A Treatise of the Northwest Passage to the South Sea, Through the Continent of Virginia and by Fretum Hudson

The work "A Treatise of the Northwest Passage to the South Sea, Through the Continent of Virginia and by Fretum Hudson" was written by Henry Briggs in 1622. Briggs was an English mathematician known for inventing common logarithms.1

The treatise discusses the possibility of a Northwest Passage, a sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic. Explorers like Henry Hudson, sailing for both the English and Dutch, sought such a passage to find a shorter route to Asia. Hudson's voyages led to the exploration of areas now known as the Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay. While the treatise itself is a theoretical work, it reflects the intense interest in finding these northern passages during the 17th century, driven by the desire for trade and exploration.234