Arnaq
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arnaq or Egnock (died November 1577) was the name given by the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
to an Inuk woman from what is now
Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...
,
Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...
, who was taken hostage by Sir
Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; c. 1535 – 22 November 1594) was an English seaman and privateer who made three voyages to the New World looking for the North-west Passage. He probably sighted Resolution Island near Labrador in north-eastern Canada ...
on his second journey to find the
Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...
. She, her infant son (named by the English as Nutaaq) and an
Inuk Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and ...
man named as Kalicho were among the first Inuit and first indigenous people from North America to visit England and among the best documented of the
Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...
. They were brought back to the English port of
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
at the end of September 1577 and died in November of the same year.


Life

Arnaq was most likely born in the
Frobisher Bay Frobisher Bay is an inlet of the Davis Strait in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southeastern corner of Baffin Island. Its length is about and its width varies from about at its outlet into the Labrador Sea ...
area of
Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...
in the 16th century. The name used for her by her captors is very similar to the Inuit word for "woman" (ᐊᕐᓇᖅ ''arnaq''), so her real name is unknown. She and her twelve-month old son, Nutaaq, were amongst four Inuit brought to England against their will by Frobisher. According to the 1578 account of George Best, who accompanied the 1577 expedition, Arnaq was captured with her son on 1 August on the
Hall Peninsula The Hall Peninsula is a peninsula on the southern end of Baffin Island, in Nunavut, Canada. It lies between Frobisher Bay on the west, and the Cumberland Sound on the east between 62°40'N and 65°10'W. The Hall Peninsula is part of the Arctic Tundr ...
near Kodlunarn Island (Countess of Warwick Island), where the English were mining for what they supposed to be gold ore. Captain York of the expedition had come across an abandoned Inuit settlement in which he found items of European clothing he assumed came from five members of Frobisher's 1576 expedition who had disappeared further up Frobisher Bay. Captain York sought to capture some of the local Inuit to serve as hostages that could be exchanged for the missing men. However, after a bloody fight in which five or six Inuit men died, they only succeeded in capturing an old woman (who they let go) and Arnaq with her baby. Arnaq was then brought back to the main expedition, where she was introduced to another captive Inuit, Kalicho, later that day. Attempts to arrange a hostage exchange failed and all three of the Inuit were brought back to England when the expedition returned home on 23 August. They arrived at the port of
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
in England around the end of September. In England the three Inuit attracted considerable interest. Frobisher planned to present them to Queen Elizabeth and seems to have hoped that they might be taught English so that they could reveal more about their country and serve as interpreters on later expeditions.Neil Cheshire, Tony Waldron, Alison Quinn and David Quinn
Frobisher’s Eskimos in England
Archivaria, 10 (1980), 23-50
The family were taken to the mayor's house, Thomas Colston, and Kalicho performed numerous displays of his kayaking and hunting skills in Bristol harbour around 9 October. Four 'official' paintings were commissioned of Arnaq by
Cornelis Ketel Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...
, a Flemish artist. Two of these paintings were later given to the Queen and were hung in
Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...
for many years.Cheshire et al. 'Frobisher's Eskimos', p. 34. These paintings were later lost but paintings by the artist John White survived and were copied many times. Kalicho died on 8 November, as a result of an infection stemming from broken ribs most likely sustained during his capture. After he had been given a post-mortem by Dr. Edward Dodding, Arnaq was obliged to witness his burial at St Stephen's Church in Bristol on 8 November 1577. Dodding commented on what he saw as her stoicism at Kalicho's fate. Dodding's motives for making Arnaq witness the funeral was because he wanted to ensure that Arnaq did not think that the English were cannibals. Dodding showed Arnaq dead human bones to illustrate his point. Shortly after the funeral, Arnaq, became ill from what is thought to be
measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
. She died within days and was buried on the 12 November at St Stephen's Church. Kalicho and Arnaq were called Collichang and Egnock respectively in the church's burial records. Arnaq's death left Nutaaq an orphan. Nutaaq was given a nurse and taken to London for a prospective audience with Queen Elizabeth. Nutaaq also died, probably from measles. He was buried without record at St Olave's Church.


Legacy

Arnaq and her son were not the first people from the Americas to visit Europe. It is estimated that 200 may have visited France in the sixteenth century. However England was behind in transatlantic journeys and only a small number of people from the Americas had visited before Arnaq had arrived. Despite not living long, Arnaq, Nutaaq and Kalicho did become well known due to the pictures drawn of them. The most noted of these are by John White who may have been on Frobisher's 1577 voyage. Another two pictures were commissioned by Queen Elizabeth who was disappointed to have not seen 'Frobisher's Inuit'.Alden T. Vaughan, 'American Indians in England (act. c.1500–1615)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, April 201
accessed 12 Aug 2017
/ref> Studies of the portraits show that Arnaq had facial tattoos and details can be noted of the parka she wore.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnaq 1577 deaths Inuit from the Northwest Territories Immigrants to the Kingdom of England Year of birth unknown Deaths from measles Inuit from Nunavut 16th-century Canadian people