Martin Frobisher | Age of Exploration

Martin Frobisher was an English explorer, privateer, and naval officer who led three unsuccessful Arctic voyages in the 1570s in search of the Northwest Passage and gold. Though he failed to achieve these goals, his expeditions marked the first European contact with the Inuit and influenced later English exploration in the New World.

Summary

Martin Frobisher was an English Privateer, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I and one of her “Sea Dogs.” He worked with the Muscovy Company and the Cathay Company for fifteen years, leading expeditions to the New World in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. Although he failed to find the passage, he claimed Greenland for England, and the reports that were compiled provided valuable information for English explorers and others who followed him.

Personal Facts

Born: Martin Frobisher was born in 1539 in Yorkshire, England.
Died: He died in 1594 from a gunshot wound suffered at the Battle of Brest.
Counterparts: Queen Elizabeth I, Richard Hakluyt the Younger, and Francis Drake.
Part Of: Age of Exploration, Settlement of the Americas, England in the New World.
Significance: Martin Frobisher is important to American History for the voyages of discovery he led to the New World in search of the Northwest Passage and gold. His expeditions helped lay the groundwork for future English explorers, including Henry Hudson.

Key Details

Frobisher led three unsuccessful voyages to Greenland and Canada in the 1570s.
His goal was to find gold.
He also hoped to discover a Northwest Passage through North America to China.

Biographical Notes

Early Career

Martin Frobisher grew up in an aristocratic Yorkshire family that told stories of the riches of the Far East
He made two trading expeditions to West Africa before he was 20.
He gained the favor of Queen Elizabeth I for his naval skills and work as a Privateer for the Crown.

Frobisher’s First Voyage (1576)

In 1576, the Muscovy Company and its director, Michael Lok, agreed to support Frobisher’s first expedition.

In June, Frobisher sailed with 35 men in two large ships, the Gabriell and the Michaell, plus one small ship.
Frobisher sailed on the Gabriell.
Queen Elizabeth I waved to the fleet as it departed.
The fleet was near Greenland when it was caught in a storm.
The Michaell and Gabriell were separated, while the smaller ship was lost.
The Michaell returned to England.

Frobisher continued west in the Gabriell, sailing past Greenland, where he discovered Frobisher’s Strait at Canada’s Baffin Island.

He believed Frobisher’s Strait was the Northwest Passage to Asia.
Frobisher explored Baffin Island and had both peaceful and hostile encounters with the Inuit.
He returned to England with a small amount of black ore and an Inuit prisoner, who died soon after.

Frobisher’s Second Voyage (1577)

Interest in finding more ore and the prospect of further exploration led to a second voyage in May 1577. The voyage was sponsored by the Cathay Company, which was founded by Frobisher and Michael Lok.

Frobisher added a third ship, the Ayde, to his fleet.
He sailed with 120 men and orders to return with large amounts of ore.
Upon arrival, the men mined 200 tons of ore, which were sent back to England on the Ayde.
Frobisher looked for men who were believed to have been taken by the Inuit during his First Voyage, but did not find them.
He captured three more Inuits, a man, a woman, and a child, and carried them to Europe.

Frobisher’s Third Voyage (1578)

Before English ore refiners knew the ore from the Second Voyage was of poor quality, Frobisher started his Third Voyage in May 1578. He wanted to mine 2,000 tons of ore and establish a mining colony on Baffin Island.

The expedition had 15 vessels and nearly 400 men.
Frobisher landed on Greenland’s southwest coast and claimed Greenland for Queen Elizabeth, naming it “West England.”

Storms and ice sank one ship and forced another to return to England. Frobisher abandoned plans for a settlement after the setback.

Before leaving, Frobisher’s men built two houses, one stone and one wood, to test the effects of the weather on them.
They also buried supplies and planted crops, intending to return in 1579.
Frobisher still believed the strait he found was the shortcut to Asia.

Return to England

Years of failed attempts to refine the black ore into gold led to a decline in enthusiasm and investment for more voyages and expeditions.

The Cathay Company went bankrupt.
In the early 1600s, George Waymouth and Henry Hudson proved that Frobisher’s Strait led to Canada’s Hudson Bay, not Asia.

Encounters with the Inuit

Frobisher’s three voyages were the first contact between Europeans and native peoples living in the Arctic, such as the Inuit.

Accounts from the English explorers and Inuit folklore indicate there was limited trade during the First Voyage, which involved food and furs.
He searched for five men who were lost and believed to have been taken as prisoners by the Inuit during the First Voyage.

Later encounters between the English and Inuit were mostly brief skirmishes and efforts to obtain or recover hostages.

None of the Inuit taken to England survived for long.
Ethnographic accounts from the voyages revealed a complex Arctic society.
Europeans were surprised to learn that the Inuit used iron weapons and tools.

Frobisher’s Legacy

Although Frobisher failed to find the Northwest Passage, crew members’ detailed reports were later read by Richard Hakluyt the Younger, who reprinted some of them in the late 15th Century.

Some crew members from his voyages returned to England and wrote detailed accounts of their experiences.
The reports described the Inuit, interactions between sailors and locals, and North Atlantic wildlife.
They also documented the harsh Arctic winds and dangerous icebergs.
Richard Hakluyt the Younger read these accounts.
Hakluyt later reprinted some of them in his collections of travel narratives in 1589 and from 1598 to 1600.

Criticism and Inspiration

Though some sponsors accused Martin Frobisher of misusing funds, he was still celebrated as a national hero whose North Atlantic voyages influenced later explorers, including Henry Hudson.

Some of the investors of Frobisher’s voyages accused him of wasting much of the funding.
Despite the criticism, Frobisher was celebrated as a national hero.
His voyage influenced English explorers who followed in his footsteps.

Later Career and Death

Despite his failures regarding the Northwest Passage and establishing a colony in North America, he served in English naval campaigns against Ireland and Spain.

He joined Francis Drake in a profitable privateering expedition in the West Indies.
Frobisher and Drake were members of the Queen’s “Sea Dogs.”
In 1588, Frobisher held the title “Admiral of the Seas,” and Queen Elizabeth I knighted him for his role in helping to defend England against the Spanish Armada.
In 1594, he died from a gunshot wound during the Battle of Brest against Spain.

AP US History Alignment

Martin Frobisher is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:

Terms

The following terms and definitions related to Martin Frobisher are relevant to the study and understanding of his role in American History.

Company of Cathay (1577–1583) — An English joint stock company, led by Martin Frobisher and chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, created to search for the Northwest Passage and mine ore from Baffin Island. Despite three costly voyages, the ore proved worthless, and the company went bankrupt in 1583.

Francis Drake (c. 1540–1596) — An English admiral, explorer, and privateer who became the first man to circumnavigate the globe and survive the journey. Celebrated in England for his raids against Spain and his role in defeating the Spanish Armada, he was reviled in Spain for his acts of piracy.

Elizabeth I (1533–1603) — The daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she was the Queen of England from 1558 to 1603. She established the Protestant Church of England, strengthened the nation’s naval power, supported exploration and trade, and presided over the cultural flourishing of the Elizabethan Era, including the rise of William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. Known as the “Virgin Queen,” she used the possibility of marriage to gain favorable agreements for England, but she never married. Her death ended the Tudor Dynasty, and James VI of Scotland succeeded her.

Greenland — The world’s largest island, Greenland was first settled by the Paleo-Inuit People and later by the Norse. During the Middle Ages, the Norse Colonies grew, but they declined in the 14th Century due to isolation and the lack of trade. European exploration resumed in the late 16th Century when English navigators mapped parts of the island while searching for the Northwest Passage. This contributed to the early exploration of North America and territorial claims of European nations along the Atlantic Coast.

Richard Hakluyt the Younger (c. 1551–1616) — An English clergyman, geographer, and writer who carried on the work of his cousin, Richard Hakluyt the Elder. He continued to collect and publish accounts of voyages and explorations, further promoting English expansion and colonization. Hakluyt the Younger played a crucial role in disseminating knowledge about overseas exploration and encouraging English colonization efforts during the early 17th Century.

Henry Hudson (c. 1565–1611) — Hudson was an early 17th-century English navigator and explorer who sailed for both English and Dutch sponsors in search of a northeast and Northwest Passage to Asia. He explored areas including present-day New York Harbor, the Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay. Although he never found the Northwest Passage, his expeditions laid the foundation for English claims to Canada and the Dutch settlement of New Netherland, which later became New York. His final voyage in 1611 ended in mutiny. His crew abandoned him, and he was never seen again.

Muscovy Company — Also known as the Russian Company, or the Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands. It was an English trading company founded in the 16th Century. It held a monopoly on English trade with Russia and the surrounding regions. The company sought to establish trade routes to Russia and to engage in commerce with the Muscovite tsardom. The Muscovy Company played a crucial role in developing trade between England and Russia, importing goods such as furs, timber, and Russian products. It established important trading posts and helped pave the way for future English-Russian trade relations.

Northwest Passage — A legendary sea route through northern North America. During the Age of Exploration, it was widely believed that a water route existed that connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, allowing Europeans to reach Asia more quickly than traditional overland routes. Explorers sought the passage for more than 200 years, which contributed to the early exploration of North America and territorial claims of European nations along the Atlantic Coast.

Sea Dogs — A group of English Privateers and Pirates who operated during the Elizabethan Era in the late 16th Century. These seafaring adventurers, authorized by the English Crown, carried out raids and attacks against Spanish ships and colonies in the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean. Led by notable figures such as Martin Frobisher, Francis Drake, John Hawkins, and Walter Raleigh, the Sea Dogs played a significant role in challenging Spanish dominance at sea and contributing to England’s rise as a naval power.

Spanish Armada — A fleet of more than 100 ships sent by Philip II of Spain in 1588 to invade England and overthrow Queen Elizabeth I. The Armada entered the English Channel, where it was met by the English Navy, which engaged it in a long-range artillery battle. At the Battle of Gravelines, Francis Drake used English fireships to scatter the Armada’s ships, which were forced to withdraw. Afterward, the Armada sailed into the North Sea toward Ireland, where more ships were lost to harsh weather. The defeat of the Armada allowed France, England, and the Netherlands to increase their efforts to establish a foothold in the New World.

Content for this article has been compiled and edited by American History Central Staff.