Robert Fotherby

Last updated

Robert Fotherby (died 1646) was an early 17th-century English explorer and whaler. From 1613 to 1615 he worked for the Muscovy Company, and from 1615 until his death for the East India Company.

Contents

Family ties

There was a family of Fotherbys in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Robert Fotherby may have belonged to this Grimsby stock.

Whaling voyages to Spitsbergen (Svalbard), 1613–1615

1613

Fotherby was among the crew of seven ships sent by the Muscovy Company to Greenland (Spitsbergen) in May 1613. He served as master's mate aboard the ship Matthew (250 tons), vice-admiral of the fleet. The only notable occurrence Fotherby spoke of in his journal was that he ascended a glacier in Josephbukta, a bay on the western side of Recherche Fjord. This is significant in that this is the first recorded glacier expedition in Spitsbergen's history. The glacier in question was probably Renardbreen (Fox glacier).

1614

In this year Fotherby sailed as master's mate in the ship Thomasine, one of the two ships sent by the Muscovy Company to explore the coast of Spitsbergen. The ship left England early in May and had arrived in the latitude of 75° N, just south of Spitsbergen, by the end of the month.

On 22 June Fotherby came into Magdalenefjorden, claiming it and the small sheltered bay on its southern shore for King James I of England by setting up the King's Arms on a wooden cross. He named the former Maudlin Sound, the latter Trinity Harbor.

Several times in July and August, Fotherby, along with William Baffin, pilot of the Thomasine, using two shallops, explored the northern coast of Spitsbergen. They explored and named Raudfjorden Red-cliff Sound (its modern name is merely a corruption of this earlier namesake). Fotherby named the cape separating its two southern branches Point Deceit (now called Narreneset, its Norwegian equivalent), and its eastern entrance Point Welcome (which modern maps have misplaced further east). The large, open bay to the east he named Broad bay (Breibogen, its Norwegian equivalent), and its shore Red Beach. Along Red Beach Fotherby saw evidence of the presence of Thomas Marmaduke's 1612 expedition by the fires his crew had made. The eastern point of Red Beach, now wrongly marked Velkomstpynten on modern charts, Fotherby named Redbeach Point. The two fjords (Liefdefjorden and Woodfjorden) south of Breibogen and Reinsdyerflya he marked Wiches Sound, named after the London shipowner and merchant Richard Wyche.

Climbing atop a high hill along the eastern shore of Woodfjorden in early August, Fotherby and Baffin saw a long, wide bay (Wijdefjorden) and a point to the northeast (Verlegenhuken). He called the former Sir Thomas Smith's Inlet (it apparently was named earlier). Seeing another shallop heading towards Gråhuken, or Castlins Point as Fotherby named it, they went north, meeting at the aforementioned point. Here they found a cross set up by Marmaduke's men in 1612. It had Laurence Prestwood, as well as two or three other names, engraved on it. It bore the date 17 August 1612. By traveling overland and by sea they made their way around Gråhuken and several leagues into Wijdefjorden, where, because of thick ice, they were forced to travel solely overland to explore further into the fjord. Walking along its western shore, Fotherby and Baffin traveled almost a league further, where, from a point of land jutting into the fjord, they were able to see the end of Wijdefjorden several leagues to the south. The ice would not allow them to explore further, so they made their way back to their ship, which was anchored in the southern harbor of Fairhaven (Smeerenburgfjorden).

They attempted to sail the ship around the northern coast of Spitsbergen, but could only reach the mouth of Wijdefjorden before being forced to turn back because of the ice. The Thomasine left the latitude of Spitsbergen in early September and arrived back in England early the next month.

1615

In 1615 Fotherby again was part of an exploratory expedition, this time commanding his own ship, the pinnace Richard (20 tons). Although he failed to find Henry Hudson's elusive Hold-with-Hope (generally believed to be part of the east coast of Greenland), he did stumble upon Jan Mayen, becoming the first documented English expedition to reach the island. Thinking it was a new discovery, he named it Sir Thomas Smith's Island, and the large volcano, Beerenberg, dominating the northeastern part of the island, Mount Hackluyt. The island may have been discovered the year before by the Dutchman Fopp Gerritsz., sailing in command of a whaleship sent out by the Englishman John Clarke, of Dunkirk. [1] [2]

East India Company

In October 1615, after his return from this expedition, a court's minute of the East India Company stated that Fotherby was "a very fit person to be employed upon a discovery for the south side of the Cape." We next find him appointed as the company's overseer for making cordage in Deptford in November 1618. Three years later he was said to be "confirmed in his place and salary." In August of the same year he moved to Blackwall Yard to act as the company's agent there, and in October 1624 he had his wages increased. Fotherby is mentioned as the clerk at Blackwall [3] in August 1627, and again in August 1639, in reference to his son, also named Robert, where he is said to be "the Company's old and well deserving servant and clerk at Blackwall". In July 1644, he is mentioned as one of the men chosen as officers of the company: "Robert Fotherby, clerk at Blackwall". In September of the same year the court minutes of the Company stated that Fotherby had served as the company's "clerk and storekeeper at Blackwall Yard" the last twenty-six years. He is last mentioned in the company's service in the court minutes of May 1646. In October the Company learned of his death, and on 16th of the same month he was buried. His son died three years later.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Holland, Clive (1994). Arctic Exploration and Development, c. 500 B.C. to 1915: an encyclopedia. New York: Garland.
  2. ↑ Hart, S. De eerste Nederlandse tochten ter walvisvaart (1957), p. 50. Hart says it occurred in 1613.
  3. ↑ In the indexes for volumes 1 and 2 (1635-39 and 1640-43) of the court minutes, it is stated that Henry Fotherby was the clerk at Blackwall, whereas in volume 3 (1644-49) it is said Robert Fotherby held the same position. Only Robert Fotherby is explicitly mentioned as clerk at Blackwall, while Henry Fotherby isn't mentioned a single time. The first two indexes are clearly mistaken, as the text above shows.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Hudson</span> English explorer

Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.

Robert Bylot was an English explorer who made four voyages to the Arctic. He was uneducated and from a working-class background, but was able to rise to rank of master in the English Royal Navy.

William Baffin was an English navigator, explorer and cartographer. He is primarily known for his attempt to find a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, during the course of which he was the first European to discover Baffin Bay situated between Canada and Greenland. He was also responsible for exceptional surveys of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf on behalf of the East India Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of whaling</span> History of whale hunting and the trade of whale-derived commodities

This article discusses the history of whaling from prehistoric times up to the commencement of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. Whaling has been an important subsistence and economic activity in multiple regions throughout human history. Commercial whaling dramatically reduced in importance during the 19th century due to the development of alternatives to whale oil for lighting, and the collapse in whale populations. Nevertheless, some nations continue to hunt whales even today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hornsund</span> Fjord in Norway

Hornsund is a fjord on the western side of the southernmost tip of Spitsbergen island.

Nicholas Woodcock was a 17th-century English mariner who sailed to Spitsbergen, Virginia, and Asia. He piloted the first Spanish whaling ship to Spitsbergen in 1612 and participated in the Anglo-Persian sieges of Kishm and Ormus in 1622.

Thomas Marmaduke was an English explorer, sealer, and whaler in the early 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairhaven (Svalbard)</span>

Fairhaven is an area of Norway. Generally speaking, it is the area between Amsterdam Island and Danes Island and the mainland, while specifically it refers to the sound between Danes Island and the mainland, in particular the strait between Moseøya and Danes Island. The modern name for this area is Smeerenburgfjorden.

Jonas Poole was an early 17th-century English explorer and sealer, and was significant in the history of whaling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellsund</span>

Bellsund is a 20-kilometer (12 mi) long sound on the west coast of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. It is separated from Van Mijenfjorden by the islands of Akseløya and Mariaholmen. Bellsund is located south of Nordenskiöld Land and north of Wedel Jarlsberg Land.

Thomas Edge was an English merchant, whaler, and sealer who worked for the Muscovy Company in the first quarter of the 17th century. The son of Ellis Edge, Thomas Edge was born in the parish of Blackburn in Lancashire in 1587/88. Edgeøya takes its name from him. Edge's Point, the eastern point of Recherche Fjord, also commemorated his name, but is now known as Lægerneset.

Kobbefjorden is a small fjord on the west coast of Danes Island, on the northwestern coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. The fjord is about two miles (3.5 km) long and 1-1.2 miles (1.5–2 km) wide. It offers one of the best anchorages on Spitsbergen's northwest coast, "being sheltered from most winds and ice-free for much of the year." At the head of the fjord is a valley, Kobbefjorddalen, which leads to the east coast of Danes Island. Kobbefjorden's southwesternmost point is Luftskipodden. Sir Martin Conway, on his visit to Spitsbergen in 1896–97, described the fjord as having "ice-smoothed hills of [the] hardest rock."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farthest North</span> Most northerly latitude reached by explorers before the conquest of the North Pole

Farthest North describes the most northerly latitude reached by explorers, before the first successful expedition to the North Pole rendered the expression obsolete. The Arctic polar regions are much more accessible than those of the Antarctic, as continental land masses extend to high latitudes and sea voyages to the regions are relatively short.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willem Cornelisz van Muyden</span>

Willem Cornelisz. van Muyden was an early 17th-century mariner. He is known in the Netherlands as De Eerste Walvisvanger (1613). Van Muydenbukta and Van Mijenfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen and Kapp Muyen on the west coast of Jan Mayen are named after him.

John Cunningham was a Scottish nobleman, explorer, Dano-Norwegian naval captain, and Governor of Finnmark.

Gabriel Christoffersen Kruse of Tulsted and Hjulebjerg was an officer in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. He became a captain in 1610 and fought in the Kalmar War (1611–13) and the War against the Emperor (1625–29).

James Hall was an English explorer. In Denmark, he was known as Jacob Hald. Born in Hull, he piloted three of King Christian IV's Expeditions to Greenland under John Cunningham (1605), Godske Lindenov (1606), and Carsten Richardson (1607). In his first voyage he charted the west coast of Greenland as far north as 68° 35' N. The discovery of silver resulted in larger expeditions being sent the following two years, both of which were expensive failures.

Joris Carolus was a Dutch cartographer and explorer who was employed by the Noordsche Compagnie and the Dutch East India Company.

The Basques were among the first people to catch whales commercially rather than purely for subsistence and dominated the trade for five centuries, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain, when writing about Basque whaling in Terranova, described them as "the cleverest men at this fishing". By the early 17th century, other nations entered the trade in earnest, seeking the Basques as tutors, "for [they] were then the only people who understand whaling", lamented the English explorer Jonas Poole.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.