Robert Bylot (fl. 1610–1616) was an Englishexplorer who made four voyages to the Arctic.[1] He was uneducated and from a working-class background, but was able to rise to rank ofmaster in theEnglish Royal Navy.[2]
Bylot wasfirst mate on theDiscovery duringHenry Hudson's 1610–1611 expedition into what is now known asHudson Bay. In the spring of 1611, Hudson wanted to continue the expedition, but the crew wanted to return home. There was discontent between the captain and members of the crew, and was stripped of his rank.
Later there was a mutiny in which Hudson, his son and several sailors were set adrift in an open boat inJames Bay. It was due to Bylot's navigational skills thatDiscovery was able to return from the Arctic safely; Hudson and his party were never seen again.[2] Upon return to England, Bylot was tried as a mutineer but was pardoned.
Bylot returned to Hudson Bay in 1612 withSir Thomas Button. They wintered over at the mouth of theNelson River, and in the spring of 1613, continued north. They were able to reach65th parallel north, then returned to England.[3]
In 1615, theMuscovy Company hired Bylot to find theNorthwest Passage as captain ofDiscovery.William Baffin was the pilot. They sailed west fromHudson Strait and were blocked by ice atFrozen Strait.[4]
The following year, the Muscovy Company again hired Bylot and Baffin to continue to search for the Northwest Passage. The voyage resulted in several notable achievements. First was the circumnavigation and mapping of what is now calledBaffin Bay. Second was the discovery ofSmith Sound, by which theNorth Pole would eventually be reached. Third was the discovery ofLancaster Sound, through which the Northwest Passage would eventually be found three centuries later.[5]
Bylot and Baffin's work in Baffin Bay was doubted by cartographers back in England. As late as 1812, some charts of the area only showed a dotted bulge with the words: "Baffin's Bay according to the relation of W. Baffin in 1616, but not now believed."[5]
When the bay was "rediscovered" bySir John Ross in 1818, the records of the Bylot–Baffin voyage proved extremely accurate. In England, almost total credit for the discovery was given to Baffin, and Bylot was virtually ignored.[5] HistorianFarley Mowat speculated two possible reasons for this: Bylot's lack of education and lower position relative to Baffin in English society, and his involvement in the mutiny during Hudson's expedition.[5]
Bylot Island, off the northern end ofBaffin Island and one of the more dramatic of theCanadian Arctic islands, was named after him.
