HudsonStrait is an arm of the sea connecting the Atlantic Ocean with HUDSON BAY and Foxe Channel and separating BAFFIN ISLAND from the Ungava Peninsula of Québec.
HudsonStrait provides access by sea to the heart of Canada and has been used commercially for 3 centuries, chiefly in connection with the FUR TRADE.
Martin FROBISHER mistakenly entered the strait in 1578, but Henry HUDSON - for whom it is named - was the first European known to have explored it and followed it into the bay.
Hudson was certainly an experienced seaman, commissioned by the Muscovy Company in 1607 to find a quick way from England to the "islands of spicery." He failed in that attempt, and again in 1608 -- each time foiled by ice floes as he attempted to find a fast northerly passage to "the east."
After Hudson decided they weren't entrances to the passage he was seeking, the "Half Moon" sailed north to the mouth of the Hudson River in early September.
Hudson called the river the "River of Mountains" although the Native Americans, with whom the skipper and crew had considerable contact, called it "Muhheakunnuk" (great waters constantly in motion).
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