Martin Frobisher unexpectedly met the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the Arctic. We need to understand who they were before continuing our story.
24 - Origins and history of the Inuit
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The Inuit peoples#
Before we continue the story of Frobisher’s voyages to the Arcti, some context about the peoples Martin Frobisher and his crews encountered would be helpful.
The Inuit presented a formidable challenge to these Englishmen who had never seen a people who could not only survive but thrive in the harsh Arctic conditions.
The first encounter between the English and the Inuit occurred during Frobisher’s first voyage in 1576. When inspecting an island at the head of Frobisher Bay, Frobisher and Christopher Hall saw what he thought were
Porpoises or Ceales, or some kinde of strange fish: but coming nearer, he discovered them to be men, in small boates made of leather.
After some careful negotiations, nine Inuit boarded the Gabriel and showed little or no fear. Historian Kenn Harper suggests they probably had seen Europeans before. Events after this meeting would cause a small war between them in the 1577 voyage. One of the nine was requested to be a guide, but as he signaled, he needed to return to his people, five sailors took him ashore. Disobeying Frobisher, they rowed out of site and behind a headland, something happened to them. They were never seen again.
In response, Frobisher seized an Inuit who was lured to the Gabriel and taken captive. Hoping to use this captive in a deal to return his men, the Inuit refused to give up the lost crew members and so this unfortunate captive was taken, tounge bitten in two in a form of self-mutilation protest, and headed back to England.
In the subsequent voyages Frobisher would meet more Inuit. The relations would not improve, and we could say it set the pattern for future encounters by English explorers.
Christopher Hall recorded his impressions of the Inuit:
They bee like to Tartars, wiht long blacke haire, broad faces, and flatte noses, ….
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24. Origins and history of the Inuit.