A Voyage to Hudson's-Bay by the Dobbs Galleyand Californiain the Years 1746 and 1747, for Discovering a North West Passage

This 1748 work, recounting a recent though unsuccessful expedition to discover the North-West Passage, includes coverage of previous attempts.

In 1746, a privately funded expedition set out from England in search of the North-West Passage. While the expedition was unsuccessful in locating the sea route, it travelled further north than any previous attempt. First published in 1748, this account by Henry Ellis (1721–1806) generated great interest.After running away to sea in 1741, Henry Ellis (1721–1806) joined a privately funded expedition with the purpose of discovering the North-West Passage, a possible trade route to the East Indies. While the expedition returned to England unsuccessful in 1747, having been thwarted by hazardous ice, Ellis believed that the route was still likely to exist. The party had travelled further north than any previous expedition, and Ellis's account, first published in 1748, generated great interest. The book includes a brief history of other attempts to find the passage, a map of Hudson Bay, several engravings of the fauna encountered, and observations of the natural history of the area. With his reputation increased by the book's publication, Ellis became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1749. He was later involved in the slave trade in Africa and colonial governance in North America.