Henry Hudson's Expeditions
Between 1607 and 1611, the English navigator Henry Hudson undertook four voyages in search of a northern sea passage to Asia — two for the Muscovy Company seeking a Northeast Passage over Russia, and two for the Dutch East India Company and then a consortium of English merchants. On his third voyage (1609), sailing for the Dutch VOC aboard the Halve Maen, Hudson explored the river that now bears his name as far north as present-day Albany, New York, claiming the region for the Netherlands. This voyage provided the legal basis for the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (1625), which became New York. On his fourth voyage (1610–1611), Hudson navigated the Hudson Strait and became the first European to winter in Hudson Bay, which he believed was the Pacific Ocean. His crew mutinied and set Hudson, his son, and seven loyal crew members adrift in the bay in June 1611; they were never seen again. Despite his death, Hudson's voyages mapped critical stretches of North American coast and inspired the English and Dutch colonisation of northeastern North America.
- Year: 1609 CE
- Category: Exploration
