They reached the ice in the
North Sea, but were compelled to return without effecting their
purpose! Will it be believed that the George was only of 40 tons,
and that its crew consisted of nine men and a boy; and that the
William was of 20 tons, with five men and a boy? The wonder is
that these little vessels could resist the terrible icefields,
and return to England again with their hardy crews.
Then in 1585, another of our adventurous sailors, John Davis, of
Sandridge on the Dart, set sail with two barks, the Sunshine and
the Moonshine, of 50 and 35 tons respectively, and discovered in
the far North-west the Strait which now bears his name. He was
driven back by the ice; but, undeterred by his failure, he set
out on a second, and then on a third voyage of discovery in the
two following years. But he never succeeded in discovering the
North-west passage. It all reads like a mystery--these repeated,
determined, and energetic attempts to discover a new way of
reaching the fabled region of Cathay.
In these early times the Dutch were not unworthy rivals of the
English. After they had succeeded in throwing off the Spanish
yoke and achieved their independence, they became one of the most
formidable of maritime powers. In the course of another century
Holland possessed more colonies, and had a larger share of the
carrying trade of the world than Britain.
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