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 asked by the Dutch East Indies Companies to find a passage to Asia, by sailing North across the Artic north of Russia. Hudson was unable to make the passage, because of the ice that stopped him. Instead, he decided to head westward, to try to find a passage to Asia. Hudson crossed the Atlantic in his ship, the Half Moon and entered both the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. Hudson concluded that these did not lead to the Pacific. He then entered the New York Bay. He sailed up the Hudson, as far as present day Albany, but then he was forced to sail back down the river. Hudson established the Dutch claims to the region. This area would later become New Amsterdam.

In 1610, Hudson received backing from the British East India Company to resume his search for a passage to the Orient. Hudson sailed around the tip of Greenland. On June 25th, Hudson reached the Hudson Strait and sailed into the large body of water known today as Hudson Bay. Hudson and his crew spent the summer exploring the area. By fall the ship became icebound in James Bay. The crew spent the winter ashore. When spring came, Hudson wanted to resume exploring, while his crew wanted to return to England. When Hudson refused, the crew mutinied and placed Hudson, his son and seven loyal crewmembers in a long boat with no food or weapons. Hudson was never heard from again. His crew returned to England, where they were briefly jailed but then released.