<P> The first recorded attempt to discover the Northwest Passage was the east - west voyage of John Cabot in 1497 , sent by Henry VII in search of a direct route to the Orient . In 1524 , Charles V sent Estêvão Gomes to find a northern Atlantic passage to the Spice Islands . An English expedition was launched in 1576 by Martin Frobisher , who took three trips west to what is now the Canadian Arctic in order to find the passage . Frobisher Bay , which he first charted , is named after him . </P>
<P> The first recorded attempt to discover the Northwest Passage was the east - west voyage of John Cabot in 1497 , sent by Henry VII in search of a direct route to the Orient . In 1524 , Charles V sent Estêvão Gomes to find a northern Atlantic passage to the Spice Islands . An English expedition was launched in 1576 by Martin Frobisher , who took three trips west to what is now the Canadian Arctic in order to find the passage . Frobisher Bay , which he first charted , is named after him . </P>
who made three attempts on the northwest passage
who made three attempts on the northwest passage
Martin Frobisher
Martin Frobisher