These natives are a very good people; for when they saw that I would not remain, they supposed that I was afraid of their bows; and, taking their arrows, the broke them in pieces and threw them into the fire.

Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northwest Passage to Cathay (today's China) via a route above the Arctic Circle. Hudson is thought[by whom?] to have spent many years at sea beginning as a cabin boy and gradually working his way up to ship's captain. Henry Hudson (born c.

Hudson discovered a strait and immense bay on his final expedition while searching for the Northwest Passage. 1560s/70s) was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. He explored the river which eventually was named for him and laid thereby the foundation for Dutch colonization of the region.