Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America

This account by Thomas Simpson (1808–1840) of his successful partial survey of the North-West Passage, for the Hudson's Bay Company, was published by his brother in 1843, following Simpson's alleged suicide. It sheds light on his talented, but difficult, character and on the contribution of trade interests to exploration.

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In 1829, Thomas Simpson (1808–1840), born in Dingwall, Scotland, joined the fur-trading Hudson's Bay Company. Under its auspices, he was the junior officer of a successful survey expedition along the North-West Passage, beyond the limits of Franklin's disastrous 1819–22 attempt. The Royal Geographical Society awarded Simpson their Founder's Medal; however the Company refused his request immediately to lead an expedition further east along the coast. Simpson, ambitious and furious, set out for London, hoping to secure approval there, but before he reached the Atlantic, he was shot in the head. The men who had accompanied him alleged that he went mad, and killed two of them before committing suicide. Simpson's own account of his explorations was edited by his brother, Alexander, and published in 1843 in an attempt to restore his reputation. It sheds light on Simpson's difficult character and also on the contribution of trade interests to exploration.