The Northwest Passage

For centuries, starting with John Cabot in 1497, European explorers looked for a way to sail west from Europe to reach Asia, with whom they wanted to trade for many exotic, lucrative luxuries like silk, spices and tea.

Roald Amundsen was the first person to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage in 1905. 
It is a sea route in the Arctic Ocean that connects the North Atlantic Ocean with the North Pacific Ocean. 

Prior to Amundsen’s navigation of this route, explorers had dreamed about finding the passage for centuries. When the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts were first explored, explorers theorized there had to be a way to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific by sea. They didn't realize how daunting the task would be, and as Amundsen discovered, how currently useless the sea route is for commercial purposes, due to extreme narrowness and icy conditions.

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