Early Probes of the North Pacific Coast 1741

Few acts of the exploration in Canada created as much interest as the French search for the "Western Sea," and the British search for the "Northwest Passage". Both searches were revived during this period of exploration. Geographical theorists postulated that a large gulf of the Pacific was in the west similar to the Gulf of Mexico to the south and Hudson Bay to the north. This fueled the search for the western passage.

[D]
Click for more information, 32 KB
La Verendrye on the Prairies by C. W. Jefferys

In 1728, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de La Vérendrye became commandant of military posts in the Lake Superior area, and with the strong support of Governor Charles de Beauharnois, he began making plans to search for the mer de l'Ouest. After studying Aboriginal accounts and maps for three years, La Vérendrye and his sons began their exploration in 1731. Moving in stages, they reached Lake Winnipeg in 1734. According to the Aboriginal informants, two routes could be taken to the west, a northern one up the Saskatchewan River and a southern one through the Mandan country of the Missouri. Of these, La Vérendrye chose the southern route first, reaching the Mandan in 1738. His sons, Louis-Joseph and François, eventually continued exploring to the southwest as far as Big Horn Mountains (in present-day Wyoming) proving that a western sea did not lie in that direction. La Vérendrye died in 1751, and the Saskatchewan was not fully explored until that same year by De Niverville.

While La Vérendrye was actively exploring the western interior and two French major military expeditions were charting the Ohio River, the Hudson's Bay Company was embroiled in a controversy about its lack of exploration. In 1741, the British Admiralty sent an expedition in 1741 under Middleton to renew the search for a Northwest Passage. In 1742, Middleton explored Wager Bay (on the northwestern coast of Hudson Bay) and rightly concluded that no passage lay in that direction. Another privately sponsored exploration by Moor and Smith in 1746 to 1747 also returned with negative results.

Finally, prodded into action the Hudson's Bay Company renewed exploration by ordering the systematic charting of the poorly known east coast of Hudson Bay. Although neither the English or French found a "Western Passage" or a "Northwest Passage" to the Pacific, two explorers coming from Russia, Bering and Chirikov, were the first to explore Alaska along the Pacific Coast.

Voyages of Exploration

An audio description for each voyage of exploration shown on this map can be accessed from the list below or through the map using Get Statistics.

• 1741 Vitus Bering (Russian)
• 1741 Alexei Ilich Chirikov (Russian)

The descriptions of the voyages of exploration are based on research by C.E. Heidenreich, Department of Geography, York University. An audio version of each description can be played as the user follows the exploration route made by the explorer on the map.

The Atlas of Canada relies on Apple’s QuickTime technology for the delivery of multimedia content. The Atlas of Canada media player will attempt to detect whether you have the necessary software installed, and will give you notice if you do not. In order to play the Atlas multimedia content, you must install the QuickTime player. For general information on QuickTime before downloading go to: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/

• Probing the Rivers on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence 1651 to 1664 Map | Read about this map
• The Iroquois Country 1654 to 1656 Map | Read about this map
• The Great Lakes 1654 to 1670 Map | Read about this map
• Familiarization with Inadequately Known Areas in Hudson Bay and James Bay 1668 to 1689 Map | Read about this map
• Exploration of the Rivers to James Bay 1671 to 1686 Map | Read about this map
• Exploration West and Southwest Beyond the Great Lakes 1673 to 1688 Map | Read about this map
• French Exploration in Abeyance 1691 to 1729 Map | Read about this map
• The Western Interior 1731 to 1757 Map | Read about this map
• Exploration of the Ohio River 1739 to 1749 Map | Read about this map
• The Search for a Northwest Passage and Exploration of the Eastmain 1742 to 1749 Map | Read about this map

• History
• Exploration 1497 to 1760
• Exploration 1651 to 1760
• References and Links