Henry Hudson. Edward Butts
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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 not objected when Hudson said he would be taking their son John along as ship’s boy. The lad wanted to go to sea, and who better to teach him the mariner’s trade than his own father? What annoyed Katherine was the rather small sum of one hundred pounds that Hudson had agreed to accept for his services. She thought he should have asked for more money. Though Hudson had a verbal agreement with the Muscovy Company, he had not yet signed a contract. Katherine put her foot down and told Hudson that for the sake of his family, he had better demand better payment.
Hudson was embarrassed to haggle over money, but he knew Katherine was right. He was so happy to have this expedition, he’d probably have gone for nothing. But he was also aware that the company was underpaying him for a voyage that would be hazardous, but could ultimately prove very profitable for them. When Hudson demanded more money, the Muscovy men wrung their hands and wailed about piratical sea captains. They finally, reluctantly, agreed to pay Hudson an additional thirty pounds and five shillings.
Hudson would be making his voyage in a Muscovy Company ship called the Hopewell. Like most of the merchant vessels of the time, the Hopewell was a bark; a small, square-rigged ship of about eighty tons with two principal masts and a short foremast. She was made of seasoned oak. The Hopewell had already made two trips to the cold Baltic Sea, and four down the Atlantic coast to Portugal, so she was known to be seaworthy. The steering wheel so often associated with sailing ships had not yet been developed in Hudson’s time. All ships were steered by means of a whipstaff, a bar attached to the tiller.
Though the Hopewell was only three years old, and Hudson had her seams sealed with gum, like all wooden sailing ships she leaked. Hand operated pumps were used to get water out of the hold, but there would always be some bilge water sloshing around in the bottom. Also, like every other ship afloat, the Hopewell had rats. Most ships had a cat aboard not as a pet or a mascot, but to keep the rat population down. To completely clear a ship of rats would have been next to impossible, because every port a ship visited was infested with them. Rats got aboard simply by scurrying along the ropes that secured a ship to a wharf.
Hudson would have personally seen to the provisioning of the ship. Into the hold went the main food supplies: pickled beef and pork, dried beef, dried peas, cheese, hardtack biscuits, and barley meal. Fresh fruit and vegetables like apples, carrots, and onions would be consumed early during the voyage, before they had a chance to spoil. As captain, Hudson would take aboard his own food supplies, which might include such luxuries as butter. They were stored in his private larder and cooked separately from the crew’s meals. The captain also had his own galley, with the stove set in a box of sand to prevent fire. The ship’s casks would be filled with fresh water. There would also be a supply of beer, and the captain