Who was Henry Hudson?
Answer
An English navigator (about 1565 to 1611) who explored Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait in 1610 and 1611 in search of the Northwest Passage; his crew mutinied and set him adrift in James Bay in June 1611.
Explanation
Henry Hudson (about 1565 to about June 22, 1611) was an English navigator who explored what is now Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait in 1610 and 1611 in search of the Northwest Passage to Asia. Hudson's 1610 to 1611 voyage was his fourth and final expedition. His earlier voyages had explored the Arctic for the Muscovy Company (1607 and 1608) and the North American coast for the Dutch East India Company (1609, during which he explored what is now the Hudson River and New York Bay).
Hudson sailed from London on April 17, 1610 in the small ship Discovery with a crew of 22. The expedition was financed by the East India Company and the Muscovy Company. Hudson reached the strait that now bears his name (Hudson Strait, between Baffin Island and northern Quebec) in late June 1610, then entered the great saltwater bay (Hudson Bay) in early August. Hudson explored the bay's southeast corner (now called James Bay), believing he had found the Pacific or a passage to it. The Discovery became iced in at the south end of James Bay in November 1610 and Hudson and his crew wintered there in difficult conditions.
When the ice broke up in June 1611, Hudson wanted to continue exploring the bay rather than return home. His crew, exhausted and short on food, mutinied on June 22, 1611. Led by Robert Juet (Hudson's former first mate, demoted earlier in the voyage) and Henry Greene, the mutineers set Hudson, his teenage son John, and seven loyal crew members adrift in a small shallop in James Bay with no provisions. Hudson and his small party were never seen again. Eight of the 13 mutineers reached England in September 1611.
Hudson's exploration established England's claim to Hudson Bay and ultimately to the vast Hudson Bay drainage basin. The 1670 Royal Charter of the Hudson's Bay Company granted the company a monopoly trading right to all lands draining into Hudson Bay, an area later called Rupert's Land that comprised about 3.9 million square kilometres (about 39 per cent of modern Canada). Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, the Hudson River, and James Bay (named for Captain Thomas James, who sailed the bay in 1631 to 1632) all bear lasting marks of Hudson's exploration. Robert Juet's journal of the expedition is a primary source for the voyage.
Why this matters for your test
Henry Hudson's exploration opened Hudson Bay to European trade and laid the foundation for the Hudson's Bay Company. Recognising the 1610 to 1611 voyage and the June 1611 mutiny gives candidates two specific anchors.
Source: Library and Archives Canada; Dictionary of Canadian Biography
