Martin Frobisher was an English navigator and explorer. He was one of the first English to search for the Northwest passage to India and Asia. Today, he is considered to be one of the greatest seamen of the age of Queen Elizabeth I. He was very courageous and resourceful; sometimes he was also so strict that captains of ships were sometimes unwilling to work with him.
Personal Background:
In 1535, Martin Frobisher was born in Altofts, Yorkshire. His father died when he was young. After that, his mother sent him to live with his uncle who was a merchant in London. He spent a lot of his childhood working as a trader for him. School was never very important to him; he spent most of his life barely literate. As a kid he was considered violent and undisciplined, but very ambitious. So, he started privateering as a teen and gave up trading.
Passage to the New World:
By 1572, Frobisher was convinced there was a Northwest passage to Asia. A good friend who always encouraged him was Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Together, they convinced the Queen to send Frobisher out to find the passage. At that time, exploring was ok by the queen as long as the vessels were used against England’s enemies. Finding the passage would mean great wealth, glory, and greater prestige than the Spanish Galleons. It could also stop the monopoly of Spain and Portugal’s routes to Asia and be a shorter distance to travel.
In 1576, Frobisher set off looking for his riches. He had about 39 men and three small ships, averaging about 25 tons each. Their names were the Gabriel, the Michael and a pinnace, which were all well supplied. Some of the supplies included navigational instruments and books.
The trip went badly from the start. The smallest ship collided with another and they were delayed until repairs were made. Later, a storm came up and one of the ships disappeared. When they reached Greenland, one of the ships turned back. Another hardship was the cold, ice, and freezing winds. Still, Frobisher went on and discovered a bay on Baffin Island. He named it Frobisher Bay after himself. He continued onward, thinking that this was the entrance to the
Northwest passage.
Second Voyage:
Finally, Frobisher returned to England with some pieces of “black earth” which was said to have gold in it. Because of the gold, a second trip was allowed.
In 1577, Frobisher left on his voyage; it was funded by the Company of Cathy. All he returned with was 200 tons of ore.
Before reports of the second voyage were made public, Frobisher had already left on his third. This time he took 15 ships, 300 miners, mining equipment, and supplies to set up colonies in the new world. This trip ended in failure because ice and bad storms damaged the ships. They also went 20 days up the wrong straight, which they named the Mistaken Straits. He also went through the Hudson Straight. So, Frobisher turned around to continue his search for gold. He ended up bringing back about 1,300 short tons of ore.
Later, the ore was found to contain no gold at all. All three of his expeditions were considered failures. The Cathy Company went bankrupt, Frobisher was publicly humiliated, and the ore was used to pave the streets of London.
Later Life:
In 1585, Frobisher participated in an expedition with Sir Francis Drake. They went to the West Indies to fight the Spanish colonies there. By 1588, Frobisher was praised for defeating the Spanish Armada.
In 1592, he decided to command a fleet. It’s purpose was to stop Spanish merchant ships that were bringing gold from Panama. Frobisher was badly wounded. He died on November 22, 1594 in Plymouth, England. His efforts, though little known, were very important. They encouraged many other explorers to search for the Northwest passage.
This page was created by Kate and Sean on September 29,2000.
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