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Less than 50 years after Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean to North America, explorers sought a northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean.
It was thought that such a passage would allow ships to reach Asia, where Europeans believed much-desired spices could be found easily and cheaply. While these explorers never found the passage, they paved the way for the settlers that followed.
Routes of Early Explorers to North America
◀ Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to lay eyes on New York. An Italian sailing on behalf of France, he and his crew passed through a narrow strait to arrive in a large bay. (It is now known as New York Bay.) The year was 1524. On his expedition, Verrazzano wrote descriptions of the area. His descriptions shaped the maps used by those who followed him and inspired their adventures. In this letter to King Francis I of France, Verrazzano describes the Atlantic Coast:
The shore, covered with a fine sand, rises to a height of fifteen feet, and is about fifty paces wide. Beyond, from its height above the sandy shore, the earth stretches away in beautiful plains and great forests. The woods are in some places thick, in others sparse, and the trees are so colorful and beautiful to behold that they are difficult to describe in words. These lands are teeming [swarming] with animals (deer, hare, etc.). There are lakes and ponds and a variety of birds plentiful enough to satisfy any hunter’s fondest dream. The air is pure and wholesome, neither too hot nor too cold.
▲ In April 1534, Frenchman Jacques Cartier sailed to North America on behalf of France. By August, Cartier had reached the entrance to a great river on the coast of North America. Cartier returned to Europe without sailing down the river. The next year, he navigated the river all the way to what is now Montreal, in Canada. What river, you might ask. Indigenous Peoples knew it by several different names. One was “Magtogoek,” or “the walking path.” Another was “Kahnawà’kye,” or “big water current.” Still another was “Micta Sipi,” or “huge river.” Cartier gave the river the name we use today. He called it the St. Lawrence. Why that name? Cartier first came upon the river on the day of the feast of St. Lawrence. He named the river in honor of him.
▲ Sailing for England in April 1610, Henry Hudson and his crew entered what is now Hudson Bay. They spent months looking for a northwest passage. As the waters began to freeze, they realized they were too far from the ocean to reach open waters and sail home. Without enough food, everyone suffered through an extremely cold winter. In the spring of 1611, Hudson wanted to continue the search. But the crew were upset and angry. They thought Hudson was responsible for their suffering. Most of the crew mutinied. (A mutiny is a rebellion against authority.) They put Hudson and a few loyal crew members in a small boat. Then they set the boat adrift. Hudson and the others were never seen again. Here is how one of the mutineers described it:
Wilson the boatswain [sailor] and Henry Greene came to me . . . and told me that they and the rest of their associates would shift the company and turn the master and all the sick men into the shallop [a small boat] and let them shift for themselves. . . . The master came out of his cabin . . . Wilson bound his arms behind him. He asked them what they meant. They told him, he should know when he was in the shallop. . . . Then was the shallop hauled up to the ship’s side and the poor, sick, and lame men were called upon to get them out of their cabins into the shallop.
REFLECTION
Reflect on Henry Hudson’s fate in 1611. Do you think the crew’s actions were justified? What might have been another way to solve the problem?
Samuel de Champlain was a French navigator who made several trips to North America. After exploring the territory around the St. Lawrence River for several years, he founded what is now the city of Quebec, Canada, in 1608. While in Quebec, Champlain learned of a large lake surrounded by mountains. Traveling with a group of Native Americans that next year, Champlain became the first European to see and map the lake. Champlain ignored the various names Native Americans had given the lake. Instead he named it for himself – Lake Champlain. ▶
