The Search for the Northwest Passage
From the 15th century, European mariners sought to find a seaway through the ice-bound Arctic to the Orient, where they knew there was wealth to be had from the spice trade. This was the fabled Northwest Passage.
Many explorers sought – and failed to find – a way through this treacherous sea. Their memory is kept alive by the names of the straits, channels and islands they explored – Hudson Bay, Foxe Channel, Baffin Island and Bay, McClure Strait, M'Clintock Channel, Franklin Strait and Amundsen Gulf.
This website examines the major attempts to find the Northwest Passage, and will help you find out more about this fascinating episode in the history of exploration.
