Luke Foxe
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Luke Foxe (or Fox) (20 October 1586 – c. 15 July 1635) was an English explorer, born in
Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east o ...
, Yorkshire, who searched for 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 ...
across North America. In 1631, he sailed much of the western
Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
before concluding no such passage was possible.
Foxe Basin Foxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula. For most of the year, it is blocked by sea ice (fast ice) and drift ice made up of multiple ice floes. Th ...
, Foxe Channel and
Foxe Peninsula Foxe Peninsula is a peninsula found at the southern end of Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It juts out from the southerly end of the island in a southwestly direction, dividing Foxe Basin and Hudson Strait. Its western ...
were named after him. He left the Thames in May 1631 in the ''Charles'', took 20 days to work through
Hudson Strait Hudson Strait (french: Détroit d'Hudson) links the Atlantic Ocean and Labrador Sea to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador and ...
, reaching the Bay on 11 July. Blocked by ice to the northward, he went south of
Southampton Island Southampton Island (Inuktitut: ''Shugliaq'') is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the ...
to
Roes Welcome Sound Roes Welcome Sound is a long channel at the northwest end of Hudson Bay in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada between the mainland on the west and Southampton Island on the east. It opens south into Hudson Bay. Its north end joins Repulse Bay which ...
and south along the west shore to
Port Nelson, Manitoba Port Nelson is on Hudson Bay, in Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Nelson River. Its peak population in the early 20th century was about 1,000 people but today it is a ghost town. Immediately to the southsoutheast is the mouth of the Hayes Riv ...
where he found
Thomas Button Sir Thomas Button (died April, 1634) was a Wales, Welsh officer of the Royal Navy, notable as an explorer who in 1612–1613 commanded an expedition that unsuccessfully attempted to locate explorer Henry Hudson and to navigate the Northwest Pa ...
's winter camp of 18 years before, turned north-east, met
Thomas James Thomas James (c. 1573 – August 1629) was an English librarian and Anglican clergyman, the first librarian of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Life He was born about 1573 at Newport, Isle of Wight. In 1586 he was admitted a scholar of Winchest ...
on 29 August, went north into
Foxe Channel The Foxe Channel () is an area of sea in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It separates the Foxe Basin (to the north) from Hudson Bay and the Hudson Strait (to the south). To the west and south-west is Southampton Island, to the east is Baffin ...
and into the lower part of
Foxe Basin Foxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula. For most of the year, it is blocked by sea ice (fast ice) and drift ice made up of multiple ice floes. Th ...
, turned back at 66°47'N, passed Hudson Strait in 10 days and reached England in October without any deaths among his crew.


Early life

The son of Richard Fox, seaman and assistant of the Trinity House at
Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east o ...
, he was born at Hull 20 October 1586. He acquired knowledge of seamanship in voyages southward to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, and the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
, and northward to the Baltic,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, also working along the coasts of England and crossing the North Sea. In 1606 he offered his services as mate to John Knight for a voyage to
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
, but was rejected as too young.


Greenland voyage

After Hawkridge's abortive voyage of 1619, Foxe became the successor of
Robert Bylot Robert Bylot () was an English List of explorers, 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 mariner, master in the English Royal Navy. Voyages ...
and
William Baffin William Baffin ( – 23 January 1622) 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 Euro ...
(1615) in Arctic exploration. In the meantime voyages had been made by
Sir Thomas Button Sir Thomas Button (died April, 1634) was a Welsh officer of the Royal Navy, notable as an explorer who in 1612–1613 commanded an expedition that unsuccessfully attempted to locate explorer Henry Hudson and to navigate the Northwest Passage. ...
in 1612, by
Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) 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. In 1607 and 160 ...
in 1606, after
George Waymouth George Weymouth (Waymouth) () was an English explorer of the area now occupied by the state of Maine. Voyages George Weymouth was a native of Cockington, Devon, who spent his youth studying shipbuilding and mathematics. In 1602 Weymouth was ...
in 1585-7 robably 1605 Foxe's first patron was
Henry Briggs Henry Briggs may refer to: *Henry Briggs (mathematician) (1561–1630), English mathematician *Henry Perronet Briggs (1793–1844), English painter *Henry George Briggs (1824–1872), English merchant, traveller, and orientalist *Henry Shaw Briggs ...
, who with Sir John Brooke, directed royal attention to Foxe's voyage. The project first took shape in 1629, in a ''Petition of Luke Fox to the king for a small supply of money towards the discovery of a passage by the north-west to the South Sea, Hudson and Sir Thomas Button having discovered a great way, and given great hopes of opening the rest''. A
pinnace Pinnace may refer to: * Pinnace (ship's boat), a small vessel used as a tender to larger vessels among other things * Full-rigged pinnace The full-rigged pinnace was the larger of two types of vessel called a pinnace in use from the sixteenth ...
of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
of seventy tons was placed at the disposal of the adventurers, but the setting forth was deferred until the following year. In the interval Briggs died; half the adventurers having dropped out, the voyage might have been abandoned, but for news that
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 ...
merchants had projected a similar voyage from their port (under
Thomas James Thomas James (c. 1573 – August 1629) was an English librarian and Anglican clergyman, the first librarian of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Life He was born about 1573 at Newport, Isle of Wight. In 1586 he was admitted a scholar of Winchest ...
, leaving left Bristol 3 May 1631). London merchants, with
Sir Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire ...
and the merchant-adventurer Sir John Wolstenholme, supported Foxe in the ''Charles'' pinnace with a crew of twenty men and two boys victualled for eighteen months. Foxe sailed from the Pool below London Bridge 30 April 1631. He anchored off
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
, where he landed, and reached
Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...
in Orkney on 19 May. Sailing due west on the sixtieth parallel he made land 20 June on the north side of
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 ...
; two days later he sighted
Cape Chidley Cape Chidley is a headland located on the eastern shore of Killiniq Island, Canada, at the northeastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula. Cape Chidley was named by English explorer John Davis on August 1, 1587, after his friend and fellow explorer ...
, off the south shore of
Hudson's Strait Hudson Strait (french: Détroit d'Hudson) links the Atlantic Ocean and Labrador Sea to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador and ...
, six leagues distant. Passing Resolution Island two leagues south on 23 June, his crew saw in the harbour on the west side the smoke of the camp-fire of Captain James, who had put in there for repairs. From this date until 11 July Foxe worked his way along the north shore of Hudson's Strait until he reached a position between Mill and Salisbury Islands. From this point Foxe sailed south of
Coats Island Coats Island ( Inuktitut: ᐊᑉᐸᑑᕐᔪᐊᖅ, Appatuurjuaq) lies at the northern end of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. At in size, it is the 107th largest island in the world, and Canada's 24th largest island. The island ...
until 19 July, when he commenced his search for the
north-west 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 ...
. On 27 July he reached the furthest point of Button's voyage, on
Southampton Island Southampton Island (Inuktitut: ''Shugliaq'') is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the ...
, where he found traces of native
sepulture Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
. Prohibited by his instructions from proceeding to a higher latitude than 63° N. in this direction, he turned southward along the west shore of
Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
until 27 August, when he entered the mouth of the
Nelson River The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The river drains Lake Winnipeg and runs before it ends in Hudson Bay. Its full length (including the Saskatchewan River and Bow River) is , it ...
, where he found the remaining half of an inscribed board erected by Button, which he replaced by a new one of his own. He sailed on E.S.E. sixty-one leagues until 30 August, when he met his rival, Captain James, in the ''Maria'' of Bristol, with whom, after some trouble in getting on board, he dined and spent seventeen hours. Foxe then proceeded on his course down to 55° 14', later known as Cape Henrietta Maria, at the head of
James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...
. On 3 September he turned the head of his ship northward until he reached
Cape Pembroke Cape Pembroke ( es, Cabo San Felipe) is the easternmost point of the Falkland Islands, and is on East Falkland. There is an automated lighthouse here. Lighthouse An automated lighthouse on Cape Pembroke was built in 1855, and rebuilt in 1906 ...
on Coats Island five days later. From 15 to 20 September Foxe made observations on the channel that bears his name on the west shore of what is now
Baffin Land 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 Canadian ...
. On 22 September he turned homeward, among the numerous islands and sounds off the north shore of Hudson's Strait. Foxe found himself once more off Resolution Island, at the entrance to the strait. On 5 October he made
Cape Chidley Cape Chidley is a headland located on the eastern shore of Killiniq Island, Canada, at the northeastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula. Cape Chidley was named by English explorer John Davis on August 1, 1587, after his friend and fellow explorer ...
. Foxe's course homeward was south-east to the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
instead of the shorter, but more dangerous one by way of the North Sea. On 31 October he came into the Downs with all his crew safe.


Later life

Foxe was financially burdened after the voyage. He became a younger brother of
Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...
, and died at
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
in July 1635.


Works

Foxe is best known for the work which contains the results of his voyage: ''North-west Fox, or Fox from the Northwest Passage . . . with briefe Abstracts of the Voyages of Cabot, Frobisher, Davis, Weymouth, Knight, Hudson, Button, Gibbons, Bylot, Baffin, Hawkridge ... Mr. James Hall's three Voyages to Groynland ... with the Author his owne Voyage, being the xvith ... T. Fawcett and B. Alsop, imp. London'', 1635. It was entered at the
Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...
on 15 December 1634. It was accompanied by a large folded map of the Arctic regions.


Legacy

Foxe gave names to 27 locations during his voyages, eight of which exist in current usage. These include Roe's Welcome Sound, named after his friend and sponsor, Sir
Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire ...
and
Cape Dorset Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning "high mountain" or "where the hills are"; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), formerly known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin ...
, named after
Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset KG (159117 July 1652) was an English courtier, soldier and politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622 and became Earl of Dorset in 1624. He fought a duel in his early life, and was later in ...
on 24 September 1631. In the 20th century this cape gave its name to the
Dorset culture The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from to between and , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in N ...
– a
Paleo-Eskimo The Paleo-Eskimo (also pre-Thule or pre-Inuit) were the peoples who inhabited the Arctic region from Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Chukotka (e.g., Chertov Ovrag) in present-day Russia across North America to Greenland prior to the arrival of the mode ...
culture (500 BC – AD 1500) that preceded the
Inuit 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 ...
culture in
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
North America – whose remains were first found there. Thus, this name could also be indirectly attributed to Captain Foxe.


See also

*
Ottawa Islands The Ottawa Islands (Inuit languages, Inuit: ''Arviliit'' or ''Arqvilliit'' in Inuktitut meaning "place where you see bowhead whales") are a group of currently uninhabited islands situated in the eastern edge of Canada, Canada's Hudson Bay. The gro ...


References


External links


Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Foxe, Luke 1586 births 1635 deaths English explorers of North America Explorers of the Arctic English explorers 17th-century explorers People from Kingston upon Hull British polar explorers Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Explorers of Canada Members of Trinity House Explorers from the Kingdom of England