BACKGROUND INFO OF HIS VOYAGES

The search for a waterway from Europe to Asia is what caused Henry Hudson to stumble onto the soil of the New World, more specifically New York. He was originally hired by the Muscovey company in 1607, a company which his grandfather founded. The company looked to Hudson to find where they thought China was by sailing East from Europe to the Asian continent. He failed on his first two voyages in 1607 and 1608 traveling to Islands in the Arctic Ocean that were much further north than they the Muscovey company expected him to travel. When Hudson returned home after the second voyage, he broke off his ties with the Muscovey company. Then on March 25, 1609, Hudson was cmmissioned by the Dutch East India Company to find a passageway from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

SPECIFICS OF THE VOYAGE

The boat allotted to Hudson was small. It was named the "Half Moon", or Halve Maen in Dutch, and sailed with a mixed crew of Dutch and English (B1). Hudson was accompanied by his mates Robert Juet, who kept a journal of the trip, and John Coleman who traveled with him on his previous voyages. Not all sources agree, but it is thought that the Half Moon left the coast of Amsterdam on April 6, 1609 and set out for what they thought would be Asia. He was actually supposed to leave no later than March 15, but he and his crew ran into many delays. Hudson traveled toward Nova Scotia, as he did in previous voyages. Around the middle of May, temperatures had dropped dramatically in areas around Nova Scotia. In fear that his mate Juet was going to spark a mutiny, Hudson turned the Half Moon and ventured toward the south where the temperature would be much warmer. Some say that if not for the threats of mutiny, Hudson would not have traveled into the mouth of the New York Harbor(B2). The Half Moon sailed into New York's harbor on September 3, 1609. He sailed up the river about 150 miles and realized around Albany that this was not a passageway to the Orient.


Other Info:

The Half Moon

Map of Hudson's voyage to the New World

Text of Robert Juet's Journal

Resources