Today I want to find out a little about Sir Martin Frobisher. He was an English sea captain, privateer and explorer who made three dangerous voyages in search of the North-west Passage. However, his expeditions are also remembered for conflict with the Inuit and for bringing more than a thousand tonnes of worthless rock back to England in the belief that it contained gold.
Martin was born sometime around 1535 or 1539 at Altofts in Yorkshire. His father died while Martin was still a child, and in 1549 he was sent to London to live with his relative, Sir John York, a wealthy merchant with connections to the royal court.
Martin’s life at sea began when he joined an English trading expedition to West Africa in 1553. The voyage was disastrous. Disease, drowning and the loss of two ships devastated the expedition, and only a minority of the original 140 men survived. Martin survived and joined another expedition the following year. During this voyage, he volunteered to remain ashore as a hostage while the English negotiated with local traders. However, the English ships departed without him after a Portuguese vessel appeared. Martin was handed over to the Portuguese, imprisoned at Elmina Castle and later taken to Portugal. He eventually returned to England around 1558.
During the following years, Martin became involved in privateering. Privateers were privately owned ships authorised to attack enemy vessels during wartime, although the distinction between privateering and piracy was not always clear. Martin was arrested and imprisoned several times after becoming involved in the capture of ships without proper authority.
His greatest ambition was to discover a North-west Passage through the Arctic that would provide England with a shorter trading route to Asia.
In 1576, Martin finally secured support for an expedition. He left England with three small vessels and approximately 35 men. One ship was lost during a storm, while another turned back, leaving Martin to continue aboard the Gabriel.
After crossing the Atlantic, Martin reached the region now known as Nunavut in northern Canada. He sailed into what is now Frobisher Bay, believing that it might be the entrance to a passage leading towards the Pacific Ocean.
The expedition’s encounters with the local Inuit ended badly. Five English sailors disappeared after going ashore. Martin responded by capturing an Inuit man and taking him back to England, where he died shortly afterwards.
The sailors also collected a piece of dark stone from Baffin Island. Most experts who examined it believed that it was worthless. However, an Italian alchemist claimed that it contained gold, encouraging investors to finance another expedition.
Martin returned to the Arctic in 1577 with three ships, miners and a much larger crew. Instead of concentrating on finding the North-west Passage, the expedition collected approximately 200 tonnes of the supposed gold ore.
During this voyage, Martin’s men forcibly captured three Inuit: a man, a woman and her child. All three died soon after arriving in England. Tudor exploration often involved violence, captivity and the attempted claiming of lands already inhabited by Indigenous communities.
Despite uncertainty about the ore, Martin sailed to Canada for a third time in 1578. This expedition involved 15 ships and more than 400 people. There were even plans to establish an English settlement.
Storms, ice, shipwrecks and disagreements prevented the colony from being successfully established. Nevertheless, the expedition returned to England carrying around 1,350 tonnes of rock.
After years of attempts to extract precious metal, it became clear that the rock contained no valuable gold. Much of it was eventually used in roads and walls. The failed venture financially ruined several investors and damaged Martin’s reputation as an explorer.
However, his naval career continued. He fought alongside Francis Drake during attacks against Spanish possessions and later commanded the Triumph, one of the largest English ships involved in resisting the Spanish Armada in 1588. For his actions during the campaign, Martin was knighted aboard the Ark Royal on the 26th of July 1588.Martin Frobisher: The Tudor Explorer Who Mistook Worthless Rock for Gold
Today I want to find out a little about Sir Martin Frobisher. He was an English sea captain, privateer and explorer who made three dangerous voyages in search of the North-west Passage. However, his expeditions are also remembered for conflict with the Inuit and for bringing more than a thousand tonnes of worthless rock back to England in the belief that it contained gold.
Martin was born sometime around 1535 or 1539 at Altofts in Yorkshire. His father died while Martin was still a child, and in 1549 he was sent to London to live with his relative, Sir John York, a wealthy merchant with connections to the royal court.
Martin’s life at sea began when he joined an English trading expedition to West Africa in 1553. The voyage was disastrous. Disease swept through the crew, two of the expedition’s three ships were lost, and only around 40 of the original 140 men returned to England.
Martin survived and joined another expedition the following year. During this voyage, he volunteered to remain ashore as a hostage while the English negotiated with local traders. However, the English ships departed without him after a Portuguese vessel appeared. Martin was handed over to the Portuguese, imprisoned at Elmina Castle and later taken to Portugal. He eventually returned to England around 1558.
During the following years, Martin became involved in privateering. Privateers were privately owned ships authorised to attack enemy vessels during wartime, although the distinction between privateering and piracy was not always clear. Martin was arrested and imprisoned several times after becoming involved in the capture of ships without proper authority.
His greatest ambition was to discover a North-west Passage through the Arctic that would provide England with a shorter trading route to Asia.
In 1576, Martin finally secured support for an expedition. He left England with three small vessels and approximately 35 men. One ship was lost during a storm, while another turned back, leaving Martin to continue aboard the Gabriel.
After crossing the Atlantic, Martin reached the region now known as Nunavut in northern Canada. He sailed into what is now Frobisher Bay, believing that it might be the entrance to a passage leading towards the Pacific Ocean.
The expedition’s encounters with the local Inuit ended badly. Five English sailors disappeared after going ashore. Martin responded by capturing an Inuit man and taking him back to England, where he died shortly afterwards.
The sailors also collected a piece of dark stone from Baffin Island. Most experts who examined it believed that it was worthless. However, an Italian alchemist claimed that it contained gold, encouraging investors to finance another expedition.
Martin returned to the Arctic in 1577 with three ships, miners and a much larger crew. Instead of concentrating on finding the North-west Passage, the expedition collected approximately 200 tonnes of the supposed gold ore.
During this voyage, Martin’s men forcibly captured three Inuit: a man, a woman and her child. All three died soon after arriving in England.
Despite uncertainty about the ore, Martin sailed to Canada for a third time in 1578. This expedition involved 15 ships and more than 400 people. There were even plans to establish an English settlement.
Storms, ice, shipwrecks and disagreements prevented the colony from being successfully established. Nevertheless, the expedition returned to England carrying around 1,350 tonnes of rock.
After years of attempts to extract precious metal, it became clear that the rock contained no valuable gold. Much of it was eventually used in roads and walls. The failed venture financially ruined several investors and damaged Martin’s reputation as an explorer.
However, his naval career continued. He fought alongside Francis Drake during attacks against Spanish possessions and later commanded the Triumph, one of the largest English ships involved in resisting the Spanish Armada in 1588. For his actions during the campaign, Martin was knighted aboard the Ark Royal on the 26th of July 1588.
In 1594, Martin was wounded in the thigh while fighting Spanish forces at Fort Crozon in Brittany. The wound became infected, and he died at Plymouth on the 22nd of November 1594.
Do you think Martin Frobisher should be remembered primarily as a courageous explorer, or as a warning about the dangers of ambition and colonial expansion?
In 1594, Martin was wounded in the thigh while fighting Spanish forces at Fort Crozon in Brittany. The wound became infected, and he died at Plymouth on the 22nd of November 1594.
