Table of Contents
Why did explorers search desperately for the Northwest Passage?
A desire for a route to Asia motivated the first attempts to find a Northwest Passage. Yet explorer John Cabot soon realized that he had found “no great state or Governement, no cities, seaports, ship no spices and silks for barter—or in a word, no Asia.”
Did French explorers find the Northwest Passage?
Jacques Cartier was a French navigator who sailed to find the Northwest Passage. Cartier made 3 voyages to North America. In 1534 King Francis I sent Cartier to search North America for gold and other valuable metals. On this voyage he sailed up the estuary of the St.
Why were explorers looking for the north west passage?
In the 1500s and 1600s, explorers looked for a Northwest Passage through North America to Asia. They wanted a fast way to bring back riches from Asia. In 1497, the English king sent John Cabot to look for the passage. Cabot sailed to Canada, but he only found a rich fishing area.
What is explorer successfully completed the Northeast Passage?
However, it was only in 1878-79 that Fenno-Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (born in Finland but exiled to Sweden many years before the expedition) made the first complete passage of the Northeast Passage, leading the Vega expedition from west to east.
Why did explorers travel to the Northwest Passage?
Between the end of the 15th century and the 20th century, colonial powers from Europe dispatched explorers in an attempt to discover a commercial sea route north and west around North America. The Northwest Passage represented a new route to the established trading nations of Asia.
Which explorers attempted to find a Northwest Passage?
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer. In 1531 Jacques Cartier set out on an expedition to find the Northwest Passage. This was the same passage John Cabot looked for when he was trying to find a route through North America that led to the Pacific Ocean .