Question 19 - Language Arts: Writing Practice Test for the HiSET Test

[1] Henry Hudson was born on September 12, 1565, in England. He had no sisters. He did have three brothers. His family was most likely wealthy. They were not formally educated. Henry dreamed of exploring, inspired by his role model, Christopher Columbus, who was the first one to sail to a new land by going west.

[2] Henry Hudson started his first expedition in 1607. It was Hudson’s claim that he could find a shorter, ice-free passage to markets and trade routes in Asia. He and his son John, along with ten companions, set sail towards the Arctic Circle and traveled east along the edge of the polar ice pack until they came to the Svalbard archipelago, half way between Norway and the North Pole. Here the men were forced to turn back because of the ice.

[3] In 1608 Hudson set out again, but again found his path blocked by ice fields. The British Muscovy Company refused to sponsor a third attempt, but the Dutch East India Company commissioned his third expedition in 1609. It was on his third expedition when circumstances started to get interesting. He sailed down a river in what is now New York. This river was later named the Hudson River for him being the first to find it. While trying to sail North, he found that his compass was useless because the North Pole’s magnetic wave caused the needle to point incorrectly. Hudson was now sailing the rough seas with no compass and feared that sea monsters would flip the small vessel, just as they had done to others.

[4] He left for his fourth and final expedition on April 17, 1610, taking his eldest son, John, with him. On this journey, he reached what is now known as the Hudson Bay in late 1610 or early 1611. Believing he had found a passage to the Pacific, Hudson soon realized he had sailed into a gigantic bay and would not reach the coveted Pacific. He pressed his crew to continue exploring the area through the brutal winter months. Frustrated by their captain’s stubborn nature and angry to be suffering through the cold, several of the crew decided to mutiny. Hudson was never heard from again. When his ship returned to England, Henry Hudson was not onboard.