Henry Hudson
by Brianna G.
Hudson Gets Hired
Searching the North
Hudson and his crew sailed northeast along the coast of Greenland and reached Spitsbergen. These islands were only 700 miles from the north pole and no explorer had ever dared sail there before. And, because it was so close to the north pole, there was a lot of ice. Unfortunately, because of this ice, Hudson was forced to sail back to England. But, he had found whales where he had sailed, which led to the English and Dutch whaling near Spitsbergen for many years. In 1608 Hudson tried once more to find a northern route to Asia, but once again ice blocked his ship, the Hopewell. Unfortunately, after that voyage, The Muscovy Company lost interest in further exploration and fired Hudson. But, in 1609 The Dutch East India Company hired Hudson to lead an expedition. They gave him his own ship, The Half Moon, and a crew of about 20 men. Hudson again sailed northeast, but because of the cold and bad weather he changed his route to North America. He started sailing down the east coast. Unfortunately, the men were forced to spend the winter in James Bay. There they suffered from cold, hunger, and disease.
Mutinied
But, the crew mutinied and and set Hudson , his son, and seven loyal crewman aboard a small rowboat with no food, water, or blankets. They were never seen from or heard from again. They most likely died from thirst, hunger, and cold.