Mutiny at the Edge of the World? Maritime Custom and Shipboard Disorder During Henry Hudson’s 1610 Northwest Passage Expedition

In 1610, Henry Hudson embarked on a voyage to the northeastern shores of Canada in hopes of discovering a Northwest Passage. The voyage was a spectacular disaster: social relationships aboard the ship rapidly deteriorated, eventually resulting in a so-called “mutiny” wherein Hudson and several other seafarers were cast out in their ship’s boat to die. This article offers a new perspective on the invocation of maritime custom in constructions of authority and mutiny aboard civilian vessels in the early seventeenth century. Interrogating the various conflicting accounts offered by those who returned, I argue that the expedition’s survivors used their knowledge of maritime custom to gain a favourable reception upon return, avoiding repercussions and allegations of mutiny. Their presentation of the voyage’s social dynamics enable an unprecedentedly detailed study of early modern shipboard social relationships, and offers new insights into our understanding of the intersection between maritime custom and law. In particular, I argue for three hallmarks for early modern mutiny: unreasonable demands, violent action, and premeditation

Globe · Mutiny · Naval architecture · Shore · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Maritime Security and History