It is a singular fact that the famous voyage of Columbus in 1492, although made toward the south, should have influenced to some extent discovery in the north polar regions. After Columbus had really proved that the earth was round, navigators believed that by sailing westward far enough they might reach the rich lands of India and Cathay (China).
The only route then known from Europe to India was through the Mediterranean Sea. At Constantinople, the cargoes of metals, woods, and pitch were unloaded and sent on by caravan to the East, while returning caravans brought silks, dyewoods, spices, perfumes, precious stones, ivory, and pearls, to be shipped from Constantinople.
When the Turks, through whose country the merchants passed, began to realize how valuable the Eastern trade was, they sent bands of robbers to seize the caravans, making traffic by this route more difficult and more dangerous as time went on; so that European merchants tried to find some other way of reaching that part of the world.
Sebastian Cabot.
John and Sebastian Cabot, two English navigators, set out in 1497 to sail westward, but finding their way blocked by the American continent, they returned. In 1498 Sebastian Cabot made a second voyage, with the object of finding a passage north of America which would lead to the Spice Islands and rich Cathay. In this way the long hunt for the northwest passage was begun.
The Cabots did not find the northwest passage; and though many voyages were made in search of it by other navigators during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, nobody met with success. The severe cold, added to the difficulties of a voyage through the ice of ages, prevented further investigation in that direction for some time.
Meanwhile, the Spanish and the Portuguese had been active in seeking for southern routes to the East, and had discovered two,—one around the Cape of Good Hope and one through the Strait of Magellan. They guarded these waterways jealously, and would not allow the ships of other nations to pass. Thus they succeeded in controlling all the rich Eastern trade, and were growing very wealthy and powerful.
The English and the Dutch, who were also anxious to obtain a share of the rich commerce with the East, saw the importance of finding a northern route to India; consequently they experimented by sailing northeast along the coast of Europe and Asia. The route which they sought was known as the northeast passage.
England sent out the first expedition in 1553, but the severity of the weather prevented the ships from making much progress. Several other vain attempts were made by the English, and then the Dutch took up the work; but they failed, too, and for a time the search for northern passages to the Indies was abandoned.