In it he said, “There is no land uninhabitable or sea innavigable.” Then he went on to explain his Plan. “Now then, if from Newfoundland the sea be navigable, there is no doubt, but sailing Northward and passing the Pole, descending to the Equinoctical line, we shall arrive at the islands of Cathay, and it should be a much shorter way than any other.”
Over the years Thorne’s theory had been discussed and enhanced by some of the religious thought peculiar to the time. Christians believed that the North Pole was located on an island. Because of its geographic importance, they reasoned, God would make the North Pole’s location a place of great beauty and dignity. To many people it just seemed to make sense that God, in his wisdom, would protect the North Pole from Arctic ice.
The men of the Muscovy Company did not place much belief in such far-fetched tales as God planting a little paradise in the midst of the Arctic waste. However, nobody had ever put Robert Thorne’s seemingly rational theory to the test. Now they wanted to do just that.
If there was indeed an ocean at the top of the world that was ice free during the summer, all that was needed was for someone to find a way through the pack ice that apparently surrounded it. The explorer could then sail past the North Pole on temperate waters, breach the icefields again at a more easterly location, and then continue south to China and Japan. But who was the man to lead such an expedition? That was what the men of the Muscovy Company had gathered to discuss.
Money was of principal importance to these men. They did not want to spend any more than was absolutely necessary. They had already approached King James I for financial support. The king had given their endeavour his royal blessing, but he would not contribute a penny. The Muscovy merchants therefore wanted a competent leader, but one who would not charge too much for his services.
Captain John Smith’s name came up during the meeting. But it was pointed out that the famous adventurer had already been engaged to take colonists to Virginia. Then someone suggested Henry Hudson. According to the minutes of that meeting, one of the Muscovy merchants said of Hudson, “He is an experienced sea pilot, and he has in his possession secret information that will enable him to find the north-east passage.”
That sounded like a good recommendation, but these hard-nosed businessmen wanted solid references. The Muscovy Company sent a deputation to the port city of Bristol to talk to the man who knew more about sea captains and exploration than anyone else in England, Richard Hakluyt.
The scholar who greeted the Muscovy Company delegation in his private study was one of the great Englishmen of his time. He had been Secretary of State for the late Queen Elizabeth I and for her successor King James. He was one of the driving forces behind the colonization of Virginia. He was an ordained priest who had held important positions at Bristol Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. But most importantly for these visitors, Hakluyt was well acquainted with scores of ship’s masters. That this great man had a passion for the sea and for exploration was evident. His study was piled high with books and pamphlets on the subject. Nautical charts covered the tables, hung on the walls, or stood in rolls in a tall vase, like so many walking sticks. Hakluyt’s opinion of Henry Hudson would carry a lot of weight.
The Muscovy men got right to the point. They told Hakluyt about their planned polar expedition and asked if he would recommend Henry Hudson to lead it. Hakluyt replied without hesitation, “Henry Hudson is the most qualified man in England for your venture.”
There was no putting it anymore clearly than that. Then one of the Muscovy Company delegates asked, in an almost conspiratorial tone, “Is it true that Captain Hudson knows of a secret route to Cathay?”
Hakluyt’s only response was a knowing smile. Did Hudson know of a secret route to Cathay, as many people then called China? It was foolish of the man to even ask the question. Nobody gave away important secrets concerning exploration or commerce. Spies were everywhere. Everybody was looking for the advantages to be gained by privileged information. Merchants wanted first crack at profitable sources, markets, and trade routes. Monarchs needed new revenues that would increase their power and prestige. Mariners like Hudson competed for expeditions for which they would be paid, and perhaps even gain glory.
Not long after their interview with Richard Hakluyt, the directors of the Muscovy Company invited Henry Hudson to an interview. His house was not far from their office, so the captain would have walked through the busy, grimy streets of London. Because it was January, the stench of rotting garbage, animal droppings, and human waste would not have been as pungent as it was in the warmer months. Hudson would have worn a hooded woolen cloak to keep out the cold. Beneath that, for this occasion, he would have been dressed like the respectable Elizabethan gentleman he was. Good Queen Bess had been dead not quite four years, but the fashions of her reign were still very much in vogue. Hudson would have worn a pullover shirt with billowy sleeves, under a close-fitting, sleeveless vest called a jerkin, puffy breeches, and silk stockings. Since this was not a strictly formal occasion, he probably did not bother with the wide, frilly Elizabethan collar that required a hundred or so pins to keep in place. Because of the time of year he would have worn long boots, rather than fashionable buckle shoes. Hudson would have carried a stout walking stick; not that he needed one to help him along, but to discourage criminals. The streets of London were crawling with pickpockets, cutpurses, and footpads — the seventeenth century term for a mugger.
Quite likely Hudson already knew why he had been summoned to the Muscovy Company’s office. His friend Richard Hakluyt would undoubtedly have written to him about his meeting with the deputation. Hudson would have been thrilled to be given a chance to look for the Northeast Passage, though he had doubts such a route existed. But this could be an opportunity for him to look for the Northwest Passage. The “secret route to Cathay” that the Muscovy merchant had asked Hakluyt about was, in fact, the Northwest Passage. Hudson did not know exactly where it was, though rumour claimed he did, but he was sure he had a good idea of where to look. Shortly after his interview with the Muscovy merchants, Hudson revealed his thoughts when he wrote to tell Hakluyt he had agreed to command the expedition.
An engraving of Henry Hudson receiving his commission from the Muscovy Company.
I take leave of England in a few months to test the theory that a route to Cathay can be found across the half-frozen seas that cover the roof of the world. I shall come to you at Bristol, and with your permission shall study your charts of that region.
The hopes of my employers are higher than mine that this venture will succeed. I fear the ice may prove too thick. But we shall persevere.
If the route be not found to the north, I know another. Would there were at [my] disposal all that others have gleaned about my Furious Overfall in the western sea. There, I know, lies the sure sea path to the Indies, and he who finds it will be remembered for all time, even as Drake will not be forgot. I pray with all my heart. Be it by northern path or western, I would that my name be carved on the tablets of the sea.
Hudson spent some time in Bristol with Hakluyt, discussing the expedition and studying all the charts and documentation available on the northern seas. Much of what had been written was pure speculation and even outright fantasy. Charts showed islands that did not exist, or failed to show islands that did. Hakluyt showed Hudson a letter in which another would-be geographer, the Reverend Samuel Purchas, commented on how simple it would be to sail over the top of the world to China. “If either by North-east or North-west or North a passage be open, the sight of the globe easily sheweth with how much ease, in how little time and expense the same might be affected….”
When Hudson returned to London he found Katherine in an unhappy mood. She was accustomed to her husband being away from home for long periods of time. That was part of being a mariner’s wife. She had
