Frobisher Bay for the English navigator Sir Martin Frobisher, who, during his search for the Northwest Passage in 1576, became the first European to visit it. Until Hall's voyage in 1861, the Bay was thought by Europeans to be a strait separating Baffin Island from another island. The first Church of England service recorded on North American soil was a celebration of Holy Communion at Frobisher Bay in the last days of August or early September 1578. The Anglican Church of Canada's Prayer Book fixes the day of commemoration as September 3. The chaplain on Frobisher's voyage was " 'Maister Wolfall (probably
An Island in the Moon the prevailing belief as to the primary background of "An Island" is that it dramatises Blake's disassociation from the social circles in which he found himself. Critical work in the second half of the twentieth century, however, has often challenged the assumption that "An Island" originated in Blake's rejection of a specific social circle. Foremost amongst such work is that of David V. Erdman, who suggests instead that the main background to the "An Island" is Blake's belief in his own imminent financial success. In early 1784, Blake opened a print shop at No. 27 Broad Street with James Parker,