Canada has the most to gain should the Northwest Passage become a viable shipping route. This will facilitate Canada’s development of northern lands and provide an important economic and military possession if their claim to control is upheld.

Northwest Passage, historical sea passage of the North American continent. It represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Archipelago of what became Canada.

The Northwest Passage is a sea corridor connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Canada’s Arctic Archipelago islands and along the northern-most coast of North America. Europeans searched for 300 years to find a viable sea trade-route to Asia.

Traversing the frozen Northwest Passage historically has required a hazardous journey through thousands of giant icebergs that could rise up to 300 feet above the surface of the water and huge masses of sea ice that could seal the passage and trap ships for months at a time.

The belief that a route lay to the far north persisted for several centuries and led to numerous expeditions into the Arctic. Many ended in disaster, including that by Sir John Franklin in 1845. While searching for him the McClure Arctic Expedition discovered the Northwest Passage in 1850.

The biggest problem that Giovanni da Verrazano faced was that his crew didn’t speak any of the languages they encountered among Native American…

Giovanni da Verrazzano was an Italian explorer who charted the Atlantic coast of North America between the Carolinas and Newfoundland, including New York Harbor in 1524. The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge in New York was named after him.

Verrazzano wrote interesting, though sometimes inaccurate, accounts of the lands and inhabitants that he encountered. His explorations concluded at the eastern part of Newfoundland. His return to France on July 8, 1524, gave King Francis I his nation’s claim to the New World.

Giovanni da Verrazzano | 10 Facts About The Explorer

• #1 There is confusion regarding his birthplace.
• #2 He spent his early years as a pirate.
• #3 Verrazzano served King Francis I of France.
• #4 He wanted to find the sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
• #6 His one error split North America in two parts in maps.

His discoveries shaped the construction and look of maps that would be used by explorers who came after him. Several bridges in North America bear the explorer’s name. Perhaps the most well-known of these is the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York.

Verrazano in 1524 was probably the first European to sail the coast of North America. His map and account of his findings comprise the earliest description of the land and people of North Carolina and pioneered the way towards the eventual European settlement of North America.

Greve in Chianti, Italy

Gerolamo de Verrazzano

It is not known if Giovanni ever married. The position of his family as well-to-do merchants and bankers, and his mastery of the elements of navigation and the literary culture revealed in his famous Letter, are sufficient evidence of a superior education.

Giovanni da Verrazano (also Verrazzano) was an Italian explorer commissioned by the king of France to chart the eastern coast of North America, from Florida to Newfoundland. His main goal was to find a passage to Asia via the Pacific Ocean.

In 1524 he probably accompanied Giovanni da Verrazzano on unofficial explorations initiated by the king of France. Some ten years later, Jacques Cartier was a sufficiently experienced navigator to be asked by Francis I to undertake the official exploration of North America.

Origins of the Narragansett In 1524, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano encountered a large Native American population living near Narragansett Bay, hunting and practicing agriculture and organized into systems under “kings.”