Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson (born around 12 September 1565 and died in 1611) was an English Sea Explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. After many voyages under the flag of the English merchants he was sent to explore a Northeast route to India, Hudson explored the region around New York City .He explored the Hudson River the river was discovered by Giovanni da Verrazano an Italian explorer in 1524 and laid the foundation for Dutch colonization of that region.
Hudson was a very experienced sailor, he was funded by the Muscovy trade Company in 1607 to find a quick way from England to the islands of India He failed, he attempted the very same thing in 1608 -- each time stopped by ice glaciers as he attempted to find a fast northeast passage to "the east." In 1609 the Dutch East India Company, which had a control of the market and which wanted to cut down to size the long and expensive voyage around the Cape of Good Hope. They funded Hudson to create a northeast route to India. They provided him with a ship, called the "Half Moon," and a crew of 20 experienced sailors and navigators they were a combination of Dutch and English sailors.
The "Half Moon" sailed out of Amsterdam on April 4 to 6, they had a hard and tiring journey along the coast of Norway, and then they turned west and headed for warmer weather. Hudson had a hard time with the crew, they threatened to mutiny they did not work they did not follow directions, but he convinced them to help seek the alternative route to the spices. The quest for the North-West passage led them to the coast of Maine where members of the crew went to shore and cut down many trees to replace the mast of the ship. They fished and traded with the Native Americans to survive and the ship sailed on south of Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. After Hudson figured out there were no entrances to the passage he was seeking to India, the "Half Moon" sailed north towards the head of the Hudson River in early September.
Hudson named the river the "River of Mountains" although the Native Americans, who had contact with Henry, called the river “The Great river” on October 2, as the "Half Moon" neared Manhattan, some Native Americans became hostile and Hudson ordered guns to be fired at them. Many were killed, and the event was remembered 15 years later when the Dutch came to settle in Manhattan in 1624.The "Half Moon" left the river on October 4, sailed across the Atlantic. Hudson and the English crew members were not allowed to leave England but eventually the "Half Moon" returned to Holland without them.
Next year, Hudson made his final journey. A group of wealthy people from London, who still believed there was a faster route to the east, sent Hudson off as captain of the "Discovery" to find a North-West passage.
He sailed north, via Iceland, into the Hudson Strait and from there into Hudson Bay, which also bears his name. The "Discovery" became trapped by ice in James Bay and was forced to winter over. During that time the crew quarreled and, finally, as the spring thaw began, they mutinied. The ring-leaders, they set Hudson, his son, and some other men adrift in a small open boat and they were never seen again.
The "Half Moon" did not fare much better. A few years later she was wrecked on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean while on a voyage to the Dutch East Indies.
By: Peter
