Henry Hudson Essay

Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson is considered to be one of the most famous British explorers in the world! He was born in England circa 1565, and never actually found what he was looking for. He spent his entire career searching for different routes to Asia, but he ended up opening the door to even further exploration and settlement of the North American continent.
While many places in the world bear his name, Henry Hudson remains as an elusive figure to us. There is very little information available at all about this famous explorer's life prior to his very first journey as a commander of a ship in 1607. It is believed that he learned about the life of a seafarer firsthand, perhaps from other fishermen or sailors he knew. He must have had a knack

for navigation early on, or at least enough to consider becoming a commander of his very own ship when he was around his late 20s. Prior to 1607, Hudson probably worked aboard other people's ships before being appointed to lead one by himself. Reports also point to that he married a woman named Katherine and they had three sons together.
Hudson made a total of four journeys during his career, at a time when countries and companies battled and competed with each other to find the best ways to reach important trade destinations, especially ways to find Asia and India. In 1607, and English firm called the Muscovy company, entrusted Henry Hudson to find a route going north to get to Asia. Hudson traveled with two of his sons named John and Robert Juet on this trip. Juet went on several of Hudson's voyages by his side as well as recording the trips in several of his journals.
Despite a departure during the Spring season, Hudson found himself and his crew battling quite icy conditions. They had a chance to explore a couple of the islands near Greenland before turning back and going home. But the trip was not a total loss, as Hudson reported numerous whales in the region he found, which opened up a new hunting territory.
After Hudson crossed the Atlantic Ocean, he reached land in July that same year.

They came to shore to what is now Nova Scotia. They encountered some of the local Native Americans and while they were there and were able trade with them. Traveling down the North American coastline, Hudson only went as far south as the modern Chesapeake Bay. He then turned around and wanted to explore the what is now known as New York Harbor. This area was first believed to have been discovered by another man named Giovanni da Verrazzano during the year 1524. Also around this time, Hudson and his crew clashed with some of the Native Americans that were located on the islands. One of their crew members named John Colman brutally died after being shot in the neck with a Native American arrow. Two other members of Hudson's crew were also injured due to the skirmishes with the Native Americans.
As Hudson was making his way back to the Netherlands, he was stopped at an English port called Dartmouth. The English authorities seized Hudson's ship along with all the Englishmen that were among the crew. Upset that Hudson had been exploring for another country, English authorities forbade Hudson from working with the Dutch ever again. He was, however, still extremely determined to try to find the Northwest Passage. This time, Hudson found some English investors to fund his next journey, which would prove to be his

last.
Aboard a ship called the Discovery, Hudson left England in April of 1610. He and his crew, which also included his two sons John and Robert Juet, made their way through the Atlantic Ocean. After sailing closely around the southern tip of Greenland, they entered what is now called the Hudson Strait. The exploration then reached yet another of his namesakes, the Hudson Bay. Traveling south, Hudson wandered into James Bay and discovered that he had come to a screeching dead end. By this time, Hudson was already not having good relations with many in his crew members. They found themselves trapped in the thick ice and low on their supplies. When they were undoubtedly forced to spend the winter there, tensions only grew worse by the day. By the June of 1611, conditions had improved just enough for the ship to set sail once more. Sadly, however, Hudson never made the trip back home. Shortly after their departure, many members of the crew, including his own Juet, took over Hudson's ship and decided to cast him out, along with his other son John, and a few other crew members. Mutineers put Hudson with the others in a small boat and set them adrift in the Hudson Bay to die. It is believed that Hudson and the others died of exposure to the elements a little while later, in or near the Hudson Bay. Some of the mutineers were later put on trial for their actions, but they were acquitted.
https://www.biography.com/people/henry-hudson-9346049