Logbooks from Arctic voyages

Perilous position of HMS Terror, Captain Back, in the Arctic Regions in the summer of 1837, by Admiral William Smyth. Repro ID: BHC3655 ©National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, LondonSince its inception in 1670 the Hudson's Bay Company controlled fully one third of present day Canadian territory. Control over this enormous domain was granted by Royal Charter following the successful voyage of Nonsuch to trade for beaver pelts with the Cree near James Bay.

What began as a simple fur-trading enterprise evolved into a trading and exploration company that reached to the west coast of Canada and the United States, south to Oregon, north to the Arctic and east to Ungava Bay, with agents in Chile, Hawaii, California and Siberia. In common with the Royal Navy officers, those of the HBC were also required to keep a careful record of their voyages and we are fortunate that so many of the logbooks of this enterprising Company have survived.

Hudson's Bay Company logbooks

The logbooks were kept on board all Company ships that sailed annually between London and their trading posts on the Bay. The usual route took them from the Thames Estuary up the east coast of the UK to Stromness in the Orkney Islands, where the Company’s servants and crew were embarked. From here they sailed round Cape Farewell in Greenland and entered the Hudson Strait south of Resolution Island. Once in the Bay the routes diverged to Moose Factory, or to Churchill or York Factory.

The format of the logbook page remained virtually unchanged throughout the period of the record and were similar to contemporary Royal Navy records. Observations were made at two-hour intervals with respect to the ship’s speed. Other routine observations were made of course direction, wind direction, wind force and weather.

The Hudson Bay officer's day ended, as did that of Royal Navy officers, at noon when the errors of navigation were corrected by sighting on the midday sun. Careful note was made of magnetic variation (the degree to which true departed from magnetic north). In the far northern latitudes over which these hardy mariners sailed, the magnetic variation could be over 20 degrees. This made navigation more difficult and required constant vigilance on the part of the ships’ officers.

Information on sea ice conditions and the sighting of icebergs were noted with similar care. Although sea-ice conditions were not part of the routine information to be recorded, this information proves to be particularly important for climatic studies. The careful and frequent logbook entries are of inestimable value when examining the climate of those distant times and provide an unrivalled picture for these remote but important regions.

Sources

The original logbooks of the Hudson's Bay Company are kept in Winnipeg, Canada: however, microfilm copies of all the logs, together with additional company records are held at the National Archives, Kew, London.