CANADA HISTORY

Martin Frobisher

In the late 16th century, as Spain accumulated vast wealth from its conquests in Central and South America under King Philip, England turned its gaze westward, eager to find its own fortunes in the New World and access the lucrative trade routes to the Far East. The silks, spices, and treasures of Asia were highly coveted, but the Spanish and Portuguese dominated the established routes. For England, the hope of finding a faster and more direct passage through the Americas to the Orient fueled ambitions for exploration. The idea of a Northwest Passage—a fabled sea route across the top of North America that would connect the Atlantic to the Pacific—became an obsession among English explorers and mariners.

One of the most prominent figures in this quest was Martin Frobisher, a sailor and privateer who dreamed of discovering this elusive passage. Frobisher, like many of his contemporaries, had made his living raiding Spanish ships and settlements in the Caribbean and the Americas, but he sought a more legitimate and enduring way to secure wealth and redemption for his checkered past. After serving time in the Tower of London for his pirate activities, Frobisher was determined to redeem his reputation and rise among the ranks of English explorers by embarking on a great voyage of discovery.

In the spring of 1576, Frobisher set sail across the stormy North Atlantic, leading an expedition in search of the Northwest Passage. His journey was fraught with challenges. Icebergs, storms, and the harsh conditions of the Arctic seas made navigation perilous, yet Frobisher managed to reach the northeastern frontier of what is now Canada. He landed on the coasts of Baffin Island, a remote and desolate region, and believed he had discovered the long-sought route to Asia. This conviction drove his exploration of the area, even as the reality of the landscape suggested otherwise.

Frobisher’s first encounter with the Inuit people was both strange and troubling. As he explored the icy shores, a group of Inuit paddled out to meet him in their traditional kayaks. Frobisher, eager to learn more about the land and its inhabitants, sent five of his men ashore to interact with the Inuit. However, these men vanished and were never seen again. Frobisher, suspecting that his men had been abducted or killed by the Inuit, decided to take a captive as retribution. He seized an Inuit man and brought him back to England as proof of his contact with this mysterious new people, marking one of the earliest recorded European-Indigenous encounters in the Canadian Arctic.

As Frobisher’s men scouted the barren landscape of Baffin Island, they stumbled upon a black rock that seemed to hint at the presence of precious metals. In the age of exploration, gold fever was rampant, and the discovery of any substance that could be linked to the immense wealth the Spanish had found in the Americas was cause for excitement. Frobisher and his crew collected samples of the black rock, convinced that it contained gold, and returned to England in the fall of 1576 with the news of their discovery.

Upon his return, Frobisher announced not only the discovery of a possible Northwest Passage but also the potential for vast wealth in the form of gold. His claims quickly caught the attention of investors in England, who were eager to capitalize on the prospect of striking it rich in the New World. The English crown, too, was intrigued. Queen Elizabeth I herself invested £4,000 in Frobisher’s next expedition, hoping that the venture would secure both new lands for England and a source of wealth that could rival Spain’s gold mines in the Americas.

In the spring of 1577, Frobisher returned to Baffin Island with a larger fleet, determined to both claim the land for England and begin mining the precious black ore. Upon arrival, Frobisher found an abandoned Inuit camp that contained the clothes of his missing men from the previous year, confirming his suspicion that they had been killed. He soon discovered another Inuit encampment and, in retaliation, attacked and killed several of its inhabitants, naming the site “Bloody Point.” This violent interaction set a dark precedent for the relations between European explorers and the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic, foreshadowing the conflicts that would arise as European nations expanded into the New World.

Despite these tensions, Frobisher continued his mission, mining the black rock that he believed would make his fortune. He filled the holds of his ships with the ore and sailed back to England, where he was greeted with fervor. London was gripped by gold fever, and Frobisher’s backers were eager to see their investments pay off. The black ore was sent to metallurgists and goldsmiths, who were tasked with extracting the gold. However, as the months and years passed, no gold was found. The excitement around Frobisher’s discovery gradually gave way to disappointment and anger. The investors, including Queen Elizabeth, demanded answers, but Frobisher had none. The black rock, once believed to be laden with gold, proved to be worthless.

The failure of Frobisher’s gold venture ruined his reputation as an explorer. His grand claims of wealth and discovery were discredited, and he returned to his former life as a privateer, raiding Spanish ships and serving the English crown in naval battles. Yet, despite the ultimate failure of his expeditions, Frobisher’s journeys to the Canadian Arctic had a lasting impact on the history of exploration in the region. His voyages marked the first significant European exploration of Canada’s Arctic waters and opened up the possibility for future explorers to continue the search for the Northwest Passage.

Frobisher’s expeditions also revealed the complexity of Arctic exploration. The treacherous conditions, the isolated Indigenous populations, and the harsh realities of the Arctic environment made exploration in the region perilous. While Frobisher did not find the passage to Asia that he sought, his voyages laid the groundwork for future explorers like Henry Hudson and William Baffin, who would continue the quest to map and understand the Arctic.

From a Canadian historical perspective, Martin Frobisher’s voyages are significant as they represent the first sustained European contact with the Arctic regions of present-day Canada. While the Spanish and Portuguese had focused their efforts on colonizing the warmer, more resource-rich regions of the Americas, English explorers like Frobisher turned their attention northward, driven by the dual motivations of finding new trade routes and acquiring wealth. Although Frobisher’s gold proved to be illusory, his expeditions opened up the Arctic as a region of interest for European powers.

Frobisher’s actions also foreshadowed the fraught relationship between European explorers and Indigenous peoples in Canada. His capture of an Inuit man and his violent retaliation against the Inuit at Bloody Point reflected the tension and misunderstanding that would characterize many future encounters between Europeans and Indigenous peoples. As European nations expanded their presence in Canada, these early interactions would shape the course of colonization, often to the detriment of Indigenous communities.

In conclusion, while Martin Frobisher’s expeditions to the Canadian Arctic did not yield the wealth or Northwest Passage that he hoped for, they were crucial in the early history of exploration in Canada. His voyages opened up the Arctic frontier, brought England into the competition for North American territory, and set the stage for future expeditions. Frobisher’s legacy, though marked by failure, remains an important chapter in the story of Canada’s exploration, reflecting the ambitions, challenges, and consequences of early European ventures into the New World.