Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson was born in England in the 1570s. His family had a trading company and he worked his way up from cabin boy to captain. He sailed to Russia to trade bolts of wool for spices but only in the warm months. He tried to sail to China four times and failed.

The first trip was for the Muscovy Trading Company on the Hopewell with twelve men. He didn't find China but he found whales and that was economically great for England.This led to a second trip on the Hopewell that was a complete failure.

Henry Hudson was depressed. He thought he'd never sail again. Then the Dutch East India Company hired him to find a route to China. They gave him the Half Moon and he explored the north east coast looking for a river that would cross America.

In 1609 they sailed into New York harbor and met Algonquins that signed about the long, wide river. They sailed up to Albany but had to go back because the Hudson River gets shallow there. They went on land to explore and found especially fertile soil with extraordinary wildlife. They sailed north to continue looking. They found Hudson Strait and Bay. But not China.

Henry Hudson returned to England and put under house arrest for sailing under a Dutch flag. He was released and sailed the Discovery for the East India Company. They sailed to Hudson Bay and tried to exit west to China but got trapped in ice. In the spring the crew mutinied and left him to die.

The end