Sir Martin Frobisher

1539-1594

English Explorer

Sir Martin Frobisher was one of the first Englishmen to search for the Northwest Passage, and he personally led three expeditions to the Canadian Arctic. He is known as one of Queen Elizabeth I's most aggressive and enterprising seamen, feared by Europeans for his privateering and for his role in the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Martin Frobisher was born into an influential family in England in 1539—his father was the director of the English mint. In his teen years, instead of pursuing higher education, he joined two trading voyages to West Africa. After his adventures in Africa, Frobisher fought in the English army in Ireland and then became a privateer—a pirate commissioned by the Queen to attack enemy ships and then keep part of the proceeds. During his privateer days, he became very interested in the tales of the Northwest Passage, a supposed route far to the north of Canada that would link Europe to Asia.

He discussed this idea with many leading scientists in England at the time. Well known was Sir Humphrey Gilbert's (c. 1539-1583) book, Discourse of a Discoverie for a New Passage to Cataia, a speculative geography suggesting the probability of a passage above North America, mirroring the passage around South America at the Cape of Good Hope. This work intrigued him and he decided to raise an expedition and investigate the hypothesis.

In 1575 Frobisher convinced the shareholders of a Russian company to invest in a voyage to search for the Northwest Passage. Funding procured, the expedition embarked with three ships and 35 crew members. Sailing northwestward, they sighted the coast of Greenland. However, they were caught in a storm off the coast of Greenland, and the ships were separated. One returned to England and another with Frobisher on board was reported missing. He, however, continued to sail westward, sighted Resolution Island, discovered the great inlet on Baffin Bay, and encountered a group of native Inuit people. After collecting ore samples and an Inuit Indian, he returned to England. Most of the samples were considered pyrite or "fool's gold," however, some individuals believed that they indicated deposits of real gold, and he was able to get funding for another expedition. Queen Elizabeth I herself invested money in this company and furnished a ship in hopes of Frobisher finding gold.

In 1577 Frobisher, under his new company name, Cathay, set out with three ships and 120 crew members to travel back to Baffin Bay (now called Frobisher Bay) and look for gold. He loaded approximately 200 tons of ore onto his ships and captured an Inuit man, woman, and child to take back to England. On his return, the ore assay showed the mineral deposits to be worthless, but Frobisher decided to send out an even larger expedition to bring back more extensive samples.

In 1578 Frobisher left England as the head of 15 ships with the mission to mine for ore and look for a Northwest Passage that might lead to the Orient. While sailing south of Baffin Island, they entered what is now known as Hudson Strait. He was convinced this was the passage they had been looking for. However, the massive ice, freezing wind, and erratic currents would not allow the ships to proceed. He returned to Frobisher Bay and built a stone house whose remains were found nearly 300 years later.

After the expedition's return to England, metal workers were unable to refine the ore into gold. Abandoning this venture, Frobisher continued on in the British navy and as a privateer. In 1588 he served as a commander in the battle against the Spanish Armada, during which he was wounded; he eventually died of complications in 1594. Although he did not find the Northwest Passage, he is credited with adding vital information to the geographical understanding of the northern latitudes.

LESLIE HUTCHINSON