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what was the northwest passage and why were the english looking for it

by Aleen Hudson MD Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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In the 1500s and 1600s, explorers looked for a Northwest Passage through North America to Asia. They wanted a fast way to bring back riches from Asia. In 1497, the English king sent John Cabot

John Cabot

John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 discovery of the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest known European exploration of coastal North America since the Norse visits to Vinland in the eleventh century. To mark the celebration of t…

to look for the passage.

In 1609, the merchants of the Dutch East India Company hired English explorer Henry Hudson to find the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Hudson navigated along the North American coast looking for a more southern, ice-free route across the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean.Feb 22, 2018

Full Answer

What is the significance of the Northwest Passage?

See Article History. Northwest Passage, historical sea passage of the North American continent. It represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Archipelago of what became Canada.

Who was the first European to find the Northwest Passage?

Europeans developed interest in the sea passage after the Ottoman Empire monopolized major overland trade routes between Europe and Asia in the fifteenth century. John Cabot, a Venetian navigator living in England, became the first European to explore the Northwest Passage in 1497.

What happened to the ships that explored the Northwest Passage?

The most tragic Northwest Passage expedition may have been that led by English Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin in 1845. Franklin’s expedition set sail with 128 men aboard two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror. The ships vanished.

Did Lewis and Clark find the Northwest Passage in 1805?

Did Lewis and Clark find the Northwest Passage? On November 15, 1805, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Volunteers for Northwestern Discovery reach the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River, one year, six months, and one day after leaving St. Louis, Missouri, in search of the legendary “Northwest Passage” to the sea.

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Why was England looking for a Northwest Passage?

The English and the French were hopeful that they could find a “Northwest Passage,” a water route that would lead them through North America to the Pacific Ocean. Then they could sail to the Spice Islands and grow wealthy.

What is the Northwest Passage and why were they looking for it?

The Northwest Passage – a water route through the islands of northern Canada connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans – a treasure that explorers had sought for centuries. The quest began as a search for a shorter shipping route between Europe and Asia.

What was the idea of the Northwest Passage?

Northwest Passage, historical sea passage of the North American continent. It represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Archipelago of what became Canada.

Why was there a Northwest Passage?

The Northwest Passage (NWP) is a shipping route that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and makes shipping shorter and cheaper for companies travelling from Asia to North America.

Who was looking for the Northwest Passage?

In 1609, the merchants of the Dutch East India Company hired English explorer Henry Hudson to find the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Hudson navigated along the North American coast looking for a more southern, ice-free route across the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean.

What was the Northwest Passage quizlet?

What was the Northwest Passage? It was a way to get from Europe to Asia, traveling through or around North America to the northwest.

What is the northern passage?

The Northwest Passage is a sea corridor connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Canada's Arctic Archipelago islands and along the northern-most coast of North America.

What did explorers expect the Northwest Passage to?

European explorers hoped that the Northwest Passage would provide a new trade route to East Asia.

What is the northern passage?

The Northwest Passage is a sea corridor connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Canada's Arctic Archipelago islands and along the northern-most coast of North America.

What were explorers hoping to find by searching for the Northwest Passage?

For over 400 years explorers risked their lives to search the Arctic for a North-West Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Explorers searching for the Passage were hoping to establish a lucrative trading route between Europe and Asia.

Were Lewis and Clark looking for the Northwest Passage?

Lewis and Clark may not have discovered a direct Northwest Passage, but they did forge a path to the Pacific that would inspire thousands of others to settle in the northwestern United States in the century to follow.

What did explorers expect the Northwest Passage to?

European explorers hoped that the Northwest Passage would provide a new trade route to East Asia.

What is the Northwest Passage?

Northwest Passage, historical sea passage of the North American continent. It represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Archipelago of what became Canada. The Northwest Passage.

Who were the explorers of the Northwest Passage?

It was the Northwest Passage, however, that captured the imagination of many of the world’s famed explorers, including Jacques Cartier, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Martin Frobisher, and Capt. James Cook. All met with failure, and many met with disaster.

Who was the Norwegian explorer who sailed the Northwest Passage?

However, the Northwest Passage was not finally conquered by sea until 1905, when the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen successfully navigated the treacherous middle section of the passage and emerged in the Beaufort Sea.

Who was the first person to cross the Northwest Passage?

One searcher for the lost Franklin expedition, Robert (later Sir Robert) McClure, entered the passage from the west, became locked in the ice for two winters, and then sledged overland to another rescue ship coming from the east, thus completing the first one-way transit of the Northwest Passage in 1854.

Who discovered the Arctic?

Knowledge of an Arctic passage came slowly, over hundreds of years, from information gathered during voyages by such explorers as John Davis, William Baffin, Sir John Ross, Sir William Parry, Frederick William Beechey, and Sir George Back, augmented by overland expeditions by Henry Kelsey, Samuel Hearne, and Sir Alexander Mackenzie.

What was the purpose of the Northwest Passage?

The Northwest Passage represented a new route to the established trading nations of Asia .

Where did the Northwest Passage originate?

Northern Pacific. 1765 globe by Guillaume Delisle, showing a fictional Northwest Passage. Most Northwest Passage expeditions originated in Europe or on the east coast of North America, seeking to traverse the Passage in the westbound direction.

What is the largest cruise ship in the Northwest Passage?

The largest passenger ship to navigate the Northwest Passage was the cruise liner Crystal Serenity of gross tonnage 69,000. Starting on August 10, 2016, the ship sailed from Vancouver to New York City with 1,500 passengers and crew, taking 28 days.

What was the first cargo ship to sail through the Northwest Passage?

The first commercial cargo ship to have sailed through the Northwest Passage was SS Manhattan in August 1969. SS Manhattan , of 115,000 deadweight tonnage, was the largest commercial vessel ever to navigate the Northwest Passage.

What is the NWP?

The Northwest Passage ( NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Siberia is accordingly called the Northeast Passage (NEP).

Why did the Vikings sail north and west?

As a result of their westward explorations and their settlement of Greenland, the Vikings sailed as far north and west as Ellesmere Island, Skraeling Island for hunting expeditions and trading with Inuit groups. The subsequent arrival of the Little Ice Age is thought to have been one of the reasons that European seafaring into the Northwest Passage ceased until the late 15th century.

Where did the freighters leave Baffin Island?

In 2018, two of the freighters leaving Baffinland 's port in the Milne Inlet, on Baffin Island 's north shore, were bound for ports in Asia. Those freighters did not sail west through the remainder of the Northwest Passage, they sailed east, rounded the tip of Greenland, and transitted Russia's Northern Sea Route.

Who discovered the Northwest Passage?

The search for the Northwest Passage may be said to have begun with the European discovery of America, for the voyages of Jacques Cartier and his successors to the St. Lawrence and John Cabot and the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real to Newfoundland and Labrador were all undertaken with the aim of finding the passage. The first such voyage to enter the Arctic, however, was that of the English navigator Martin (later Sir Martin) Frobisher in 1576. Frobisher set out with the Gabriel and Michael and made his North American landfall on the southeast coast of Baffin Island. In the Gabriel Frobisher sailed about 60 miles (100 km) up the long inlet named for him, which he took to be a strait, and brought home a rock sample that was identified wrongly as containing gold. The Northwest Passage was forgotten, and in the next two years Frobisher made two further voyages for the sole purpose of establishing a gold mine. The last voyage was an astonishing enterprise involving 15 ships. The ships, however, were scattered by storms; at least one was sunk; and Frobisher, unable to set up his colony, loaded the remaining ships with ore and returned home, only to find that his cargo was worthless.

When did George Weymouth sail into the Hudson Strait?

In 1602 George Weymouth sailed a short way into Hudson Strait, and in 1610 Henry Hudson, on his last voyage, sailed the Discovery into Hudson Bay and south to James Bay, where he was forced to winter.

What was the name of the ship that Baffin discovered?

With Bylot as master of his ship (Hudson’s old Discovery ), Baffin sailed up the west coast of Greenland to the head of Baffin Bay (latitude 78° N) and down the west side of the bay, discovering the three sounds that lead out of it—Smith, Jones, and Lancaster.

What was the last voyage of John Franklin?

This was the famous and tragic last voyage of Sir John Franklin, who sailed into Lancaster Sound in 1845 in HMS Erebus and Terror and was never seen again. The loss of that expedition produced a reaction of profound shock and resulted in a 12-year search that contributed tremendously to geographic knowledge.

How many winters did Ross spend in the ice?

After three winters trapped in the ice, Ross had to abandon his ship, the Victory, and retreat by sledge and boat, spending a fourth winter on the way before being picked up by a whaler in Lancaster Sound. In the meantime, the British were also attacking the problem from the west by both sea and land.

How many ships were on the last voyage of the explorer?

The last voyage was an astonishing enterprise involving 15 ships. The ships, however, were scattered by storms; at least one was sunk; and Frobisher, unable to set up his colony, loaded the remaining ships with ore and returned home, only to find that his cargo was worthless.

What happened to the ringleaders of the Hudson Strait?

Retribution, however, overtook the ringleaders in Hudson Strait, where they were killed by Inuit (Eskimos).

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Who Discovered the Northwest Passage?

For centuries, many European nations hoped and speculated that a Northwest Passage might exist, since its existence would have been highly advantageous for European economies.

John Cabot, 1497

As early as the 11th century, Vikings were traveling to North America. Some had contact with Indigenous groups, including the Inuit. However, much of the Vikings' experiences are unrecorded today, so it is unclear if any of them found or attempted to find the Northwest Passage.

Jacques Cartier, 1534-1542

While Cabot sailed for England (despite being Italian), the next major expedition to search for the Northwest Passage was French in origin. Jacques Cartier traveled to North America three times in eight years in an attempt to find a faster shipping route to Asia. He was most likely the first European to explore the St.

Martin Frobisher, 1576-1578

For Europeans in the sixteenth century, the answer to the question ''what does the Northwest Passage mean?'' was ''wealth.'' Explorers believed that they would find a shortcut to gold, spices, and other riches. Returning home after finding the passage would have been seen as an act of heroism.

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Summary

Historical expeditions

As a result of their westward explorations and their settlement of Greenland, the Vikings sailed as far north and west as Ellesmere Island, Skraeling Island for hunting expeditions and trading with Inuit groups. The subsequent arrival of the Little Ice Age is thought to have been one of the reasons that European seafaring into the Northwest Passage ceased until the late 15th century.

Overview

Before the Little Ice Age (late Middle Ages to the 19th century), Norwegian Vikings sailed as far north and west as Ellesmere Island, Skraeling Island and Ruin Island for hunting expeditions and trading with the Inuit and people of the Dorset culture who already inhabited the region. Between the end of the 15th century and the 20th century, colonial powers from Europe dispatched explorers in an attempt t…

Routes

The Northwest Passage has three sections:
• East
• Centre: Canadian Arctic Archipelago
• West: There being no major islands, follow the coast to the Bering Strait.

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Northwestern Passages as follows:
On the West. The Eastern limit of Beaufort Sea from Lands End through the Southwest coast of Prince Patrick Island to Griffiths Point, thence a line to Cape Prince Alfred, the Northwestern extreme of Banks Island, through its West coast to Cape Kellet, the Southwestern point, and then…

International waters dispute

The Canadian government classifies the waters of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, as internal waters of Canada as per the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and by the precedent in the drawing of baselines for other archipelagos, giving Canada the right to bar transit through these waters. Some maritime nations, including the United States and some of the European Union, claim these waters to be an international strait, where foreign vess…

Thinning ice cover and the Northwest Passage

In summer 2000, two Canadian ships took advantage of thinning summer ice cover on the Arctic Ocean to make the crossing. It is thought that climate change is likely to open the passage for increasing periods, making it potentially attractive as a major shipping route. However, the passage through the Arctic Ocean would require significant investment in escort vessels and staging port…

See also

• Arctic Bridge
• Arctic exploration
• Discovery of North-West Passage Act 1744
• List of Arctic expeditions

1.Northwest Passage - HISTORY

Url:https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/northwest-passage

26 hours ago  · In the 1500s and 1600s, explorers looked for a Northwest Passage through North America to Asia. They wanted a fast way to bring back riches from Asia. In 1497, the English king sent John Cabot to look for the passage. Cabot sailed to Canada, but he only found a rich fishing area. Northwest Passage, historical sea passage of the North American continent. It …

2.Northwest Passage | Definition, Explorers, Map, & Facts

Url:https://www.britannica.com/place/Northwest-Passage-trade-route

28 hours ago The search for the Northwest Passage may be said to have begun with the European discovery of America, for the voyages of Jacques Cartier and his successors to the St. Lawrence and John Cabot and the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real to Newfoundland and Labrador were all undertaken with the aim of finding the passage.

3.Northwest Passage - Wikipedia

Url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Passage

18 hours ago  · What was the Northwest Passage and why were the French, Dutch, and English explorers looking for it? - 6820542 patsysnchzow6b66 patsysnchzow6b66 11/06/2017 History Middle School answered • expert verified

4.Arctic - The Northwest Passage | Britannica

Url:https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic/The-Northwest-Passage

35 hours ago What was the Northwest Passage and why were the French, Dutch, and English explorers looking for it? * Your answer 2. The exchange of goods and ideas from both continents was called _____. ... The English and French both needed more land to grow crops and ward off famine. C. At the end of the war, world History.

5.What was the Northwest Passage and why were the …

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24 hours ago  · The Northwest Passage was a sea route through North America to the Pacific Ocean and East Asia beyond first hypothesized by European explorers. There were several expeditions to find this ...

6.. What was the Northwest Passage and why were the …

Url:https://www.jiskha.com/questions/1775974/what-was-the-northwest-passage-and-why-were-the-french-dutch-and-english-explorers

23 hours ago  · See answer (1) Best Answer. Copy. If navigable, the discovery of a Northwest Passage would haveprovided a more direct and efficient trade route to China thanEuropeans possessed at the time. Before...

7.Northwest Passage History & Explorers - Study.com

Url:https://study.com/learn/lesson/northwest-passage-history-explorers.html

4 hours ago  · Why was the northwest passage so important? it was important to find it because English, French and Dutch explorers were looking to get rich dog and cats to

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