The first recorded explorer to the Iqaluit area was Sir Martin Frobisher in 1576. He discovered what he thought was gold on Kudlarnen Island, about 100 miles from the town of Iqaluit. Excited by his discovery he made two more trips in 1577 and 1578 to mine and bring back this ore to England. Unfortunately it turned out to be worthless Iron Pyrites or "Fools Gold".
Frobisher and his men had several violent encounters with the local people (Thule Inuit). In one incident five of Frobisher's crew were kidnapped by the Inuit. Later three of the Inuit were forcibly taken back to England where they soon died.Stories of his visit were passed from generation to generation in the oral history of the Inuit and were reported accurately to anthropologists in modern times.
John Davis made three voyages to the arctic in the 1500's in search of the NorthWest Passage. In 1585 and 1587 he explored Cumburland Sound north of Frobisher Bay and the surrounding area. In 1586 he sailed south of Frobisher Bay and along the coast of Labrador.
In 1860 an American explorer Charles Frances Hall became stranded on Baffin island during a search for the lost Franklin expedition. From the local people he learned of the location of Frobsher's mine on Kudlarnen Island. He explored Frobisher Bay to its end proving that it was a Bay and not a strait as Martin Frobisher had thought. He discovered and named the Sylvia Grinnell River which empties into Frobisher Bay at Iqaluit.
In the early 1600's William Baffin and Robert Bylot explored and mapped the east coast of Baffin Island. Between 1829 and 1833 John Ross explored the northeast coast of Baffin Island.
