Henry Hudson

Hello! My name is Henry Hudson, and I was an explorer who sailed the cold, icy seas of the north. I was born in England around the year 1565. Ever since I was a boy, I was fascinated by the ocean and the giant ships that sailed on it. I spent my youth learning everything I could about sailing and navigation, dreaming of the day I would command my own ship and explore unknown parts of the world.

My big chance came in 1607 when an English company called the Muscovy Company hired me. They wanted me to find a new, faster way to get to Asia by sailing north, right over the top of the world! On my ship, the Hopewell, my crew and I sailed farther north than most Europeans had ever been. We saw giant walls of ice and strange whales, but the ice always blocked our path. I tried again for the same company in 1608, but once again, the frozen sea forced us to turn back.

Even though I hadn't found the passage, my adventures got people's attention. In 1609, I took a job with the Dutch East India Company. This time, I sailed a ship called the Halve Maen, which means 'Half Moon' in Dutch. After ice blocked me in the north again, I decided to try a different idea. I sailed west, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to North America. There, I found a wide, beautiful river and sailed up it, hoping it would lead to the Pacific Ocean. It didn't, but it was a magnificent discovery. Today, that river is named the Hudson River in my honor.

In 1610, I set off on my last and most famous voyage, sailing for England once more on a ship named the Discovery. This time, I was determined to find a 'Northwest Passage' through North America. We sailed through a long, icy strait and into a gigantic bay. It was so big I thought we had finally reached the Pacific! We spent months exploring it, but as winter came, our ship became trapped in the thick ice. We had to spend the entire cold, dark winter there.

That winter was incredibly hard. By the spring of 1611, food was scarce, and my crew was angry and scared. They rebelled and set me, my son John, and a few loyal men adrift in a small boat in the great bay. I was never seen again. Though my story ended sadly, my voyages were not for nothing. The maps I made and the lands I explored opened up a new part of the world. The Hudson River, the Hudson Strait, and the vast Hudson Bay are all named for me, and my adventures helped shape the future of North America.