Hudson, Henry National Historic Person
Waskaganish (Fort Rupert), Quebec
Portrait of Henry Hudson
© Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, MIKAN no. 4312965 // Library and Archives Canada, MIKAN no. 4312965
Address :
Waskaganish (Fort Rupert), Quebec
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1973-11-15
Life Date:
1570 to 1611
Other Name(s):
-
Hudson, Henry
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
2017-CED-SDC-06
Importance:
Arctic explorer, discovered Hudson Bay, James Bay
Plaque(s)
After serving the Muscovy Company in the seas north of Europe, and the Dutch on the east coast of America, the English navigator Henry Hudson was sent in search of the North West Passage in 1610. Passing through Hudson Strait, he entered the great bay which bears his name and sailed south to the Rupert River, where he wintered. A fine sailor, he was a poor commander, and on 23 June 1611 his crew mutinied and cast him adrift to die. Hudson's discoveries inspired a new wave of exploration by Button, Bylot (one of the mutineers), Baffin, Munk, Fox and James, who charted much of the eastern Arctic in the next twenty years.