Henry Hudson | Biography & Facts - Britannica

The search for the Northeast Passage

In the spring of 1607, sailing for the Muscovy Company, Hudson, his son John, and 10 companions set forth “for to discover a Passage by the North Pole to Japan and China.” Believing that he would find an ice-free sea around the North Pole, Hudson struck out northward. On reaching the edge of the polar ice pack, he followed it east until he reached the Svalbard (Spitsbergen) archipelago. From there he extended explorations made earlier by the 16th-century Dutch navigator Willem Barents, who had also sought a Northeast Passage to Asia.

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On April 22, 1608, the Muscovy Company again sent Hudson to seek a Northeast Passage, this time between Svalbard and the islands of Novaya Zemlya, which lie to the east of the Barents Sea. Finding his way again blocked by ice fields, he returned to England in August.

Shortly after his return, Hudson was lured to Amsterdam to undertake a third northeast voyage under contract to the Dutch East India Company. While there, he heard reports of two possible channels to the Pacific across North America. One of these, said to be in about latitude 62° N, was described in the logbooks of a voyage made in 1602 by an English explorer, Capt. George Weymouth. The other, said to be in the vicinity of about latitude 40° N, was newly reported from Virginia by the English soldier, explorer, and colonist Capt. John Smith. Although his interest in a Northwest Passage had been aroused, Hudson agreed to return directly to Holland if his northeast voyage should prove unsuccessful.

Hudson sailed from Holland in the Half Moon on April 6, 1609. When head winds and storms forced him to abandon his northeast voyage, he ignored his agreement and proposed to the crew that they should instead seek the Northwest Passage. Given their choice between returning home or continuing, the crew elected to follow Smith’s proposed route and seek the Northwest Passage around 40° N. While cruising along the Atlantic seaboard, Hudson put into the majestic river encountered by the Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524, which was thenceforth to be known as the Hudson. After ascending it for about 150 miles (240 km) to the vicinity of what is now Albany, New York, Hudson concluded that the river did not lead to the Pacific. During his survey of the region, Hudson passed within 100 miles (160 km) of a party led by French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who had ventured south from his base at Quebec, but the two groups were not aware of each other.

On his way to Holland, Hudson docked at Dartmouth, England. The English government then ordered him and the English members of his crew to desist from further explorations for other countries. His log and papers were sent to Holland, where his discoveries were soon made known.

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Hudson now made ready a voyage to America to follow up Weymouth’s suggestion. Weymouth had described an inlet (now Hudson Strait) where a “furious overfall” of water rushed out with every ebb tide. This phenomenon suggested that a great body of water lay beyond the strait. Hudson was confident that it was the Pacific Ocean. The British East India Company contributed £300 toward his voyage, and the Muscovy Company presumably furnished a like amount; Hudson’s private sponsors included 5 noblemen and 13 merchants.