Overview
The Northwest Passage was a water route rumored to pass through northern North America, sought by Europeans since the 16th Century. The search for the passage was driven by the desire for faster, cheaper trade with Asia. Explorers from nations such as England, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain repeatedly attempted to find the passage. While some believed they had discovered the passage, expeditions instead expanded knowledge of North America’s waterways, Arctic regions, and Pacific coast, ultimately proving no viable route existed for early ships.
Essential Facts
- Key People: Sebastian Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Martin Frobisher, James Cook, and George Vancouver.
- Part of: Age of Exploration, Settlement of the Americas.
Key Details
- The Northwest Passage was believed to be a water route through northern North America to Asia.
- European merchants were interested in finding the passage because existing overland trade routes to Asia were expensive and dangerous. Sea travel was less expensive and faster, although it was also dangerous.
- The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) divided the New World between Spain and Portugal, giving them control of trade in the Western Hemisphere. Afterward, the Netherlands, France, and England intensified their efforts to find the Northwest Passage to expand their trade with Asia.
- Prominent explorers who led early expeditions to find the passage included Sebastian Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Martin Frobisher, John Davis, and Robert Rogers.
- British and Spanish expeditions continued to seek the passage into the 18th Century.
- Later explorers included Christopher Middleton, William Moor, Juan Pérez, Ignacio de Arteaga, James Cook, and George Vancouver.
- Over time, these expeditions failed to find the passage to the Pacific Ocean.
- In 1851, Robert McClure led an expedition that discovered a water route, but ships were unable to pass through due to the ice.
- In 1854, John Rae found a usable water route.
- From 1903–1906, Roald Amundsen led the first expedition to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage via ship. However, shallow waters in some areas made the route unusable for commercial shipping.
Significance
The Northwest Passage is important to American History because the quest to find it played a crucial role in the Age of Exploration. The search drove centuries of exploration and expanded European’s geographic knowledge of the coasts and waterways of North America.. It also increased competition between European powers, leading to colonization efforts, and revealed the limits of early sea travel and navigation in Arctic conditions. Although the route remained a mystery until the 19th Century, the early expeditions laid the groundwork for future mapping, trade strategies, and territorial claims.
Historical Notes
The Quest for the Northwest Passage
European explorers in the 16th Century sought the Northwest Passage, a legendary northern water route, as a faster, less costly way to reach East Asia’s rich resources. While Portuguese and Dutch sailors had discovered an ocean route to the Far East, it was long and dangerous, and many who attempted to follow it never returned.
- The Northwest Passage became the focus of various expeditions in the 16th Century.
- Europeans before Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage knew the world was round.
- Europeans knew East Asia had abundant, valuable resources.
- Transporting goods from East Asia overland through Asia, the Middle East, and into Europe, usually via Venice, was costly and difficult.
- Portuguese and Dutch sailors to the Spice Islands found an ocean route to the Far East.
- Ocean voyages to the Far East were long and dangerous, and many explorers who attempted these expeditions never returned.
AHC Notes
- Venice — A powerful maritime republic that thrived from the Medieval Era into the Renaissance, Venice dominated trade between the Spice Islands and Europe through its strategic position on the Adriatic Sea. Known for its republican government, grand architecture, and artistic patronage, it served as a leading commercial and cultural center.
- Spice Islands — Also called the Moluccas or Maluku Islands, the Spice Islands are a group of islands between Southeast Asia and New Guinea that produced valuable spices such as cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper, making them a major focus of European exploration, trade, and competition during the Age of Exploration, from the 15th Century to the early 17th Century.
Early European Interest in a Water Route to Asia
In the 16th Century, limited knowledge of lands west of Europe and reports from Columbus and Spanish Conquistadores increased interest in a water route through North America to Asia. The Dutch, French, and English, who were excluded from the Treaty of Tordesillas, sought to find an alternative route. However, these expeditions failed to understand that the size of the globe was much larger than believed.
- Europeans had a fairly accurate understanding of “Old World” geography. However, they had a limited understanding of the Western Hemisphere.
- Despite advances in mathematics and navigation, Europeans failed to accurately calculate the size of the globe.
In the 16th Century, reports of Columbus and accounts of Spanish Conquistadores in the Western Hemisphere created interest in a possible water route through North America to Asia.
- The idea was especially appealing to the Dutch, French, and English, who had been denied rights to territory in the Western Hemisphere by the Treaty of Tordesillas and the orders issued by Pope Alexander VI.
- Sea travel was cheaper and faster than overland travel, and any water route through North America would be valuable.
- Calculations for explorations relied on the mistaken belief that the world was smaller than it is. Europeans miscalculated the estimated length of expeditions because of this error.
AHC Notes
- Inter Caetera — A papal bull issued by Pope Alexander VI on May 4, 1493. It divided the New World between Spain and Portugal along a Line of Demarcation and established the Doctrine of Discovery. Inter Caetera played a significant role in shaping European expansion in the Americas and established legal precedents.
- Line of Demarcation — The Line of Demarcation, also known as the Papal Line of Demarcation, was a boundary established by Pope Alexander VI in his papal bull Inter Caetera (1493). Its purpose was to avoid conflicts between the two Christian powers of Spain and Portugal by defining their spheres of influence in the exploration and colonization of the New World. The line ran from pole to pole, dividing the world into two zones: the eastern zone, granted to Portugal, and the western zone, granted to Spain. Portugal received rights to lands and territories east of the line, including present-day Brazil, while Spain gained rights to territories west of the line, encompassing most of the Americas. Over time, the line was adjusted through various treaties, including the Treaty of Tordesillas, and through negotiations as other European powers entered the exploration and colonization scene.
- Doctrine of Discovery — The Doctrine of Discovery was established by Pope Alexander VI in his papal bull Inter Caetera (1493). It authorized Spain and Portugal to explore and colonize inhabited regions, as long as the people they found were not Christians. The Doctrine declared that Christianity should be shared and spread so that “he health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself.” It established a legal precedent for claiming the lands of non-Christian peoples.
- Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) — An agreement between Spain and Portugal that divided newly discovered lands outside Europe. It shifted the Line of Demarcation established by the papal bull Inter Caetera (1493) to 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. The treaty excluded the Pope from further negotiations and aimed to resolve territorial disputes between the two nations. The Church initially opposed the treaty but approved it in 1506. It remained in effect until Spain and Portugal ended it in 1761.
Failed Attempts to Discover the Northwest Passage
Although Europeans never discovered the Northwest Passage, several explorers believed they had found it when venturing far into rivers or northern waterways. Explorers such as Sebastian Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Martin Frobisher, and John Davis expanded European knowledge of Canada’s coasts and subarctic regions, but ultimately failed to locate a water route to Asia.
- Places like Norumbega and Hochelaga were considered potential stops along the route.
- Sebastian Cabot sought the Northwest Passage and returned to Bristol in 1509, believing he had found it. Cabot likely reached modern-day Hudson Bay, which he thought might be an ocean.
- Jacques Cartier and Martin Frobisher also believed they had found the passage. Their expeditions helped expand European knowledge of modern-day Maritime Provinces and subarctic waterways west of Greenland.
- English sailor John Davis searched for the passage along Greenland’s west coast into Baffin Bay in the mid-1580s. Davis also failed to find the passage.
AHC Notes
- Sebastian Cabot (c. 1474–1557) — The son of John Cabot, he was an explorer, mapmaker, and royal adviser who worked for both Spain and England. Though his only confirmed expedition (1526–1530) failed, he served as Spain’s pilot major, promoted navigation, and organized geographic knowledge. Later, as the Governor of England’s Muscovy Company, he oversaw efforts to find a Northeast Passage, leading to profitable trade with Russia. Despite questionable claims and limited sailing skills, Cabot influenced European exploration and trained a generation of English mariners.
- Jacques Cartier (1491–1557) — Cartier was a French explorer who led three voyages to North America between 1534 and 1541 in search of the Northwest Passage and mineral wealth. He explored parts of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, the St. Lawrence River, Stadacona, and Hochelaga. He encountered indigenous people such as the Micmac and St. Lawrence Iroquois. His expeditions mapped key areas of eastern Canada and supported France’s territorial claims.
- John Davis (c. 1550–1605) — Davis was one of Queen Elizabeth I’s “Sea Dogs” and led various expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage. He also led expeditions to the East Indies and is credited with discovering the Falkland Islands in 1592.
- Martin Frobisher (1539–1594) — An English explorer, privateer, and naval officer who led three Arctic voyages in the 16th Century, seeking the Northwest Passage and gold. Although unsuccessful, his expeditions marked the first recorded European contact with the Inuit and influenced later British exploration efforts. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1588 for his efforts in defending England from the Spanish Armada. He was also one of the Queen’s “Sea Dogs.”
- Hochelaga — A fortified settlement on the site of present-day Montreal, inhabited by the St. Lawrence Iroquois. In 1535, Jacques Cartier became the first European to visit Hochelaga.
- Norumbega — The name used by European explorers for the northeastern portion of North America. It referred to an island along the East Coast explored by Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524. However, subsequent explorations were unable to find it.
Richard Hakluyt the Elder’s Influence on English Exploration
Despite repeated failures, European nations continued seeking the Northwest Passage, with English geographer Richard Hakluyt the Elder promoting exploration in 1585. Hakluyt urged settlement in North America, believing northern sea routes could lead to valuable trade with Asia and bring both honor and profit, an interest that persisted beyond 1607.
- Despite repeated failures, the search for the Northwest Passage continued.
- Richard Hakluyt the Elder promoted exploration in 1585, advising the Crown to send settlers to North America.
- Hakluyt believed there was a “great possibilitie” for further discoveries from the northern part of North America by sea.
- He argued that such discoveries could bring honor and benefit from trade with Japan and Cathay (China).
AHC Notes
- Richard Hakluyt the Elder (c. 1530–1591) — A lawyer, geographer, and economic essayist who helped lay the ideological foundation for English colonization of North America. Working closely with his younger cousin, Richard Hakluyt the Younger, he advocated overseas expansion and influenced England’s exploration policy. His Inducements to the Liking of the Voyage (1585) outlined religious, economic, and political benefits of colonization.
18th-Century Renewed Search for the Northwest Passage
In the 18th Century, interest in the Northwest Passage was renewed through British and Spanish expeditions driven by strategic, scientific, and commercial aims. Explorers such as Christopher Middleton, William Moor, Juan Pérez, Ignacio de Arteaga, James Cook, and George Vancouver expanded knowledge of North America’s northern and Pacific coasts, ultimately proving there was no Pacific entrance to the passage.
- Exploration promoter Arthur Dobbs encouraged new British expeditions.
- Christopher Middleton led a British expedition in 1742 to search Hudson Bay’s western shores.
- William Moor led a similar British expedition in 1747.
- Between 1774 and 1779, Spain launched expeditions due to concerns about Russian expansion in the North Pacific and potential British discoveries.
- Spanish explorers Juan Pérez and Ignacio de Arteaga sailed as far north as Alaska’s Hinchinbrook Island.
British expeditions in the late 18th century sought the passage for scientific, strategic, and commercial reasons. However, these expeditions failed to uncover a viable entrance to the Pacific Ocean via the Northwest Passage.
- Captain James Cook explored the Pacific coast in 1778. Cook sailed through the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean, encountering heavy northern ice.
- Ice made travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic along the top of the continent impractical for early modern ships.
- George Vancouver surveyed the Pacific coast from 1792 to 1794.
AHC Notes
- James Cook (1728–1779) — Cook was a British naval officer and explorer whose three major voyages expanded the British Empire and accurately mapped large areas of the Pacific Ocean. He was the first known person to cross the Antarctic Circle. Cook also charted Australia’s east coast, explored New Zealand, and mapped much of North America’s northwest coast. Cook was killed in Hawaii during his third voyage.
- George Vancouver (1757–1798) — Vancouver was a British naval officer and explorer who mapped America’s Pacific coast from California to Alaska between 1791 and 1794, proving there was no viable Northwest Passage between the oceans and producing charts that guided travel for decades.
AP US History Alignment
The Northwest Passage is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:
Unit 1: 1491–1607
Unit 2: 1607–1754
- 2.2 — European Colonization
