Picture of Henry Hudson
 

Henry Hudson

  • Interesting Timeline, Facts and information about Henry Hudson
  • Short Biography about the life of Henry Hudson - Explorer and Navigator
  • Facts, Timeline and History of Henry Hudson
  • Major voyages of discovery and exploration
  • Henry Hudson - Timeline and Biography

Picture of Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson

Biography, Timeline & Facts about the famous explorer, explorations & voyages in the Age of Exploration

Short Biography of the life of Henry Hudson - Explorer and Navigator
The following biography information provides basic facts about the life Henry Hudson:

 
 
 
  • Nationality - English
  • Lifespan - 1565 - 1611
  • Family - Grandson of Henry Hudson, a London alderman, who helped found the Muscovy Trading Company. Henry Hudson had three sons called John, Richard and Oliver
  • Education - Well educated
  • Career - Explorer and Navigator
  • Famous for : Voyages of exploration for the Muscovy Company and the discovery of the  Hudson River. The Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay are all named after Henry Hudson
 
  • Career - Explorer and Navigator
  • Famous for : Voyages of exploration for the Muscovy Company and the discovery of the  Hudson River. The Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay are all named after Henry Hudson

Facts, Timeline & History about the early life of Henry Hudson - Explorer and Navigator

The following are additional facts and a timeline about the early life and history of Henry Hudson:

  • 1565: Henry Hudson was born in London, England
  • Henry Hudson came from a wealthy family. His grandfather, also named Henry Hudson, had been a founding member of the Merchant Adventurers on 18th of December 1551 which later became the Muscovy Trading Company
 
 
  • John Dee was a consultant to the Muscovy Company which was formed by the navigator and explorer Sebastian Cabot together with a number of London merchants. The Muscovy Company was granted a monopoly of Anglo-Russian trade and aimed to search for the Northeast Passage
  • There is little information about the early life of Henry Hudson but he would have been well educated and would have studied cartography, navigation, astronomy, mathematics and seamanship in his early life
  • Henry Hudson would also have accompanied various voyages of exploration and discovery financed by the Muscovy Company
  • Henry Hudson married a girl called Katherine and they had three sons called John, Richard and Oliver
  • The Hudson family lived in London

Facts, Timeline & History about the first voyage of Henry Hudson
The following are additional facts and a timeline about the first voyage commanded by Henry Hudson:

  • 1607: Henry Hudson was selected by the Muscovy Company to command an expedition "to discover a passage by the North Pole to Japan and China."
  • The Muscovy Company financed the expedition and provided a ship called the Hopewell for the expedition
  • The Hopewell was a small, old ship
  • There were only about 20 crew members
  • 1607 May: Henry Hudson set sail in the Hopewell from Gravesend in England
  • 1607 June: Henry Hudson reached Greenland
  • Henry Hudson steered the Hopewell further North and stopped in what would later be called Whale Bay 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle
  • The conditions were terrible and the weather was freezing. They sighted the magnificent whales which inhabited the waters and were later hunted by the whale traders
  • The bad weather conditions prevented further exploration and the Hopewell turned South for the return journey
  • 1607 September: Henry Hudson and the crew of the Hopewell landed at Tilbury in England
  • The reports that Henry Hudson provided resulted in fleets of Whaling ships being sent to the area

Facts, Timeline & History about the second voyage of Henry Hudson
The following are additional facts and a timeline about the second voyage commanded by Henry Hudson:

  • 1608: Henry Hudson was ready to command his second expedition to discover a northeast passage through the Arctic waters north of Russia
  • The Muscovy Company again financed the expedition the Hopewell was again used for the expedition
  • 1608 April: Henry Hudson set sail in the Hopewell from St. Katherine's Docks, on the Thames in London
  • Henry Hudson travelled past Norway and towards Russia
  • Conditions on board and the freezing weather and ice lead to near mutiny by the crew
  • Hudson was forced to sail back to England
  • 1608 August 28: Henry Hudson landed at Gravesend, England
 

Facts, Timeline & History about the third voyage of Henry Hudson
The following are additional facts and a timeline about the third voyage commanded by Henry Hudson:

  • 1608: Henry Hudson was ready to command a third expedition but was unable to find backers due to his failure to find a Northeast passage on his previous voyage
  • Henry Hudson therefore approached the Dutch and was sponsored to make an expedition to once again search for a Northeast passage north of Russia
  • 1609 January 8: Hudson signed a contract with the Dutch United East India Company
  • The contract was very specific as to what was required of Henry Hudson:
 
 
  • "the above named Hudson shall, about the first of April, sail in order to search for a passage by the north, around the north side of Nova Zembla, and shall continue thus along that parallel until he shall be able to sail southward to the latitude of sixty degrees. He shall obtain as much knowledge of the lands as can be done without any considerable loss of time, and if it is possible return immediately in order to make a faithful report and relation of his voyage to the Directors, and to deliver over his journals, log-books, and charts, together with an account of everything whatsoever which shall happen to him during the voyage without keeping anything back."
  • Another old, small ship called  the Half Moon was provided for the expedition - the Dutch United East India Company told Hudson that if he had any complaints they would find another Captain
  • There were only about 20 crew members - a mixture of Dutch and English
  • 1609 April: Henry Hudson set sail in the Half Moon from Holland sailing under the Dutch flag
  • Henry Hudson travelled towards the cold waters of Norway and towards Russia
  • Conditions on board and the freezing weather and ice once again lead to near mutiny by the crew just as in his previous voyage
  • Henry Hudson decided to completely change direction and head West towards warmer waters and the New World.
  • 1609 July:The Half Moon and Henry Hudson passed Newfoundland and Nova Scotia
  • 1609 July 14: Some of the crew land in Maine off Penobscot Bay - they trade with some friendly natives and return to the Half Moon
  • 1609 July 18: Henry Hudson sailed into George's Harbour where the Half Moon dropped anchor and Henry Hudson made his first visit to the New World. His exploration lasted some days. Contact was made with some native Indians who were referred to in the ship's log as 'savages'
  • Henry Hudson passed Jamestown and ventured on to Delaware Bay which proved to be too shallow to explore fully
  • 1609 September 3: Henry Hudson reached the mouth of the Hudson River passing Staten Island and Coney Island and made the decision to explore the river, still hoping to find a passage to the Indies
  • Henry Hudson, sailing under the Dutch flag, claimed the land for Holland
  • Henry Hudson and the crew traded with the natives, who came on board the Half Moon, but there was a skirmish and John Colman was shot in the throat with and arrow and killed
  • 1609 September 11: Henry Hudson sailed on and anchored off Manhattan in New York Bay
  • 1609 September 18: Henry Hudson made contact with some more natives and was invited ashore. Hudson described the discovery as follows: "The land is the finest for cultivation that I ever in my life set foot upon."
  • Hudson anchored near Albany and explored the land further, making more friends with the native Indians
  • Exploration of the river lead to a skirmish with some more hostile native Indians
  • 1609 October 4: Henry Hudson decided that it was time to return home back across the Atlantic Ocean
  • 1609 November 7: Henry Hudson sailed the Half Moon into Dartmouth in England
  • Henry Hudson wrote to the directors of the Dutch United East India Company informing them of his voyage and requesting finance for another voyage
  • The Dutch United East India Company responded by ordering Henry Hudson to return to Amsterdam immediately
  • 1609 December: No doubt news of his voyage of discovery had been spread around Dartmouth. The English merchants and traders obviously wanted a part of the possible wealth to be found in the New World - Henry Hudson was arrested for sailing under the Dutch Flag.
  • Henry Hudson was commanded to appear before King James I of England and was forbidden to continue 'voyaging to the detriment of his country'
  • The Half Moon was returned to Holland with the ship's logs and records of the voyage
  • Henry Hudson never returned to Holland
  • The Dutch United East India Company subsequently sent further ships and settlers to colonise the area surrounding the Hudson river that Henry had discovered
 

Facts, Timeline & History about the fourth voyage of Henry Hudson
The following are additional facts and a timeline about the fourth voyage commanded by Henry Hudson:

  • 1610: Henry Hudson was backed by the Muscovy Company to command an expedition to once again search for a Northwest Passage to the Orient
  • The Muscovy Company financed the expedition and provided a ship called the Discovery for the expedition
  • 1610 April 17: The Discovery left St Katharine's Dock, right in the centre of London, and sailed up the River Thames to start his voyage
  • Henry Hudson sailed passed Scotland, Greenland and Iceland
  • 1610 June: Henry Hudson reached the Hudson Strait - he named the headlands Cape Digges and Cape Wolstenholme for important members of the Muscovy Company
 
 
  • Hudson tried to enter the 'Furious Overfall' - the Hudson Strait but was prevented by massive icebergs
  • Henry Hudson sailed further South to James Bay still looking for a passage to the Pacific
  • The Discovery became frozen in the ice. Hudson and his crew were the first Europeans to winter in the Canadian Arctic
  • It was freezing cold, there was limited food, there were savage native Indians - the crew wanted to return home - but Henry Hudson wanted to continue the voyage of exploration. The terrible conditions led the crew to mutiny
  • 1611 June 22: Henry Hudson was cast adrift in a small boat together with his son John and eight loyal crew members
  • 1611 June 22: Henry Hudson was never heard of again - no one knows how long he and the others survived or what was their cause of death
  • The mutineers headed home but only eight made it back to England
  • 1611 October: The Discovery sailed into London
  • The surviving mutineers were never punished although recommendations were made by the Muscovy Company that they should be hanged
  • No attempt was ever made to search for Henry Hudson
  • The surviving mutineers were never punished
  • 1618: The trial was delayed until 1618 - but the surviving mutineers were found not guilty
  • Two of them, Bylot and Prickett, were employed by the Muscovy Company to make further voyages of exploration...

Facts about the Henry Hudson Ships - the Hopewell, the Half Moon and the Discovery
The names of the Henry Hudson Ships were the Hopewell, the Half Moon and the Discovery. The brave men of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who sailed in uncharted waters to unknown lands were courageous adventurers who were motivated by fame, glory and the wealth. The living conditions on board the small ships were basic and the voyages were dangerous.

  • Various aids to navigation were available during the Renaissance. The Navigational aids that Henry Hudson would have used included:
    • Astrolabes
    • Charts
    • Compasses
    • Cross-staffs
    • Nocturnals
    • Traverse boards
    • Almanacs
  • All of the navigational aids used by Henry Hudson on the Hopewell, the Half Moon and the Discovery were used to measure the angle between objects above the ocean, such as the stars or the sun, with the horizon. This would have enabled Henry Hudson to calculate the ship's position at sea
  • Conditions on the Henry Hudson ships would have been very basic. Food provisions would have included bread, beer, fish and salted meat. The Captain would have had some private stores which might include wine and fresh livestock
  • The Hopewell, the Half Moon and the Discovery were all small ships, about 80 tons, and carried less than twenty crew
  • The overall length of the ships would have been about 80 feet
  • The sail area of the ships would have been about 2500 square feet
  • Neither the Hopewell, the Half Moon or the Discovery were new ships, they were not purpose built for the momentous journeys they were to undertake
 

Famous Explorers - Henry Hudson - Explorer and Navigator
Some interesting facts and biography information about the History, Life & Times of Henry Hudson. Additional details, timelines, facts, history and information about famous European Explorers and events in the great Age of Exploration can be accessed via the Elizabethan Era Sitemap.

Henry Hudson

  • Interesting Facts and information about Henry Hudson
  • Short Biography and Timeline about the life of Henry Hudson
  • Facts, Story and History about Henry Hudson
  • Major voyages of discovery and exploration
  • Famous Explorer - Timeline, Story and Biography
  • Important accomplishments, dates and events in the life and history of Henry Hudson
  • The Hopewell, the Half Moon and the Discovery
  • Famous European Explorers
 
 

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Henry Hudson

 

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