Horton High School's Canadian
History 12 Web Page and Student
Resource
Chapter Three: The
English Explorations to the New World
Inspired
by the voyages of Columbus and the stories of untold supplies of fish and
timber in the New World, the English monarchy decided to invest in voyages
west.
the first major trip was undertaken
by a Venetian sailor under the English banner, by the name of John Cabot.
Cabot left in 1497 in search of the fabled "Northern Passage" which was
believed to be a much quicker route to the lands of the Far East.
in one small ship and 18 other men,
Cabot sailed, spotting land 52 days later. He believed this to be Asia,
however it was probably either St. Pierre or Miquelon. There he spotted
vast amounts of fish, and on land he found snares and traps, but no people.
He returned home, truly believing and proclaiming himself the one who found
the Northern Passage.
in 1498 Cabot, now called "the Great
Admiral" by the English crown, led a second expedition east, this time
with two large ships, supplies and over 300 men. He ran into icebergs,
thus sailed south. He hit land and made camp. There he met and traded with
Aboriginal peoples, probably along the Labrador coast. He then sailed further
south and it is believed he sailed near St. John’s, Newfoundland and then
further south west to Cape Breton island, although this is questionable.
He returned a failure, as he had hoped to reach Japan.
a series of explorers followed, all
hoping to find the elusive "Northern Passage" and untold riches. In 1577
Sir Francis Drake renewed a rather lacklustre English interest in the New
World. He sailed around the tip of South America into the Pacific and pirated
shiploads of Spanish gold, which in turn had been stolen from the Central
and South American peoples [Incans, Mayans and Aztecs].
in 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, another
of Queen Elizabeth’s gentlemen pirates, laid claim to Newfoundland
for the English thrown.
in 1576, Martin Frobisher went further
north in search of the Northern Passage, and found a large bay, which is
now named after him.
in 1586 John Davis discovered what
is now the Davis Strait, not the Northern Passage.
in 1610, Henry Hudson, an Englishman
working for the Dutch East India Company, sailed North west and was convinced
he found the Northwest Passage. What he found was what is now called the
Hudson Bay. Soon after he came to the sobering realization that this was
not the path to Asia. He made camp along the shore, being short on food
and supplies. Fearing a bitter cold winter and certain death, the crew,
save for Hudson’s son and 8 sailors, mutinied, and set Hudson and the others
adrift in a small boat. They were never found. The returning sailors laid
claim to the Hudson’s Bay for England, an area rich in furs and natural
resources.