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{{Short description|English navigator, explorer and cartographer (1584–1622)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name           = William Baffin
| image          = 
| birth_date     = {{circa|1584}}
| birth_place    = [[London]], England
| death_date     = 23 January 1622
| death_place    = [[Qeshm Island]], [[Ormus]]
| education      =
| occupation     = Navigator, explorer, cartographer
| title          =
| spouse         =
| parents        =
| children       =
| nationality    = [[Kingdom of England|English]]
| signature      = Signature of William Baffin (c. 1584 – 1922).png
}}

'''William Baffin''' ({{circa|1584}} – 23 January 1622) was an English navigator, explorer and cartographer. He is best known for his attempt to find the [[Northwest Passage]] from the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] to [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific oceans]], during which Baffin became the first European to discover [[Baffin Bay|a bay]] which was subsequently named in his honour. Baffin carried out numerous surveys of the [[Red Sea]] and [[Persian Gulf]] for the English [[East India Company]].

==Life==
Nothing is known about Baffin's early life<ref>Markham, Clements. The Voyages of William Baffin, 1612-1622. London: Hakluyt Society, 1881, page xxi.</ref> (an estimated year of birth, 1584, originated in the ''[[ Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' in the 19th century, but without known documentary support).{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} It has been conjectured that he was born to a humble station in London and gradually raised himself through his diligence and perseverance.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} In printing his journals, [[Samuel Purchas]] wrote of him as a "learned-unlearned Mariner and Mathematician... wanting art of words" who "really employed himself to those industries, whereof here you see so evident fruits."{{refn|Cited in the ''[[Dictionary of Canadian Biography]]''.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}}}

His earliest mention occurs in 1612, when he was chief pilot on Captain [[James Hall (explorer)|James Hall]]'s 4th expedition to Greenland.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} [[Christian IV's Expeditions to Greenland|Hall's three earlier explorations]] had been underwritten by {{nowrap|[[Christian IV of Denmark|Christian IV]],}} the [[list of Danish kings|king]] of [[Denmark-Norway]] anxious to reestablish contact with the [[Viking Greenland|Norse settlements there]]. It was still unknown that they had been overrun by the [[Inuit]] centuries before, but after the third failed expedition, Christian abandoned the project. Hall then successfully interested four [[Kingdom of England|English]] merchants—[[Thomas Smythe]], [[James Lancaster]], [[William Cockayne]], and Richard Ball—in permitting him to continue his work. Baffin and Hall sailed from the [[Humber]] aboard  ''Patience'' on 22 April,{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Baffin's journal of this voyage, however, begins on 8 July.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}}} accompanied by ''Heart's Ease''.{{sfnp|Markham|1881|pp=xx–xxi}}{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} During this voyage, Captain Hall was killed by the Inuit on the west coast of Greenland but Baffin successfully returned to [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] on 11 September under the new captain Andrew Barker.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}

Over the next two years, Baffin served in the [[Muscovy Company]]-controlled [[whaling|whale-fishery]] off [[Spitzbergen]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} During the 1613 season, he served under Captain Benjamin Joseph as pilot of ''Tiger'', the [[flagship]] of the 7-vessel whaling fleet;{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} in 1614, he and Joseph served on ''Thomasine'', amid a fleet of 11 ships and 2 [[Full-rigged pinnace|pinnace]]s.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} Icy conditions precluded exploration to the north, but Baffin examined a "considerable portion" of Spitzbergen's coast, returning to London on 4 October.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}

In 1615, he entered the service of the "Company of Merchants of London, Discoverers of the North-West Passage", which had been established in 1612. Its first governor was [[Thomas Smythe]],{{sfnp|Markham|1881|pp=v–vi, xxx}} one of the underwriters of Hall's fourth voyage.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Other prominent members of the company included [[James Lancaster]], Francis Jones, Dudley Digges, and John Wolstenholme.{{sfnp|Markham|1881|pp=v–vi, xxx}}}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The previous 3 seasons of exploration had been led by, respectively, [[Henry Hudson]] (who was marooned by his men after a winter trapped in [[Hudson Bay]]), [[Thomas Button]] (who stayed near [[Churchill, Canada|Churchill]]), and [[William Gibbons (explorer)|William Gibbons]] (who stayed on the [[Labrador, Canada|Labrador]] coast).{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}}} Baffin served as pilot of ''[[Discovery (1602 ship)|Discovery]]'', which left England under Captain [[Robert Bylot]] on 15 March.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} It carefully explored [[Hudson Strait]] in search of a [[Northwest Passage]] from the North Atlantic to the [[Far East]]. The accuracy of Baffin's tidal and astronomical observations on this voyage was confirmed  when [[William Edward Parry]] passed over the same ground in 1821.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}}{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} 

[[File:Baffin Chart of Hudson Strait.png|thumb|William Baffin's chart of the Hudson Strait.]]

Baffin again sailed as pilot of ''[[Discovery (1602 ship)|Discovery]]'' the next year. Leaving [[Gravesend]] on 26 March,{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} he passed west of Greenland up the [[Davis Strait]], discovering the large bay to its north which [[Baffin Bay|now bears his name]], together with a series of sounds which radiate from its head and were named by him after members of the North-West Passage Company: [[Lancaster Sound|Lancaster]], [[Smith Sound|Smith]], and [[Jones Sound|Jones]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} On this voyage, he sailed over {{convert|300|smi|km|sp=us}} farther north than his predecessor [[John Davis (English explorer)|John Davis]]:{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} since his voyages seemed to preclude hope of an ice-free nautical path to the Orient, the area was not explored again for two centuries{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} and his [[Furthest North|furthest north]] (about {{nowrap|77° 45′ N)}} remained unsurpassed in North America until the Royal Navy officer [[Edward Augustus Inglefield]] reached {{nowrap|78° 28′ N}} in the same area in 1852.

[[File:The Platt of Sayling For The Discoverye Of A Passage Into The South Sea 1631-1632.jpg|thumb|Map of a voyage undertaken by [[Thomas James (sea captain)|Thomas James]], with Baffin Bay based on Baffin's charts. Baffin's cartography appears accurate, and clearly identifies the shape of the bay.]]

With the abandonment of projects for the Northwest Passage, Baffin took service with the [[English East India Company|East India Company]],{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} possibly with the intent of eventually discovering the passage from the western end.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} He left as master's mate to [[Andrew Shilling]], captain of ''Anne Royal'', on 4 February 1617.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} The fleet – under the command of Captain [[Martin Pring]] – reached [[Saldanha Bay]] in South Africa on 21 June and [[Surat]] in [[British India]] in September. Baffin's ship then performed separate service on runs to [[Mocha, Yemen|Mocha]] in [[Yemen]] and other ports of the [[Red Sea]] and [[Persian Gulf]]. Upon his return to London in September, 1619,{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} the company granted him special recognition for the valuable charts he had made during the course of his voyage.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}}

[[File:William Baffin - Northern India; Mughal Empire - 1625.jpg|thumb|Map of northern India attributed to Baffin; published after his death (1625). This map was drawn after intelligence from the Mughal court was passed to Sir [[Thomas Roe]], the current ambassador, who then passed the intelligence on to Baffin in 1619.]]

In 1620, he sailed east again as master of ''London'' on the special recommendation of Capt. Shilling, the commander of the expedition.{{sfn|Markham|1881|page=xxxix}}{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} Baffin left [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|the Downs]] on 25 March and reached [[Suvali Beach]] near [[Surat]] in India on 9 November. Hearing of a joint [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] and [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] fleet searching for them, Shilling went in search of them: he was wounded in battle in the Gulf of Oman on 28 December and died on 6 January.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} A year later, the East India Company agreed to join the [[Qajar dynasty|Persia]]n assaults on the Portuguese fortresses on the islands of [[Qeshm Island|Qeshm]] and [[Hormuz Island|Hormuz]] in exchange for certain trade concessions. At Qeshm off [[Bandar Abbas]], he was sent ashore on 23 January 1622 to take measurements of the height and distance of the walls of Fort Queixome to assist the fleet's gunners. One of his contemporaries described his death:
<blockquote>Master Baffin went on shoare with his Geometricall Instruments, for the taking of the height and distance of the Castle wall, for the better levelling of his peece to make his shot; but, as he was about the same, he received a small shot from the Castle into his belly, wherewith he gave three leapes, and died immediately.<ref>[[Alan Villiers]] ''Monsoon Seas: The Story of the Indian Ocean''. 1952. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. New York London Toronto, p. 40.</ref></blockquote> He was one of few English casualties.  The garrison swiftly surrendered,{{sfnp|Sykes|2006|p=278}} and Anglo-Persian control of Qeshm permitted the swift [[Capture of Ormuz (1622)|conquest of Ormuz]], opening [[Qajar dynasty|Persia]] to direct trade.{{sfnp|Chaudhuri|1999|p=64}}

His wife – reckoned a "troublesome, impatient woman"{{refn|Cited in the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography''.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}}} – forced the East India Company into court over her husband's wages and other claims. Three years later, a settlement of [[Pound sterling#Tudor, 1551|£]]500 was agreed upon.{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Rosa William Baffin 1.jpg|thumb|150px|right|A William Baffin rose]]
[[Baffin Bay]] and [[Baffin Island]] were named in William Baffin's honour,{{sfnp|Quinn & al.|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ErkxBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 82]}} and he is responsible for the names of several of their features.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} His journals were the only account of several of his voyages.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} Excerpts were printed by [[Samuel Purchas]] in 1625, but Baffin's charts and hydrographic observations were omitted owing to the expense involved.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} All but one were subsequently lost,{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}} and in time Baffin's discoveries came to be doubted.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} He was, however, a hero to the explorer [[John Ross (Arctic explorer)|John Ross]], who led an expedition in 1818 that confirmed Baffin's account in almost all particulars.{{sfnp|Sandler|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lKkuuKi3-RMC&pg=PA27 27]}}

Besides his geographical discoveries, Baffin is celebrated for the scrupulous accuracy of his many scientific and magnetic observations.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} His [[history of longitude|reckoning of longitude]] at sea by [[History of longitude#Lunar distances|lunar distances]] on 26 April 1615 is the first of its kind on record.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}}{{sfnp|''DCB''|1966}}

He is also the namesake of the William Baffin rose.<ref>{{citation |contribution-url=http://www.canadianrosesociety.org/CRSMembers/Resources/RosePhotos/ExplorerRoses/tabid/70/Default.aspx |contribution=William Baffin rose |title=Canadian Rose Society |url=http://www.canadianrosesociety.org <!--|access-date=28 July 2015--> }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Samuel Purchas]]
* [[Blackburn Baffin]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{citation |last=Baffin |first=William |editor-last=Markham |editor-first=Clements R. |title=The Voyages of William Baffin, 1612–1622 |ref={{harvid|Markham|1881}} |url=https://archive.org/details/voyagesofwilliam00markrich |publisher=Hakluyt Society |year=1881 }}
* {{cite DCB |last=Dodge |first=Ernest S.|ref={{harvid|''DCB''|1966}} |title=William Baffin |volume=1 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/baffin_william_1E.html}}
* {{cite EB9 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=William Baffin |volume=3  |ref={{harvid|''EB''|1878}} |page=229 }}
* {{citation |last=Chaudhuri |first=K.N. |title=The English East India Company: The Study of an Early Joint-Stock Company: 1600–1640 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=1999 |isbn=0-415-19076-2 }}
* {{cite EB1911 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Baffin, William |volume=3 |ref={{harvid|''EB''|1911}} |page=192 }}
* {{citation |last=Marsden |first=R. G. |editor-last=The High Court of Admiralty 1550-1650 |editor-first= |title=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |ref={{harvid|Marsden|1902}} |url=https://archive.org/details/voyagesofwilliam00markrich |publisher=vol.16 Dec p.69-96 |year=1902 }}
* {{citation |last1=Quinn |first1=Joyce A. |last2=Woodward |first2=Susan L. |ref={{harvid|Quinn & al.|2015}} |title=Earth's Landscape: An Encyclopedia of the World's Geographic Features |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ErkxBgAAQBAJ |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-446-9 }}
* {{citation |last=Sandler |first=Martin W. |title=Resolute: The Epic Search for the Northwest Passage and John Franklin, and the Discovery of the Queen's Ghost Ship |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lKkuuKi3-RMC |publisher=Sterling Publishing |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-40275-861-4 |year=2006 }}
* {{citation |last=Sykes |first=Percy Molesworth |title=A History of Persia |publisher=Read Books |date=2006 |isbn=1-4067-2692-3 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{citation |contribution-url=http://www.thepirateking.com/bios/baffin_william.htm |first=Rob |last=Ossian |url=http://www.thepirateking.com |title=Pirates Cove |contribution=William Baffin, English Navigator and Explorer }}
* {{citation |contribution-url=http://biographi.ca/en/bio/baffin_william_1E.html |first=Ernest |last=Dodge |url=http://biographi.ca/en/bio/baffin_william_1E.html |title=Dictionary of Canadian Biography |contribution=William BAFFIN}}

{{Polar exploration}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baffin, William}}
[[Category:16th-century births]]
[[Category:16th-century English explorers]]
[[Category:17th-century English explorers]]
[[Category:1622 deaths]]

[[Category:Polar explorers]]
[[Category:English explorers of North America]]
[[Category:Explorers of Canada]]
[[Category:Explorers of Svalbard]]
[[Category:British explorers of the Arctic]]
[[Category:Muscovy Company]]
[[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]