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Two Discovered Cape Cod

Henry Hudson and Bartholomew Gosnold are both credited with the discovery of Cape Cod. It is clear which part of the Cape may be credited to Gosnold’s discovery, but which part Hudson discovered is not clear.

That he did discover it is clear for it is recorded in his journal after his second voyage in behalf of certain English adventurers. At the time, Henry Hudson was attempting to find a passage to the north by which ships might continue on into the Pacific. He was an Englishman, but was then in the employ of the Dutch, and it was a Dutch ship of which he was then in command.

Gosnold is credited with discovering the Cape in 1602, and his recognition as a discoverer so far exceeded Hudson’s that the chain of small islets called the Elizabeth Islands, extending southwesterly from Falmouth, are called Gosnold—and form the town by that name.

The Town of Gosnold is composed of a chain of small islands along the eastern boundary of Buzzards Bay known as the Elizabeth Islands. They extend southwestward for 16 miles (26 km) from the Falmouth village of Woods Hole, at the southwestern tip of Cape Cod, toward Rhode Island Sound. The Elizabeth Islands form the boundary between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. - source

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