Throughout their 1659–1660 voyage, the French explorers kept hearing of the "salt sea" as an area with an abundance of good furs.
The "salt sea" they determined must be Hudson Bay and so looked for financing and sea-going ships for their new explorations.
What was different between their approach to the trip was they would reach it from outside of the continent, instead of through a number of internal rivers.
The first voyage to Hudson Bay was unsuccessful since the winter of that year came too early, and the rations on board wouldn't be sufficient for the winter.
They were forced to make their way back to Boston but were promised two ships and crew for a second attempt the following year.
This second attempt however never occurred since one of the ships was destroyed in a storm, though the two were invited to King Charles II's in 1665.
There they passed the winter, and in the spring leave for New World with ship's crew that had been promised to them by Charles II.
The vessel Eaglet, which was carrying Radisson to Hudson's Bay nearly sank in an Atlantic storm and was forced to turn back to Plymouth.
In September 1668, Nonsuch landed in the Rupert River region on the shores of James Bay, where Des Groseilliers used his knowledge of frontier living to build dwellings for the crew in which to pass the winter.
About 300 Cree Indians came up in the spring of 1669 to trade furs in exchange for European goods.
Radisson sought the support of a royal patron to secure a crown monopoly on trade with in the Hudson's Bay region and found one in the form of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the king's first cousin and a war hero on the royalist side during the English Civil War.
Prince Rupert was not considered to be a good businessman and was not of the king's closest friends, but as the only member of the royal family prepared to champion the Radisson–Des Groseilliers project of fur trading on the shores of Hudson's Bay, he was their only hope of getting a royal charter from Charles II.
Radisson and des Groseilliers in their dealings in London to receive financing from the City of London had the advantages of being the only men who knew not only how to survive in the north, but also the local languages, customs, and geography.
Throughout their 1659–1660 voyage, the French explorers kept hearing of the "salt sea" as an area with an abundance of good furs. The "salt sea" they determined must be Hudson Bay and so looked for financing and sea-going ships for their new explorations. What was different between their approach to the trip was they would reach it from outside of the continent, instead of through a number of internal rivers. The first voyage to Hudson Bay was unsuccessful since the winter of that year came too early, and the rations on board wouldn't be sufficient for the winter. They were forced to make their way back to Boston but were promised two ships and crew for a second attempt the following year. This second attempt however never occurred since one of the ships was destroyed in a storm, though the two were invited to King Charles II's in 1665. There they passed the winter, and in the spring leave for New World with ship's crew that had been promised to them by Charles II. The vessel Eaglet, which was carrying Radisson to Hudson's Bay nearly sank in an Atlantic storm and was forced to turn back to Plymouth. In September 1668, Nonsuch landed in the Rupert River region on the shores of James Bay, where Des Groseilliers used his knowledge of frontier living to build dwellings for the crew in which to pass the winter. About 300 Cree Indians came up in the spring of 1669 to trade furs in exchange for European goods. Radisson sought the support of a royal patron to secure a crown monopoly on trade with in the Hudson's Bay region and found one in the form of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the king's first cousin and a war hero on the royalist side during the English Civil War. Prince Rupert was not considered to be a good businessman and was not of the king's closest friends, but as the only member of the royal family prepared to champion the Radisson–Des Groseilliers project of fur trading on the shores of Hudson's Bay, he was their only hope of getting a royal charter from Charles II. Radisson and des Groseilliers in their dealings in London to receive financing from the City of London had the advantages of being the only men who knew not only how to survive in the north, but also the local languages, customs, and geography.
Pierre-Esprit Radisson