Hudson and the Muscovy Company
Henry Hudson was in the employment of the Muscovy Company when England's Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, which caused James VI of Scotland to become James I of England. Hudson's family held shares in the company and Henry had served in its London offices as well as its ships at sea. He had yet to command one of the company's ships, but that time was soon to come.
Hudson had no desire to sail a merchant ship to such locations as Archangel or any of the Mediterranean ports of the Middle East. Still in his mind were the scenes of his youth of ships returning to England loaded with furs, hides, and hemp from far away and, to Henry, mysterious places. Not forgotten were his days of studying Mercator's maps as well as those of other mapmakers. And, finally, the match that lit the fuse to set off his explosive desire to become an explorer was the fact that the elusive "Northwest Passage" had still not been discovered.
Henry Hudson's chance came at last in 1607, when the Muscovy Company decided to explore in an untried direction. It was decided to send a sea venture almost due north, up the eastern side of Greenland.
Hudson Takes Command
By 1607, Henry Hudson was well known as a skillful navigator. Also by that year, Hudson was a married man with a youthful son named John. It was this son who would serve as cabin boy for his father on the voyage that Hudson had been waiting for.
It was in the year of 1607 that Henry Hudson was chosen to head an expedition in search of a passage across the North Pole to China-the elusive Northwest Passage.
The Muscovy Company may not have had much hope of the passage being found since they only supplied Hudson with the tiny ship Hopewell and a crew of ten men, as well as Hudson's son John as cabin boy.
The First Voyage of Henry Hudson continued.
Recommended Reading:
Seeds of Rebellion in America.
During the 1600 and early 1700s, England, Spain and other lesser European countries were warring with each other for control of America. The various colonial settlements saw more and more of their profits demanded by the European government that ruled them to finance these wars.
