University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History History, Department of 5-2010 "If a Passage Could Be Found": The Power of Myth (and Money) in North American Exploration Brenden Rensink University of Nebraska - Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss Part of the History Commons Rensink, Brenden, ""If a Passage Could Be Found": The Power of Myth (and Money) in North American Exploration" (2010). Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History. 38. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss/38 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Published in WE PROCEEDED ON 36:2 (May 2010), pp. 8-17. Copyright 2010 Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. Used by permission. "IF A PASSAGE COULD BE FOUND" The power of myth (and money) in North American exploration By BRENDEN RENSINK he popular lore of North American exploration slowly mapped the New World's coastlines and interior Tand westward expansion has oft been woven with waterways, the long-term impact of cartographic myth themes of heroic bravery, divine providence and cannot be overstated. Likewise, the lure of money, or Manifest Destiny. These tales indeed relate portions of actual promise thereof, lent fuel to the imaginative exploits that history, but also offer insight into the self-perception and the myths of the Northwest Passage and Strait of Anian culture of the societies perpetuating them. As larger-than­ proffered. Dissemination of expedition exploits through life figures braved the "unknown" in the name of nation or popular writing, the willingness of explorers to adapt myths creed, the motives behind their ventures often were not so to align with new geographical discovery and the potential singular. The ever-driving force of economic gain stood as a for wealth consistently underwrote these myths' influence foundation for most expeditions. Simultaneously justifying in a geopolitical contest that lasted for generations.! the current expedition and providing support for future Around 1500, European powers vied for politcal and endeavors, explorers interested in self-preservation placed economic advantages over rival nations. The far off lands of a premium on results-on discovery. The naive or overly China (Cathay or Cataia), India and the Spice Islands, yet eager optimism of many investors and patrons regularly led inaccessible to Europe since the Ottoman Empire blocked to the hasty acceptance of misinformation. In some cases, overland routes, were tempting theatres for economic the intensity of these motives and forces was so strong that competition via maritime routes. European powers yearned different expeditions promising new knowledge or wealth for access to the riches that lay just beyond their grasp. These received funding through the centuries in spite of constant dreams and aspirations proved to be fertile ground in which disappointment and financial loss. Particularly alluring the myth of an easy passage to the Far East could take root were the interrelated myths of the Strait of Anian and the and flourish. Unable to ignore potential profit and power, Northwest Passage. The promise they offered was more a pattern of accepting promising geographic speculation as than enough to fuel both imaginative thought and risky fact emerged. Idyllic hopes, desires and conjecture soon endeavors that forever affected North American exploration became definite realities in reports, discourses, maps, and and its subsequent history. royal funding and approbation of expeditions. The writings In and of themselves, the origins and dissemination of these of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Luke Foxe, Anthony Linton, myths provide a strong historical narrative concerning the Juan de Fuca, Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado and countless subsequent impact of "discovery" upon world history. This others illustrate the metamorphosis from optimistic hopes grand myth of a Northwest Passage generated and sustained to purported fact, and the willingness of European rulers to numerous explorations as explorers and governments placed invest in such ideas. This article explores a small contingent surprising trust and faith in unsubstantiated geographical of those who were involved in the creation, perpetuation concepts. Clearly driving many of the expeditions that and adaptation of the Northwest Passage myth.2 8 - We Proceeded On May 2010 - MONt)O N C» Vo Figure 1. Columbus sketched this map in the margin of a letter dated July 7, 1503. Eleven years after his first landfall, and following four voyages to the new world, his understanding of American geography remained distorted. CREATION AND EVOLUTION OF THEORIES remained a tract of uncharted wilderness, the possibility of a passageway persisted. The theory of the Strait of Anian exemplifies this In 1524, Italian explorer Giovanni Da Verrazano made metamorphic process. Described by Marco Polo in the late a landmark voyage that detailed the coasts of future New thirteenth century as a body of water southwest of Tibet, England in unprecedented detail, which convinced him that it eventually was transformed into the western extremity Columbus was mistaken. According to Verrazano's new of the Northwest Passage around the North American cartography, America and Asia were separate continents. Sir continent.3 Misconceptions of world geography as a whole Humphrey Gilbert's 1576 A Discourse of a Discoverie for a allowed such a concept to take root. Ideas set forth by the New Passage to Cataia concurred, citing clearly divergent Greek philosopher Ptolemy still held great influence in fauna, wildlife and cultures of Asia and America as evidence.' the minds of European navigators, but they were proven He proclaimed, "AI [sic] which learned men and painful to be incorrect. By miscalculating the length of the earth's travellers have affirmed, with one consent and voice, that latitudinal degrees, the circumference of Ptolemy's globe America was an Iland [Island],"8 Despite the inconvenient measured only 270 degrees across from the Prime Meridian. imposition of an entire continent between Europe and the This mistaken idea extended Asia too far east and sheds Far East, men such as Gilbert were undeterred. Given the light on Columbus's much-mocked mistake of believing new obstacle, focus shifted toward the myth of a Northwest that he had landed in Asia. The Ptolemy-based globe Passage. The supposed existence of an oceanic passageway placed America right where Asia should have been and as or a large interior river through the Americas made the late as his fourth voyage in 1503, Columbus still believed continental obstacle surmountable. Discovering and himself to be on the Asiatic coasts. (See Figure 1.)4 Since controlling the invaluable passage and accessing the Asian his sketches connected the northern coast of South America markets beyond remained paramount. with the southern coast of Southeast Asia, it is arguable that The mythical waterway made an early cartographic ap­ Columbus never realized that he had not reached Asia. 5 pearance when Italian mapmaker Bolognino Zaltieri drew Expeditions by Columbus (1492), John Cabot (1497), America and Asia as two separate continents in 1566 and Jacques Cartier (1534) and others turned European eyes labeled the dividing waterway as the Strait of Anian. 9 to the Northwest for a passage and Marco Polo's earlier Zaltieri's separation of the continents was correct, but his cartographical reports soon became documents of great labeling of the Strait of Anian was pure speculation. Though interest. Soon, the southwest Asian Strait of Anian in Polo's New World geographic discovery slowly lifted the shroud account moved northeast and merged with die Northwest of previous ignorance, cartographic speculation persisted. Passage myth, lending the historical (though apocryphal) Dependent upon the patronage of governments and wealthy name,Anian, to a myth without foundation.6 As long as there investors, explorers and cartographers carefully highlighted May 2010 We Proceeded On - 9 the need for further exploration, emphasized the certainty and relating other's failed endeavors, he carefully deempha­ of imminent discoveries and downplayed the grave risks in­ sized the failure of his own expedition by contextualizing herent in Terra Incognita's great unknown. These men per­ himself in the common plight of other explorers. True to petuated the myth to secure future funding and European pragmatic form, Foxe concluded, "to show the probability nations fostered it to further their imperial ambitions. The of a Passage," and make certain solicitations thereby.14 Foxe's conditions allowed the myth to engulf the imaginations and maneuvering was indeed deft: shrugging blame for failure, pocketbooks of the European powers. emphasizing the knowledge gained amidst failure, and prov­ ing through additional evidence that he would produce divi­ METHODS FOR SECURING FUNDS dends on future investment. IS Foxe, like Gilbert, perpetuated Those who proclaimed the existence of the Northwest myth in hopes of later proving it as fact. Passage did so in various forms. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's A PURPORTED DISCOVERY OF MARITIME ROUTES TO Discourse