Age of Discovery

===Search for a northern route===
[[File:Zentralbibliothek Zürich - Merckliche Beschreibung sampt eygenlicher Abbildung eynes frembden unbekanten Volcks - 000003625.jpg|thumb|Report in German of one of [[Martin Frobisher]]'s Arctic expeditions]]
France, the Netherlands, and England were left without a sea route to Asia, either via Africa or South America. When it became apparent that there was no route through the heart of the Americas, attention turned to the possibility of a passage through northern waters. The desire to establish such a route motivated much of the European exploration of the Arctic coasts of both North America and Russia. In Russia the idea of a possible seaway connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific was first put forward by the diplomat [[Dmitry Gerasimov|Gerasimov]] in 1525, although Russian settlers on the coast of the [[White Sea]], the [[Pomor]]s, had been exploring parts of the route as early as the 11th century.

In 1553, English explorer [[Hugh Willoughby]] with chief pilot [[Richard Chancellor]] were sent out with three vessels in search of a passage by London's [[Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands]]. During the voyage across the [[Barents Sea]], Willoughby thought he saw islands to the north, and islands called [[Willoughby's Land]] were shown on maps published by [[Petrus Plancius|Plancius]] and [[Gerardus Mercator|Mercator]] into the 1640s.<ref>[[#Hacquebord 1995|Hacquebord 1995]],</ref> The vessels were separated by "terrible whirlwinds" in the [[Norwegian Sea]] and Willoughby sailed into a bay near the present border between Finland and Russia. His ships with the frozen crews, including Captain Willoughby and his journal, were found by Russian fishermen a year later. [[Richard Chancellor]] was able to drop anchor in the [[White Sea]] and make his way overland to Moscow and [[Ivan the Terrible]]'s Court, opening trade with Russia and the Company of Merchant Adventurers became the [[Muscovy Company]].

In June 1576, English mariner [[Martin Frobisher]] led an expedition consisting of three ships and 35 men to search for a north-west passage around North America. The voyage was supported by the Muscovy Company, the same merchants that hired Hugh Willoughby to find a north-east passage above Russia. Violent storms sank one ship and forced another to turn back but Frobisher and the remaining ship reached the coast of Labrador in July. A few days later they came upon the mouth of what is now [[Frobisher Bay]]. Frobisher believed it to be the entrance to a north-west passage and named it Frobisher's Strait and claimed [[Baffin Island]] for Queen Elizabeth. After some preliminary exploration, Frobisher returned to England. He commanded two subsequent voyages in 1577 and 1578, but failed to find the hoped-for passage.<ref>{{Cite ODNB |last=McDermott |first=James |title=Frobisher, Sir Martin  |date=28 May 2015 |id=10191}}</ref> Frobisher brought to England his ships laden with ore, but it was found to be worthless and damaged his reputation as an explorer. He remains an important early historical figure in Canada.<ref>[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-martin-frobisher] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522060345/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-martin-frobisher|date=2022-05-22}} "Martin Frobisher", The Canadian Encyclopedia accessed 16 July 2021</ref>

====Barentsz' Arctic exploration====
[[File:1598 map of the Polar Regions by Willem Barentsz.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|1598 map of Arctic exploration by [[Willem Barentsz]] in his third voyage]]

On 5 June 1594, Dutch [[cartographer]] [[Willem Barentsz]] departed from [[Texel]] in a fleet of three ships to enter the [[Kara Sea]], with the hopes of finding the [[Northeast Passage]] above [[Siberia]].<ref>[[#Synge 1912|Synge 1912]], p. 258</ref> At Williams Island the crew encountered a [[polar bear]] for the first time. They managed to bring it on board, but the bear rampaged and was killed. Barentsz reached the west coast of [[Novaya Zemlya]] and followed it northward, before being forced to turn back in the face of large icebergs.

The following year, Prince [[Maurice, Prince of Orange|Maurice of Orange]] named him chief pilot of a new expedition of six ships, loaded with merchant wares that the Dutch hoped to trade with China.<ref>[[#ULT 2009|ULT 2009]], web</ref> The party came across [[Samoyedic peoples|Samoyed]] "wild men" but eventually turned back upon discovering the [[Kara Sea]] frozen. In 1596, the States-General offered a high reward for anybody who ''successfully'' navigated the [[Northeast Passage]]. The Town Council of Amsterdam purchased and outfitted two small ships, captained by [[Jan Rijp]] and [[Jacob van Heemskerk]], to search for the elusive channel, under the command of Barents. They set off on May, and on June discovered [[Bear Island (Norway)|Bear Island]] and [[Spitsbergen]], sighting its northwest coast. They saw a large bay, later called [[Raudfjorden]] and entered [[Magdalenefjorden]], which they named ''Tusk Bay'', sailing into the northern entrance of [[Forlandsundet]], which they called ''Keerwyck'', but were forced to turn back because of a shoal. On 28 June they rounded the northern point of [[Prins Karls Forland]], which they named ''Vogelhoek'', on account of the large number of birds, and sailed south, passing [[Isfjorden (Svalbard)|Isfjorden]] and [[Bellsund]], which were labelled on Barentsz's chart as ''Grooten Inwyck'' and ''Inwyck''.

[[File:Polar bear, Gerrit de Veer (1596).jpg|thumb|left|Crew of Willem Barentsz fighting a [[polar bear]]]]

The ships once again reached Bear Island on 1 July, which led to a disagreement. They parted ways, with Barentsz continuing northeast, while Rijp headed north. Barentsz reached [[Novaya Zemlya]] and, to avoid becoming entrapped in ice, headed for the [[Vaigatch Strait]] but became stuck within the icebergs and floes. Stranded, the 16-man crew was forced to spend the winter on the ice. The crew used lumber from their ship to build a lodge they called ''Het Behouden Huys'' (The Kept House). Dealing with extreme cold, they used the merchant fabrics to make additional blankets and clothing and caught Arctic foxes in primitive traps, as well as polar bears. When June arrived, and the ice had still not loosened its grip on the ship, [[scurvy]]-ridden survivors took two small boats out into the sea. Barentsz died at sea on 20 June 1597, while studying charts. It took seven more weeks for the boats to reach [[Kola (town)|Kola]] where they were rescued by a Russian merchant vessel. Only 12 crewmen remained, reaching Amsterdam in November. Two of Barentsz' crewmembers later published their journals, [[Jan Huyghen van Linschoten]], who had accompanied him on the first two voyages, and [[Gerrit de Veer]] who had acted as the ship's carpenter on the last.

In 1608, [[Henry Hudson]] made a second attempt, trying to go across the top of Russia. He made it to [[Novaya Zemlya]] but was forced to turn back. Between 1609 and 1611, Hudson, after several voyages on behalf of English merchants to explore a prospective Northern Sea Route to India, explored the region around modern New York City while looking for a western route to Asia under the auspices of the [[Dutch East India Company]] (VOC).