24. Origins and history of the Inuit
Martin Frobisher unexpectedly met the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the Arctic. We need to understand who they were before continuing our story.
The Inuit peoples
Before we continue the story of Frobisher’s voyages to the Arcti, some context about the peoples Martin Frobisher and his crews encountered would be helpful.
The Inuit presented a formidable challenge to these Englishmen who had never seen a people who could not only survive but thrive in the harsh Arctic conditions.
The first encounter between the English and the Inuit occurred during Frobisher’s first voyage in 1576. When inspecting an island at the head of Frobisher Bay, Frobisher and Christopher Hall saw what he thought were “Porpoises or Ceales, or some kinde of strange fish: but coming nearer, he discovered them to be men, in small boates made of leather.” After some careful negotiations, nine Inuit boarded the Gabriel and showed little or no fear. Historian Kenn Harper suggests they probably had seen Europeans before. Events after this meeting would cause a small war between them in the 1577 voyage. One of the nine was requested to be…
