Frobisher Sails for the Northwest Passage: England Hunts for a Shortcut
London's streets gleamed with what investors thought was gold ore. Fifteen hundred tons of it, shipped back by Martin Frobisher from the frozen reaches of Canada in 1578. He'd sailed from Harwich with 15 ships and 400 men, convinced he'd found England's fortune in the rocks around what's now Frobisher Bay. The assayers kept testing. And testing. Iron pyrite. Worthless. The investors were ruined, Frobisher's reputation crumbled, and London literally paved its roads with the stuff. Sometimes the difference between a hero and a fool is just one chemical test.
May 31, 1578
448 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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