Which pair of explorers is associated with early North American voyages in search of a northwest passage to Asia?

• A. Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci
• B. John Cabot and Sir Walter Raleigh
• C. Jacques Cartier and Henry Hudson
• D. Ferdinand Magellan and Sir Francis Drake

Answer: (C)

The Northwest Passage was the hoped-for water route through or around North America to Asia, and the strongest early examples of this search come from Jacques Cartier and Henry Hudson. Cartier, sailing for France in the 1530s, explored the St. Lawrence River as he looked for a westward path to Asia and laid groundwork for French claims in Canada. Hudson, sailing in the early 1600s for the Dutch (and originally for the English), pushed into Arctic-adjacent waters and reached Hudson Bay and the river that would bear his name while pursuing that same elusive passage to Asia. Their voyages epitomize the era’s focus on finding a northern route to Asia across or around the continent. Other pairs involve different aims or journeys—Columbus and Vespucci sought western routes to Asia, Raleigh’s efforts centered on colonization, and Magellan and Drake completed circumnavigation rather than pursuing a northern passage.