Hugh Willoughby

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Sir Hugh Willoughby

Sir Hugh Willoughby of Risley, Derbyshire[1] (died 1554) was an early English Arctic voyager.

Willoughby was the third and youngest son of Sir Henry Willoughby of Middleton, Derbyshire, a wealthy and influential gentleman who served in the courts of Richard III and Henry VII and was knighted by Henry VII following the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487.[2]

Hugh Willoughby served various roles in the court of Henry VIII[3] and then joined the military to serve as a captain in the Scottish campaign of 1544. He was knighted at Leith by Edward Seymour, then Earl of Hertford. In 1548 he became commander of Lowther Castle and served there until 1550. In 1551 he was again campaigning in the border country and eastern marches. The downfall and execution of Somerset in 1552 affected Willoughby's standing and caused him to look for other opportunities.[4][5]

In 1553 a company of London merchants and courtiers were financing a voyage of exploration and trade. Organized by Sebastian Cabot, they hoped to find a northeast sea route to the Far East. Initially called the Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands, the trade organization became better known as the Muscovy Company. Willoughby petitioned to lead this expedition and although he lacked significant maritime experience, he was selected based on his distinguished family and his "singular skill in the services of war."[6]

On 10 May 1553, Willoughby sailed as captain of the Bona Esperanza with two other vessels under his command and with chief pilot Richard Chancellor.

The ships were seriously delayed by bad winds but eventually reached a point off Northern Norway where they were attacked by storms and "terrible whirlwinds" probably in the vicinity of the North Cape. By 14 September 1553, Willoughby and one other ship had become separated from Chancellor. The two ships travelled east and may have encountered the south island of Novaya Zemlya, known to the Norwegians as Gåselandet (Goose Land). They turned back and as the storms worsened decided to winter in a bay on the coast at a place now known to be on the Kola Peninsula in the general area to the east of Murmansk. Searches were made in three directions but no life was discovered. No-one survived the winter, and the two ships with the bodies of the crews, including Captain Willoughby and his journal, were found by Russian fishermen the following spring. It has also been suggested that Sir Hugh Willoughby and his crew might have been killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, following their decision to insulate their ship from the bitter Arctic cold.[7] The journal was eventually returned to England.

Richard Chancellor escaped from the storms and put into the Norwegian port of Vardø. Setting out again despite warnings of the danger he found the entrance to the White Sea and with local help eventually arrived at Arkhangelsk. There he was summoned to Moscow and Ivan the Terrible's Court, opening a trade with Russia through the northern ports that lasted three hundred years.

During the voyage, Willoughby thought he saw islands to the north. Based on his description, these were subsequently depicted on maps as Willoughby's Land and Macsinof or Matsyn Island.[8]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Pigot's Commercial Directory of Derbyshire, 1828–1829, accessed 5 May 2008
  2. ^ Payling, 2004
  3. ^ Evan, 2014
  4. ^ Laughton, 1900
  5. ^ McDermott, 2004
  6. ^ Evans, 2014
  7. ^ Gordon, 1986
  8. ^ Hacquebord, Louwrens (1995). "In Search of Het Behouden Huys: A Survey of the Remains of the House of Willem Barentsz on Novaya Zemlya" (PDF). Arctic. 48 (3): 250. doi:10.14430/arctic1246. Retrieved 8 March 2009.

References[edit]

  • Evans, James (2014). Tudor Adventurers: An Arctic Voyage of Discovery. New York: Pegasus Books.
  • Gordon, Eleanora C. (1986). "The Fate of Sir Hugh Willoughby and His Companions: A New Conjecture". The Geographical Journal. 152 (2): 243–247.
  •  Laughton, John Knox (1900). "Willoughby, Hugh". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography. 62. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  • McDermott, James (2004). "Willoughby, Sir Hugh". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29599.
  • Payling, S. J. (2004). "Willoughby family". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52802.

External links[edit]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainWood, James, ed. (1907). "Willoughby, Sir Hugh". The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.