Henry Hudson was an English explorer, who sailed along the North East coast of North American. His early life is unknown, for there is not even a record of the year he was born. His final days are a mystery, after his mutinous crew set him adrift in the bay that bears his name, June 1611. It is believed that he could have been the grandson of a London alderman who helped found the Muscovy Company, which is a trading company.
Hudson took four voyages beginning in 1607 and continued to1611, making claims for the English and the Dutch.At one point, he was arrested for working with the Dutch, because in those days working for another country was considered treason. Hudson was also known as the grandfather of the English whaling industry, because he discovered pods of whales at Spitzbergen Island. Henry Hudson's first voyage in 1607 was to find a way through the North Pole to Japan and China. A theory of his day was that the temperature got warmer the further north one sailed, because of the continual sunshine.
He thought he would hit open water, because the sun would melt the ice at the poles, he was wrong.However, he did help the English whaling industry, by discovering pods of whales at Spitzbergen Island. His second voyage in 1608, he was looking for a Northeast Passage through the North Pole just north of Russia, again he was unsuccessful. On his third voyage in 1609, he was hired by the Dutch to find the Northeast Passage, but his crew almost mutiny, so he explored the northeast coast of America. This is when he discovered a wide mouth of a river.
This river was eventually name after him. He hoped the river would be a way to the Pacific Ocean. This would later be an important discovery for the Dutch when they settled there.He was the first European to record the discovery of the area today known as New York City. In 1610, Henry Hudson sailed on his fourth and final voyage. He was hired by an English company to seek a Northwest Passage.
This adventure proved to be more dangerous and difficult than his crew could bear. The crew members, who survived the harsh conditions of cold weather, hostile natives, lack of food and illness, decided to mutiny. They put Henry Hudson, his son, and others they didn't like onto a small raft, then set them adrift, never to be seen again.Henry Hudson made several important discoveries.
He founded the Hudson Bay and Hudson River. He found the land that later became New York. He also helped to prove that the sun does not melt the ice at the North Pole and that there is no passage through the Northeast to the Pacific. The countries that sponsored him benefited though his discoveries. The area, today called New York, was settled and colonized by the Dutch. As well as, the English whaling industry, which benefited for his discovery of the whale, pods a Spitzbergen Islands.
Henry Hudson was an adventurous explorer. He started with a sponsorship from his native country England, but when that was not available he worked for the Dutch. Even though he was arrested for treason, because he was working for another country, he came back and was able to get hired by another English company. He was determined to find a quick northern passage to the east for the benefit of the trade industry. He faced many challenges in his travels. In the end, the toughest challenge he was not able to over come was his mutinous crew.
