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Baffin and Bylot Explore Baffin Bay

When
1616
Where
Baffin Bay
Episodes
1

In 1616, William Baffin and Robert Bylot sailed the Discovery from Gravesend to explore Baffin Bay. They charted the region, naming Lancaster, Smith, and Jones Sounds, and concluded no ice-free Northwest Passage existed.

Episodes

  1. 26 March 1616 · Baffin BayDeparture and Exploration of Baffin Bay

    Baffin and Bylot departed Gravesend on 26 March 1616, exploring Baffin Bay and naming its sounds.

Background and detail

Background. William Baffin, an English navigator, joined the Company of Merchants of London, Discoverers of the North-West Passage in 1615. In 1616, he served as pilot to Captain Robert Bylot aboard the ship Discovery, tasked with exploring northern waters for a maritime route to the Far East.

The 1616 Voyage. Departing Gravesend on 26 March 1616, the Discovery passed west of Greenland and up the Davis Strait. Baffin discovered the large bay to the north, which was later named in his honour. He charted the area and named the radiating sounds Lancaster, Smith, and Jones after company members.

People involved

Sources

  1. William Baffin Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-10
  2. Baffin Bay Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-26

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.