• 1553 : Hugh Willoughby sets out in May to the Kara Sea, to find a route to Cathay (China). He sighted a land he called 'Gooseland' (Novaya Zemlya). Sebastian Cabot provided advice and information to Willoughby for this journey.
• 1554: Willoughby and his crew of 70 perished when wintering over, after discovering the islands called Novaya Zemlya (Nova Zembla). His second-in-command, Richard Chancellor and Stephen Borough, travelling in the Edward Bonaventure, were separated from Willoughby. They managed to reach the White Sea, and land near what is present-day Archangelsk. Chancellor travelled south overland to Moscow at the invitation of Ivan IV. His negotiations with the Tsar opened avenues for trade with Russia and the Company of Merchant Adventurers renamed itself the Muscovy Company.
• 1555: The Muscovy Company is formed to trade with Russia.
• 1556-1557: Stephen Burrough tried the same northeastern passage as Willoughby but returns convinced there is no way to break through the ice barrier and reach China that way. He landed on 'Gooseland.' Sebastian Cabot helped equip Burroughs.
• 1561: Cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi published a map showing North America and Asia separated by the Strait of Anian. This would lead subsequent explorers to believe an ice-free opening existed across the north. By 1564 the "strait" was appearing on other cartographers' maps.
• 1562: John Hawkins, the first English merchant trader, took three ships from London to Sierra Leone in West Africa and kidnapped 300 Africans 'by the sword, and partly by other means'. Hawkins then crossed the Atlantic and sold the Africans into slavery at Hispaniola (Haiti). He returned to England with ginger, sugar, pearls and hides, which he sold to London merchants. Hawkins made a second slaving expedition in 1564-65. Elizabeth I lent Hawkins a royal ship for that voyage, and Hawkins was backed by a group of wealthy London merchants and noblemen. He made a third voyage in 1567-68.
• 1564: Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius added the Strait of Anian in his new map of the world, as well as showing a straight passage over the top of North America.
• 1565: Spanish ships sailing from Mexico's west coast reach the Philippine islands and then return with merchandise a few months later, establishing a trade route between the two.
• 1566: The revolt of the Netherlands began. Sir Humphrey Gilbert publishes A Discourse of a Discoverie for a New Passage to Cathaia , which includes a copy of the Ortelius map showing a Northwest Passage. Gilbert's peition for support from Queen Elizabeth to allow an expedition was foiled by the Muscovy Company, which claimed it had the monopoly on all northern expeditions.
• 1568: The Wars of the Dutch Secession began, lasting to 1648. Also called the Eighty Year's War and the Dutch Revolt, it was the start of the independence of the Netherlands from their Spain overlords.
• 1569: Gerhardus Mercator, influential map maker, published his map. Based on mathematical principles, it is a flat map using the projection that still carries his name today.
• 1571 : The Spanish found the city of Manila in the Philippine Islands.
• 1573: Queen Elizabeth appointed Sir Francis Walsingham as secretary of state for foreign affairs. Walsingham replaced the more conciliatory  William Cecil (Lord Burghley). Walsingham was more aggressive towards England's enemies and much more supportive of voyages of exploration (and piracy) to gain England a greater advantage in trade.
• 1577-78: Frobisher made two trips to gather his "gold" but it turned out to be worthless hornblende. In 1577 he entered what is now known as Hudson's Strait. His last voyage had 15 ships and 400 men, and in the end proved a financial disaster for everyone who invested. Queen Elizabeth herself invested 500 pds. in the venture, and loaned Frobisher her naval ship, the Ayd. Creditors would hound Michael Lok until at least 1615. English interest in a Northwest Passage also waned, following the debacle, but was later revived.
• 1578: The young Portuguese King Sebastian was killed during his African crusade, leaving the Portuguese throne vacant, an irresistible opportunity for Sebastian's uncle, King Philip II of Spain. By this time, Portuguese resources had been exhausted by the strain of trying to maintain both a domestic and a colonial economy.
• 1579: English adventurer Francis Drake, sailing in the Golden Hind, attempted to find the "Strait of Anian" in the North Pacific, and to reach the Atlantic via the north, thus bypassing the territory under Spanish control. He sailed up the coast near the mouth of the Rogue River, but abandoned his search because of rough weather and cold.
• 1580 : William Bourne publishes his book, A Regiment for the Sea , urging exploration of polar routes to the east. Sir Francis Drake circumnavigates the Globe.
• 1580: Philip II of Spain annexed Portugal, whose throne had been vacant since his nephew's death two years earlier. This gave Philip a new Atlantic seaboard, a fleet to help protect it, and increased his empire from Africa to Brazil, and from Calicut (Calcutta) to the Moluccas (Spice Islands). Portugal remained a province of the Spanish Empire until 1640 but its dominance over the Eastern trade was already lost to the English and Dutch by 1600. Dr. Dee ships his interest from a Northwest to a Northeast Passage.
• 1581: Elizabeth knighted Francis Drake. Don Antonio, pretender to the throne of Portugal arrived in England in June, trying to raise a fleet to protect the Azores from the Spanish. Some of the inhabitants in the former Portuguese colony had refused to swear allegiance to King Philip. Although a fleet of 25 ships was assembled, Philip warned that if it sailed, it would mean a declaration of war by England, so the project was abandoned.
• 1583: Edmund Fenton of the Muscovy Company visited the Moluccas and the Spice Islands (the Dutch were there before the English). Fenton had the backing of the first Earl of Leicester (Sir Philip Sydney) and Secretary of State, William Cecil (Lord Burghley).
• 1584: Ivan IV - "The Terrible" - dies in Muscovy.
• 1585-88: John Davis (Davys) makes three voyages to the northwest. He charted the strait between Greenland and Canada and explored the eastern shore of Baffin Island. In 1587 he explored Davis Strait to Sanderson's Hope and reached the most northerly point reported by any European to that date: 72°45'N. He passes the entrance to a great, swirling, roaring strait, which he dubbed the "Furious Overfall," now called Hudson Strait. Davis reported a "great sea, free, large, very salty, blue and of unsearchable depth" when his ship was anchored off Greenland. He estimated it to be 40 leagues (120 miles) wide and believes the "passage is most probable, the execution easy." Henry Hudson may have served as mate with Davis on at least one (1587) of his voyages.
• 1585: Elizabeth sends an army of 5-6,000 soldiers and 1,000 horses to Holland to support the Protestant Dutch in their war for independence from the Catholic Spanish. The English were to stay in the Netherlands assisting the Dutch until 1604.
• 1586: Sir Francis Drake returned from Virginia with several colonists who brought with them pipes and the practice of "drinking" tobacco smoke (inhaling and apparently swallowing it). Smoking quickly developed as a popular, social pastime - the first smokers were called "tobacconists."
• 1588: Spanish king Philip II sends the Armada against England, but it is defeated. As an experienced mariner, Hudson would have probably served aboard an English ship in this battle, unless he was elsewhere.
• 1589: French King Henri III was assassinated. Henry Navare, a Bourbon, took the French throne, ruling as Henry IV.
• 1592 : Sir John Burrough captures an East Indian carrack laden with 900 tons of spices, cloth and treasures from the orient. This excites more English adventurers to seek ways to get to these riches. The Levant Company is also created and becomes the fifth English company permitted to trade with Turkey. This year, too, the plague struck London, killing an estimated 10 per cent of the population.
• 1592: The Nine Years' War breaks out when the Irish revolt against their English overlords.
• 1595 : Four Dutch ships under the command of Cornelius de Houtman reach Java by way of the Cape of Good Hope. The Dutch begin exploration of the East Indies.
• 1596: Francis Drake died of dysentery off the coast of Panama. Two more Spanish Armadas, in 1596 and 97, are wrecked before they can threaten England.
• 1597: In June, Barents dies of scurvy on Novaya Zemlya after surviving the winter there. Heemskerck manages to sail the ship back to port.
• 1597: Dutch merchant Cornelius Houtman's returned froma  disastrous voyage to the East Indies, yet the surviving ships returned loaded with valuable spices and a treaty with a sultan in Java. 
• 1598 : Don Juan de Onate claims all of New Mexico for Spain.
• 1598: Financial pressures caused Philip of Spain to secede the southern Netherlands to Archduke Albert of Austria.
• 1598: Philip III took the throne of Spain as the nation's power and wealth were in decline.
• 1598: Fedor ascends to the Muscovy throne, beginning the 15 years of the "Time of Troubles," a series of internecine fights and short-lived monarchs, that would end in 1613 when Michael Romanov claimed the throne.
• 1598: Dutch traders visited what they called "New Netherland, between the English colony of Virginia and New England, roughly  from the South (Delaware) river, lying in 34-1/2 degrees to Cape Malabar, in the latitude of 41-1/2 degrees. Members of the Greenland Company made visits, but did not establish any fixed settlements, only shelters for the winter and two forts against the attacks of the Indians.
• 1598-1600 : Richard Hakluyt published his 12-volume series on the explorations of English seafarers, The Principal Navigations . It includes accounts of the voyages of Frobisher, Davis and Willoughby. Hudson most likely read it and was influenced by the stories.
• 1600-02 : English East India Company formed, with more than 200 subscribers (investors) raising almost 70,000 pds. The EEIC was given a monopoly on all English trade east of the Cape of Good Hope. It made at least 100 per cent profit on each of its first 12 voyages. It grew wealthy and strong as it fought the Dutch in eastern waters. The EEIC held their trade monopoly for many years and was virtually the sovereign British power in India for more than 250 years.  The success of the EEIC worried the merchants of Amsterdam so much they clamored for a similar Dutch organization. In 1600, the States General of the United Netherlands agreed the future of the Dutch in the East should be protected by the establishment of a company along the English plan. So in 1602, the Dutch East India Company was chartered, with almost absolute powers of sovereignty and a monopoly of trade for the next 21 years.
• 1601: The East India Company sent a convoy under Sir James Lancaster to Sumatra in 1601 under James Lancaster. By the time the ships returned in 1603, the plague in London had killed 38,000 and Elizabeth was dead (not of the plague). Spain sent 4,000 troops to Ireland to help the Irish rebellion against the English, but they were defeated in the Battle of Kinsale.
• 1602 : Captain George Weymouth (Waymouth) leaves England in Discovery (to be under Hudson's command in 1610) for the New World, to look for a northwestern route to the Orient. He sailed 100 leagues into the Furious Overfall (Hudson's Strait) before ice pushed him back. His journal of the voyage was not published until 1625, although Hudson may have known of his exploits and read his logs before he left for his own voyage to that area.
• 1602 : Another explorer, Bartholomew Gosnold, left England, on March 26, with a crew of 32, to explore the New World. He named Cape Cod. His journals and logs were also available to Hudson.
• 1602: The Dutch founded the city of Batavia in Java, reviving the ancient name of Holland in the tropics. The site they chose for their city was a swamp. Batavia became the head-quarters of the Dutch East India Company and the headquarters of the Dutch colonial empire. In 1603, the Dutch blockaded, but never captured, the city of Goa, then a Portuguese trading port.
• 1603 : Elizabeth I died. James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth, becoming James I of England. England's war with Spain ended and England turned its energies to more exploration and trade.
• 1604 : John Davis was killed by pirates off the coast of Sumatra. British soldiers leave the Netherlands. A second East India Company expedition under Henry Middleton arrived in Java at the end of 1604, and sent back a shipload of pepper. Middleton then proceeded to the Spice Islands and managed to get two ships back to England in 1606. Dr. John Dee Dee petitioned James I for protection against the accusation he was a wizard.
• 1605 : John Cunningham, James Hall and John Knight, in three ships, explored the west coast of Greenland for Christian IV, of Denmark. A French trading post was established at Port Royal (Annapolis), Nova Scotia by Samuel de Champlain and the sieur de Poutrincourt. Weymouth explores the New England coast to find a place where English Catholics (unwanted in Protestant England) could found a settlement. Hudson may have used Weymouth's logs of this voyage and charts for his own 1609 voyage.
• 1605: John Davis was killed by Japanese pirates near Singapore.
• 1605: The Dutch East India Company sent out its third fleet to the East. The second of these fleets had established forts and factories in Malabar, and had established friendly relations with the princes of Sumatra. The third captured Amboyna from the Spaniards, and secured the whole town and island for the Company. By 1605, most Portuguese traders were driven from the Spice Islands by the Dutch.
• 1605: Annapolis Royal, in Nova Scotia, became the first permanent English-speaking settlement in North America.
• 1606 : John Knight, in the Hopewell (Hudson's ship on  his first two voyages) , searched for the Northwest Passage along the coast of Labrador. James Hall, with five ships, is sent by Christian IV of Denmark to Greenland to Conduct mineralogical explorations. The first charter is granted to the Virginia Company, named after the 'Virgin Queen' Elizabeth I. Pero Fernandes de Queiros discovers the New Hebrides Islands. Willem Janzoon discovers Australia. Luis Van Torres explores the coastline of New Guinea. Francis Bacon was appointed Solicitor-General by James I.
• 1607: On May 13, 104 male settlers arrived at James City to found the second permanent English settlement in the New World. The EEIC  established a trading post at Surat, on the west coast of India.

Legends of America

Traveling through american history, destinations & legends since 2003., henry hudson – northeast explorer.

Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century. He is best known for exploring present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.

Hudson’s date of birth and the details of his early life are undocumented. Some sources have identified Henry Hudson as having been born in about 1565, but others date his birth to around 1570. Hudson is thought to have spent many years at sea, beginning as a cabin boy and gradually working his way up to the ship’s captain. Hudson was a headstrong but courageous commander. Though he often mismanaged his crews by playing favorites or letting morale suffer, he was a competent navigator. Records indicate that he was married and had three sons.

In 1607 and 1608, Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a rumored Northeast Passage to Cathay (present-day China) via a route above the Arctic Circle. In 1609, he landed in North America and explored the region around the modern New York City metropolitan area, looking for a Northwest Passage to Asia on behalf of the Dutch East India Company.

It was on this voyage on his ship, the  Half Moon , that Hudson, by chance, sailed up the Hudson River, which was later named for him. Strong headwinds and storms forced them to abandon the northeast voyage they had been assigned.

After 150 miles, the  Half Moon did not reach the Pacific, but it did reach what would later become Albany, New York . Rather than return to Holland with nothing to report, the crew voted to look for the Northwest Passage, a legendary waterway that would carry a ship from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. They passed by the island we know today as Manhattan, laying the foundation for Dutch colonization of the region.

In 1610, Hudson returned to America, this time in the service of the English. In early August, he entered the vast body of water now known as Hudson Bay. On November 1, 1610, the Discovery sailed close to shore James Bay, off the coast of Northern Quebec, but by November 10, they were frozen in. The winter was brutal. With supplies running low, Hudson began to ration the food, which, over time, created resentment and division among the crew. Many were sick and suffering from scurvy.

On June 22, 1611, Hudson wanted to press on to the west. However, most of the ship’s crew wanted to return to England and mutinied.

Henry Hudson and some crew members set adrift after the mutiny

The mutineers seized Hudson, his son, and seven other crew members, setting them adrift in a small boat. The Hudsons and their companions were never seen again.

The Discovery returned to England, where the crew went on trial for Hudson’s murder later that year. According to court documents, the remaining crew admitted to cutting the captain and his loyal crew loose. In the end, no one was charged.

The Hudson River, once known to the Mohican Indians as Muhheakunnuk, which meant “Great Waters Constantly in Motion,” was the site of critical battles in the American Revolution .

Today, the Hudson River is one of the nation’s most important waterways. Oceangoing ships can navigate the river to Albany year-round. Pleasure boats, tugboats, and barge traffic can reach the Great Lakes from May to November. Cargoes such as wood pulp, steel, cocoa beans, grain, and scrap metal rely on the Hudson for deliveries. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point overlooks the Hudson River.

Hudson Stone, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada

Did Henry Hudson Survive the Mutiny?

According to some theories, yes, he did.

In 1959, a road crew working on Highway 11 in the Upper Ottawa Valley of Ontario, Canada, uncovered a stone boulder with a cryptic inscription: “HH 1612 CAPTIVE.”

Could Hudson and his crew have made the journey? Hudson was an experienced and determined sailor and navigator and would have had no trouble getting the lifeboat to shore. One local legend states that Hudson, his son, and the seven crew members loyal to him made it to shore and joined a group of area natives where they lived out the rest of their lives. Another version of the tale states that the men were kidnapped by the Indians and eventually killed.

To date, no forensic studies have been done to verify the artifact.

Today, the stone sits in Tenna-Brise Park in the village of Chalk River, Ontario.

©  Kathy Alexander / Legends of America , updated January 2024.

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Henry Hudson | 10 Facts On The Famous English Explorer

Henry Hudson was an English explorer who was one of the most influential and renowned figures of the Age of Discovery , a term used to refer to extensive European overseas exploration from the end of the 15th century to the 18th century. Hudson undertook four voyages in early 16th century to find a short northerly passage to Asia. Though he never reached his intended destination, he became the first European to explore the Arctic Ocean ; and discovered the Hudson Strait and the Hudson Bay in North America. Hudson was a skilled navigator who successfully traversed the treacherous waters of the North Atlantic, rarely losing a crew member. Apart from providing valuable information to future explorers, his discoveries formed the basis for Dutch colonization of the Hudson River and for English claims to much of Canada . Henry Hudson was marooned in the Hudson Bay after his crew mutinied during his fourth voyage and he was never seen again. Know more about the family, life, voyages, discoveries and accomplishments of Henry Hudson through these 10 interesting facts.

#1 LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EARLY LIFE OF HENRY HUDSON

The exact year and place of birth of Henry Hudson is not known . He was probably born in 1565 or 1570 somewhere in England , probably Greater London . Henry Hudson is thought to have been a son of a sea merchant . He is considered to have spent many years at sea in his early life, beginning as a cabin boy and gradually working his way up to ship’s captain. He might have worked under the renowned navigator Captain John Davis and acquired his knowledge of northern regions as well as his sailing and navigational skills from Davis. Henry Hudson married a woman named Katherine , probably in the 1590s. He had three sons with her: Oliver, Richard and John .

#2 HE MADE FOUR ATTEMPTS TO FIND A NORTHERLY PASSAGE TO ASIA

In late 16th and early 17th centuries, European businesses were looking for a navigable route to Asia over the north pole . Cartographers, or map makers, of the time thought that sun melted the ice at the pole during the summer, which meant that there would be a navigable shorter north-east or north-west sea route from Europe to Asia. The voyages of Henry Hudson aimed to find an ice-free passage past the North Pole that would provide a shorter route to the rich markets and resources of Asia.

#3 NO EUROPEAN HAD NAVIGATED SO FAR NORTH AS HUDSON DID IN 1607

In 1607 , the Muscovy Company , an English trading company, hired Henry Hudson to find a passage by the North Pole to Asia. On May 1 , Hudson set sail from Gravesend on the ship Hopewell along with a crew of 11 people including his 14-year-old son John . They reached the east coast of Greenland on June 14. They then sailed north-east along the coast of Greenland and reached Spitsbergen archipelago in northern Norway , just 700 miles from the North Pole. The polar ice pack blocked their way at latitude 80° 23′ N or 79° 23′ N. No European had ever reached so far north . As ice blocked his way, Hudson was forced to turn back and he returned to Tilbury Hope, England on September 15 .

#4 HE WAS THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO EXPLORE THE ARCTIC OCEAN

In 1608, the Muscovy Company again sent Hudson to find that northerly passage to Asia, this time to the east around northern Russia. Hudson left London on April 22 , 1608 aboard the Hopewell. This time his ship travelled almost 2,500 miles making it to Novaya Zemlya , an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Russia. However, his way was again blocked by ice fields and he was forced to return, arriving at Gravesend , England on August 26 . Though Hudson failed twice to find the fabled northern passage to Asia, he carried out the first European explorations of the Arctic Ocean .

#5 HE MADE HIS THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY

In 1609, the Dutch East India Company in the Netherlands employed Hudson to undertake a third north-east voyage to find that route to Asia. At this point, Hudson had heard of two possible channels to the Pacific across North America, at about latitude 62° N and latitude 40° N. Although his interest in these north-west passages had been aroused, Hudson agreed to return directly to Holland in case the north-east voyage was unsuccessful. He sailed from Holland on the ship Halve Maen (Half Moon) on April 6, 1609. However, when adverse conditions again blocked his route north-east, he ignored his agreement with his employers to return directly and instead changed the ship’s course for North America to seek the north-west passage .

#6 THE HUDSON RIVER IN THE US IS NAMED AFTER HIM

After turning west to seek the north-west passage to the Pacific, the Half Moon landed in Newfoundland, Canada on July 2 . Hudson’s expedition then travelled south along the Atlantic coast and put into the great river discovered by Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524 . They travelled up the river about 150 miles reaching present-day Albany, the capital of New York . From then on, that river came to be known as the Hudson . Thinking that Hudson River wouldn’t lead all the way to the Pacific, Hudson decided to return to Europe landing on Dartmouth, England on 7 November, 1609 . The English authorities seized the ship and forbade Hudson from working with the Dutch again. However, Hudson managed to pass the log to the Dutch ambassador to England, who sent it, along with his report, to Amsterdam. Hudson’s expedition was used by the Dutch to establish claims to the regions he explored . They colonized the region, establishing the colony of New Netherland , including three major fur-trading outposts: New Amsterdam, Wiltwyck, and Fort Orange .

#7 HENRY HUDSON DISCOVERED THE HUDSON STRAIT AND THE HUDSON BAY

In 1610, the Virginia Company and the British East India Company sponsored the fourth and final voyage of Henry Hudson. He set sail from London in the ship Discovery on April 17, 1610 in an attempt to find the north-west passage to Asia. The Discovery sailed across the Atlantic reaching Iceland on 11 May and the south of Greenland on 4 June. It then circled the southern tip of Greenland and on June 25, entered a strait at the northern tip of Labrador which became known as the Hudson Strait . After sailing through the Hudson Strait, Henry Hudson believed he had found the Pacific but in fact he had sailed into a gigantic bay , now known as Hudson Bay . He continued to sail southward along the bay’s eastern coast until he reached its southernmost extremity at James Bay , between northern Ontario and Quebec.

#8 HIS CREW MUTINIED DURING HIS FOURTH VOYAGE AND MAROONED HIM

As Hudson hit a dead end at James Bay, harsh winter conditions set in and supplies ran low. Crewmembers grew restless and hostile; and tensions began to build. It is said that Hudson hoarded rations for his favourites further increasing resentment among the crew. As the expedition began heading back to England, the crew of Discovery mutinied . The mutineers seized Hudson, his son John, and 7 others and cast them adrift in Hudson Bay in a small open boat on June 22, 1611 . No more was ever heard of Henry Hudson again. Only 8 of the 13 mutinous crewmen survived the return voyage to Europe with the others being killed in a fight with Eskimos. Some of those who returned were put on trial but were acquitted . The narrative of the mutiny was told by ship’s navigator Abacuk Pricket . He alleged that the mutiny was led by Henry Greene and Robert Juet . However his version is doubted by many as the two men didn’t survive the return journey and it would be in the interest of the survivors to put the blame on men who were not alive to defend themselves .

#9 HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST SKILLED NAVIGATORS OF THE TIME

Henry Hudson commanded four voyages that never reached their destination . However he is still one of the world’s most famous explorers . Travelling by sea was extremely dangerous in the early modern era and Hudson twice sailed into the treacherous waters of the North Atlantic laden with dangerous icebergs. This is considerable evidence of his expertise as a navigator . On top of that, he didn’t lose a single member of his crew during these expeditions except a man killed by Native Americans. Thus, if keeping a crew alive is a measure of a captain’s ability, then Hudson had an exemplary record. He also wrote detailed accounts of the dangers posed by icebergs, the location of marine resources such as whales and seals, and expert advice about what it would take to survive in northern waters. These proved to be very beneficial to future explorers . However, Hudson was also said to be headstrong and to have played favourites which might have affected the morale of his crew and probably caused the mutiny which led to his ultimate demise.

#10 NUMEROUS PLACES IN NORTH AMERICA ARE NAMED AFTER HIM

The discoveries of Henry Hudson formed the basis for the Dutch colonization of the Hudson River and for English claims to much of Canada . The Hudson’s Bay Company of England controlled fur trade through much of North America due to his discovery of the region. It became so powerful that it influenced the history of the area. Also, Henry Hudson contributed significantly to geographical knowledge. Three of the most noteworthy bodies of water in North America, the Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay, are named after him. Apart from these other places named after him include Hudson County in New Jersey, the Henry Hudson Bridge and the Henry Hudson Parkway in New York City, and the town of Hudson in the state of New York.

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Hudson's voyages.

• ... members of Henry Hudson's expedition were the first Europeans to reach the famous Manhattan Island, September 12 th , 1609? They met the friendly Indian tribes Algonquin and Lenape.
• ..., thanks to the mapping and information provided by the English captain in the service of the Dutch, Henry Hudson, Spitsbergen became an important area for fishing and whaling?
• ... of the crew that mutinied and set Hudson, his son John and seven other loyal men adrift, only eight returned to England?
• ... the only records of his expeditions survived thanks to the first mate, Robert Juet, who kept the ship's log?
• ... Hudson discovered the mouth of the river that is named after him, up which he sailed for 200 kilometers and thought he was sailing to the Pacific Ocean?
• ... Hudson also discovered the island of Jan Mayen?
• ... the mutineers, after returning to England, became valuable sources of information for subsequent expeditions?
• Henry Hudson's four expeditions took place between 1607 and 1611.
• Hudson reached as far north as 1,000 kilometers from the north pole.
• Hudson's final expedition lasted from April, 1610 to June of 1611, when his mutinous crew set him adrift in a small boat.
• Only eight of the mutineers made it back to England. They were put on trial, but not convicted.

In 1610, in the service of the British East India Company on the ship Discovery, Hudson set out on the fourth of his attempts to find the Northwest Passage, this time further to the north. He sailed from the southern tip of Greenland to Labrador, and then turned north. He encountered a wide channel and assumed that this was a way to China. From that day, the bay has been called Hudson's Bay. He sailed into the bay, which he assumed to be part of the Pacific Ocean, then travelled further south, into what is known today as James' Bay. On its shore, at 53° northern latitude, Hudson was forced to spend the winter. In June of 1611, he set out to continue the expedition. Several days after leaving the bay, his crew mutinied. They had had enough exploring and wanted to go home. The captain refused to consider their demands. When the crew was unable to persuade him, they set him, his son John and seven crew members loyal to Hudson adrift in a small boat and left them to their fate in a stormy and freezing sea, with no prospects of rescue. Nothing further is known of their fate. Locating the Northwest Passage eluded Henry Hudson, but his enthusiastic description of the area near the mouth of the Hudson River led to Dutch colonization of the area, and to the founding of New Amsterdam, later New York. At the time of these discoveries, he was in the service of the Dutch.

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Alerts in effect, celebrate the 400th anniversary of henry hudson's voyage.

Contact: Brian Feeney , 718-354-4606

This September marks the 400th anniversary of the European discovery of New York Harbor by Henry Hudson. His discovery and exploration of the Hudson River marked the beginning of New York City as one of the nation’s most important centers for transportation and commerce.

To celebrate this anniversary the Gateway National Recreation Area will offer several programs at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, the second highest point in New York City and the place that offers the most commanding view of New York Harbor and the Hudson River.

All programs are open to the public and free of charge.

For additional information and directions call 718-354-4500 or visit www.nps.gov/gate.

New York Harbor as Henry Hudson Saw It

Thursday, September 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Fort Wadsworth Visitor Center

Dr. Erik Sanderson will present an illustrated lecture: "Can you imagine Staten Island and New York Harbor as Henry Hudson saw it 400 years ago?" Dr. Sanderson, a member of the Wildlife Conservation Society's "Mannahatta Project," has been working for nearly a decade to re-discover the original ecology of the New York City region. Learn about the fish, birds, ecosystems and resident Native Americans who were present 400 years ago – the unwritten, green history of New York. Sanderson will also sign copies of his recent book: "Mannahatta: The Natural History of New York. "

First Nations, Last Elephants: The Archaic History of Staten Island

Friday, September 4 at 7:15 p.m.

Historian and Department of Environmental Conservation anthropologist Tom Lake will present a thirty minute illustrated lecture, plus a walking tour of the Fort Wadsworth Overlook to view the harbor at sunset. Lake has been observing the Hudson River for decades and is the editor of the Hudson River Almanac.

When Henry Met the Munsee

Saturday, September 5 at 10 a.m.

Historian Tom Lake will present a sixty minute illustrated lecture, When Henry Met the Munsee, followed by an "Antiques Road Show" style identification of artifacts. Visitors are urged to bring items for identification such as fossils, stone projectile points and anything of an archaeological nature.

A Guided Nature Walk of Fort Wadsworth

Saturday, September 5 at 1 p.m.

Walk begins at the Visitor Center

Join naturalist Dave Taft on a guided nature walk of Fort Wadsworth to discover the plants, birds and wildlife of the area. Wear appropriate clothing and shoes. Event may be cancelled due to inclement weather. Call 718-354-4500 to confirm after 10 a.m.

Kayak Staten Island: The Hudson from Henry’s Vantage Point

Saturday, September 5 at 3 p.m.

Meet at Sandy Beach, Fort Wadsworth

Join Staten Island Kayak for a free, introductory kayak experience. Kayaks and life vests will be provided. Park at the Fort Wadsworth ball field lot and follow signs to Sandy Beach. Wear appropriate clothing and beach/water shoes. Event may be cancelled due to inclement weather. Call 718-354-4500 to confirm after 10 a.m.

Staten Island OutLOUD: Readings from the Half Moon

Sunday, September 20 at 3 p.m.

Fort Wadsworth Overlook

Staten Island OutLOUD will present readings that will include excerpts from the journal of one of the crew of Henry Hudson’s ship the Half Moon, plus some material from Hudson's last voyage. This program is great for an intergenerational audience, so bring the kids. Seating is not provided so bring a lawn or folding chair. In case of inclement weather the event will be held indoors.

Last updated: February 26, 2015

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Finding North-West Passage, The Last Voyage Of Henry Hudson

It has been 400 years since English explorer Henry Hudson mapped the northeast coast of North America, contributing significantly to our understanding of the northeastern waterways geography.   In his honor, several bodies of water that he navigated now bear his name: Hudson Bay, the Hudson River, and Hudson Strait, yet what happened to the famed explorer remains a mystery.

Not much is known about Henry Hudson’s early life prior to his first significant voyage in 1607. Most historians believe he was born around 1565 in England, and lived for some time in London. Most scholars also believe that Hudson’s grandfather was one of the founders of the Muscovy Company. This was a very important trading company of this time, and would be the reason Hudson would go on his voyages. It is very likely that Henry worked on ships from a young age, probably as a cabin boy. He would have learned how to cook, handle sails, care for a ship, and keep a ship’s log. He would also have learned navigational skills as well. It is not exactly known when, but at some point, Hudson married a woman named Katherine and they had three sons – Oliver, John, and Richard.

Henry Hudson made four voyages in search of a water route to the Far East. His first two voyages were through Arctic waters and proved to be unsuccessful due to ice. His third and fourth voyages were to North America; his discoveries influenced other explorers and laid the foundation for future colonization and trading.

First Three Voyages

In 1607, a time when countries and companies competed with each other to find the best ways to reach important trade destinations, especially Asia and India, the Muscovy Company, entrusted Hudson to find a northern route to Asia. They provided a ship called the Hopewell for the expedition Hudson brought his son John with him on this trip, as well as Robert Juet. Juet went on several of Hudson’s voyages and recorded these trips in his journals.

Despite a spring departure, Hudson found himself and his crew battling icy conditions. They had a chance to explore some of the islands near Greenland before turning back. But the trip was not a total loss, as Hudson reported numerous whales in the region, which opened up a new hunting territory.

The following year, Hudson once again set sail in search of the fabled Northeast Passage. The route he sought proved elusive, however. Hudson made it to Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Russia. But he could not travel further, blocked by thick ice. Hudson returned to England without achieving his goal.

In 1609, Hudson joined the Dutch East India Company as a commander. He took charge of the Half Moon with the objective of discovering a northern route to Asia by heading north of Russia. Again, ice put an end to his travels, but this time he did not head for home. Hudson decided to sail west to seek western passage to the Orient. According to some historians, he had heard of a way to the Pacific Ocean from North America from English explorer John Smith.

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Hudson and his crew reached land that July, coming ashore at what is now Nova Scotia. They encountered some of the local Native Americans there and were able to make some trades with them. Traveling down the North American coast, Hudson went as far south as the Chesapeake Bay. He then turned around and decided to explore New York Harbor, an area first thought to have been discovered by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. Around this time, Hudson and his crew clashed with some local Native Americans. A crew member named John Colman died after being shot in the neck with an arrow and two others on board were injured.

After burying Colman, Hudson and his crew traveled up the river that would later carry his name. He explored the Hudson River up as far as what later became Albany. Along the way, Hudson noticed that the lush lands that lined the river contained abundant wildlife. He and his crew also met with some of the Native Americans living on the river’s banks.  Hudson understood what it took to complete a journey.   The single most expensive item on a voyage of exploration was the ship itself, and every vessel that Hudson commanded returned safely.

On the way back to the Netherlands, Hudson was stopped in the English port of Dartmouth. The English authorities seized the ship and the Englishmen among the crew. Upset that he had been exploring for another country, the English authorities forbade Hudson from working with the Dutch again. He was, however, undeterred from trying to find the Northwest Passage. This time, Hudson found English investors to fund his next journey, which would prove to be fatal.

Final Journey

Life on the sea during Hudson’s time was primitive, with terrible living conditions. Navigation was hard, with only a compass, an astrolabe, and a quadrant. The astrolabe helped to navigate from the North Star. The quadrant helped to determine latitude. The chronometer had not been invented yet, so an exact longitude is hardly known, and there is only an hourglass to keep time.

For his fourth voyage, Hudson was backed by a wealthy and influential group of men, including the Prince of Wales, and provided with the Discovery. The Discovery left London on 17 April 1610 with a crew of 23, and again included his son John and Robert Juet, made their way across the Atlantic Ocean. Before he had even reached the sea, Hudson brought aboard another man, Henry Greene, to serve as a spy on the crew.

After skirting the southern tip of Greenland, they entered what became known as the Hudson Strait. The exploration then reached another of his namesakes, the Hudson Bay. From Hudson Bay he probed still farther south, into James Bay, in which he sailed back and forth and discovered that he’d come to a dead end.

Hudson and his crew spent the winter in James Bay since they were unable to sail through the icy waters. By June 1611, the Discovery was free of ice and could continue on her journey. But by the end of winter, the crew had only grown more upset with their captain. Many of them felt that their trip was a waste of time. In June 1611, Robert Juet, after being demoted as mate, led a mutiny against Hudson. Hudson, his son, and several sick crew members were sent adrift in a small boat. What became of the castaway men is still unknown today. No one is sure what happened to Henry Hudson, but he was never heard from again. It is likely that he quickly starved to death or froze to death in the harsh cold weather of the north.

On trial for Hudson’s murder later that year, the remaining crew admitted to cutting the captain and a group of individuals still loyal to him loose on a small lifeboat, according to court documents. None of the men was convicted of the murder or even punished for the mutiny, and historians generally believe their claims too but Mancall. Peter C. Mancall, professor of History and Anthropology at University of Southern California, also director of the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute, and author of Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson (2009) believes that some physical evidence points to a more violent end for the captain. Mancall highlighted evidence that was found and documented after the ship docked in London: blood stains, most damningly, along with letters from another sailor mentioning the growing personal rift between captain and crew. A number of Hudson’s possessions were also missing.

While he never found his way to Asia, Hudson is still widely remembered as a determined early explorer. His efforts helped drive European interest in North America. Today his name can be found all around us on waterways, schools, bridges and even towns. His journeys generated invaluable information about the North Atlantic.  Six accounts, including three purportedly written by Hudson, detailed the dangers posed by icebergs, the location of marine resources such as whales and seals, and expert advice about what it would take to survive in northern waters.   His backers saw the merit in making these narratives widely available.  In 1625 the minister Samuel Purchas published them for the general benefit of the English reading public.   

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