Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson
This speculative portrait from Cyclopedia of Universal History is one of several used to represent Henry Hudson.
Born	c. 1565-1570 England
Died	1611 (presumed)
Occupation	English Sea Commander, Author

Henry Hudson, born circa 1565-1570, dead 1611, was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century.

Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northwest Passage to Cathay (today's China) via a route above the Arctic Circle. Hudson explored the region around modern New York metropolitan area while looking for a western route to Asia while in the employment of the Dutch East India Company. He explored the Hudson River (which is named after him), and laid thereby the foundation for Dutch colonization of the region.

Hudson discovered the Hudson Strait and the immense Hudson Bay on his final expedition. While searching for the Northwest Passage, Hudson and his son would eventually lose their lives. In 1611, after wintering on the shore of James Bay, Hudson wanted to press on to the west, but most of his crew mutinied. The mutineers cast Hudson, his son and seven others adrift; the Hudsons, and those cast off at their side, were never seen again.

His name also lives on with the Hudson's Bay Company that explored and worked in the vast Hudson Bay watershed. This large company, and one of the longest lasting, was very successful with fur trading all across North America. Canada acquired a massive portion of land from the purchase of Hudson's Bay Company lands.

Details of Hudson's birth and early life are mostly unknown. Some sources have identified Hudson as having been born in about 1565, but others date his birth to around 1570. Other historians assert even less certainty; Mancall, for instance, states that '[Hudson] was probably born in the 1560s," while Pennington gives no date at all. Hudson is thought to have spent many years at sea, beginning as a cabin boy and gradually working his way up to ship's captain.