Simon Fernandez
Encyclopedia
Simon Fernandez was a 16th century Portuguese navigator and sometime pirate who piloted the 1585 and 1587 English expeditions to found colonies on Roanoake island, part of modern-day North Carolina
but then known as Virginia
. Fernandez trained as a navigator in Spain at the famed Casa de Contratacion
in Seville
, but later took up arms against the Spanish empire, preying upon Spanish shipping along with fellow pirate John Challice. Charged with piracy in 1577, he was saved from the hangman's noose by Sir Francis Walsingham, becoming a Protestant and a subject of the Queen of England. In 1578 Fernandez entered the service of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and later Sir Walter Raleigh, piloting the failed 1587 expedition to Roanoke, known to history as the "Lost Colony".
Fernandez disappears from the records after 1590, when he sailed with an English fleet to the Azores, a journey from which he most likely did not return alive. However, a copy of one of his charts of the East coast of North America still survives in the Cotton Collection
, and was probably one of the chief sources used by John Dee
for his 1580 map justifying English claims to North America.
in the Portuguese colony of the Azores
. Fernandez received his navigational training in Spain, at the renowned Casa de Contratación
pilot training school in Seville, and made at least one journey across the Atlantic in the service of the Spanish Crown.
, operating out of South Wales
in association with the notorious pirate John Challice, preying upon Spanish shipping. England was at peace with Spain at this time and piracy was an offence punishable by hanging, but in practice Fernandez was engaged in exactly the sort of behaviour to which Queen Elizabeth I of England
was inclined to turn a blind eye. However, the Portuguese ambassador Francisco Giraldi vigorously protested Fernandez's activities to the Queen's ministers, after the alleged murder of seven Portuguese sailors, and in 1577 the 39 year old was duly arrested in Cardiff
and taken to London
to face trial.
However, far from being hanged for his crimes, Fernandez was released, apparently with the connivance of Queen Elizabeth's spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, who appears to been well aware of the Portuguese navigator's potential usefulness in challenging the Spanish trade monopoly in the New World. Certainly Giraldi blamed Walsingham, excoriating him and demanding justice for his country's dead sailors. The fact was that Fernandez likely had more experience of navigating the Indies than almost any man in England, making him a unique asset to the early English voyages of discovery in the New World.
In 1578, the following year, Fernandez appears as pilot to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who was planning an expedition to colonize the Americas with the backing of Walsingham. Fernandez was of course well known to the Spanish authorities, who did not approve of his activities. In 1578 the Spanish Ambassasor wrote to King Phillip II of Spain, referring to Gilbert's proposed voyage of discovery:
In 1580 Gilbert sailed to America in the Squirrel, piloted by Fernandez, apparently making the Atlantic crossing in record time. Undoubtedly he was a skilled navigator, trained by the inestimable Thomas Harriot
in the latest navigational tools, and "not without almost incredible results".
During the voyage he shocked the ships' chaplain, Richard Madox of Oxford, by announcing that he was "at war with the King of Spain". Asked how this could be, since Fernandez was by now a subject of the Queen, and therefore officially at peace with the Spanish empire, Fernandez replied that he had a "free pardon from five Privy Councillors for carrying on the war with Spain".
However, in 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert was drowned returning from a journey to Newfoundland. Fernandez was now without a patron, and he soon found himself appointed to the service of Sir Walter Raleigh, who had inherited his half-brother's Patent of Discovery in Virginia
.
Fernandez was undoubtedly a skilled sailor but he appears to have been unpopular among his fellow explorers. He served as master and chief pilot to Raleigh's 1585 expedition to Roanoke, which was led by Sir Richard Grenville, returning to England later that year. During the course of the voyage Fernandez was given by his shipmates the unhappy nickname of "the swine", though it is possible that his fellow sailors simply objected to a foreigner (and a former subject of Spain at that) being elevated to such a senior position in the voyage.
. White and Fernandez evidently disliked one another, and White's journal records the author's unhappiness with his pilot, accusing the Portuguese of many outrages against the interests of the settlers, including "lewdly" abandoning the expedition's flyboat
in the course of the voyage.
In 1587 The settlers' chosen destination was not Roanoke but the Chesapeake Bay
but, on reaching Roanoake in late July, and allowing the colonists to disembark, Fernandez refused to let White's men re-board ship. According to White's journal, Fernandez's deputy "called to the sailors in the pinesse, charging them not to bring any of the planters back againe, but leave them on the island". Faced with what amounted to a mutiny by his navigator, White appears to have backed down and acquiesced in this sudden change of plan. Despite the governor's protests, Fernandez held that "summer was farre spent, wherefore hee would land all the planters in no other place.". Fernandez's motive for landing the colonists in the wrong spot is not clear, but it may be that he was prompted by his desire (and that of his crew) to return to the West Indies in order to pursue opportunites for privateering against Spanish shipping.
If Governor White's journal is to be believed, Fernandez's actions appear to have contributed to the poor outcome of the settlement, known to history as the "Lost Colony". Indeed, some modern historians (notably Lee Miller) have suggested that he may have deliberately intended to sabotage the entire enterprise. However, if this was the case then (as Miller herself concedes) his motives for doing so remain unclear.
Miller does however suggest a motive, not for Fernandez himself, but for Walsingham. In somewhat oblique language Miller suggests that the colony may have become a victim of court politics; Walsingham's jealousy at Raleigh's spectacular rise led him to do whatever was in his power to sabotage the colony. In this analysis, Fernandez appears as Walsingham's tool, willing and able to defeat the plans of his master's rival.
Whatever the truth of this, the fiasco of 1587 appears to have ended Fernandez' relationship with Raleigh. He participated in no further ventures across the Atlantic, though he did take part in the battle against the Spanish Armada
. He disappears from the records after 1590, when he sailed with an English fleet to the Azores, a journey which he most likely did not survive.
, cotton roll XIII.48. This map appears to be one of the chief sources used by John Dee
for his 1580 map which he prepared for the Queen, justifying English claims to all of North America north of Florida.
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
but then known as Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Fernandez trained as a navigator in Spain at the famed Casa de Contratacion
Casa de Contratación
La Casa de Contratación was a government agency under the Spanish Empire, existing from the 16th to the 18th centuries, which attempted to control all Spanish exploration and colonization...
in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, but later took up arms against the Spanish empire, preying upon Spanish shipping along with fellow pirate John Challice. Charged with piracy in 1577, he was saved from the hangman's noose by Sir Francis Walsingham, becoming a Protestant and a subject of the Queen of England. In 1578 Fernandez entered the service of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and later Sir Walter Raleigh, piloting the failed 1587 expedition to Roanoke, known to history as the "Lost Colony".
Fernandez disappears from the records after 1590, when he sailed with an English fleet to the Azores, a journey from which he most likely did not return alive. However, a copy of one of his charts of the East coast of North America still survives in the Cotton Collection
Cotton library
The Cotton or Cottonian library was collected privately by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton M.P. , an antiquarian and bibliophile, and was the basis of the British Library...
, and was probably one of the chief sources used by John Dee
John Dee
John Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
for his 1580 map justifying English claims to North America.
Early life
Fernandez was born Simão Fernandes in c.1538 in TerceiraTerceira Island
Referred to as the “Ilha Lilás” , Terceira is an island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 56,000 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 km²...
in the Portuguese colony of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. Fernandez received his navigational training in Spain, at the renowned Casa de Contratación
Casa de Contratación
La Casa de Contratación was a government agency under the Spanish Empire, existing from the 16th to the 18th centuries, which attempted to control all Spanish exploration and colonization...
pilot training school in Seville, and made at least one journey across the Atlantic in the service of the Spanish Crown.
Pirate
At some point Fernandez severed his loyalty to the Spanish crown and in the 1570s he took up a career in piracyPiracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
, operating out of South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
in association with the notorious pirate John Challice, preying upon Spanish shipping. England was at peace with Spain at this time and piracy was an offence punishable by hanging, but in practice Fernandez was engaged in exactly the sort of behaviour to which Queen Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
was inclined to turn a blind eye. However, the Portuguese ambassador Francisco Giraldi vigorously protested Fernandez's activities to the Queen's ministers, after the alleged murder of seven Portuguese sailors, and in 1577 the 39 year old was duly arrested in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and taken to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to face trial.
However, far from being hanged for his crimes, Fernandez was released, apparently with the connivance of Queen Elizabeth's spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, who appears to been well aware of the Portuguese navigator's potential usefulness in challenging the Spanish trade monopoly in the New World. Certainly Giraldi blamed Walsingham, excoriating him and demanding justice for his country's dead sailors. The fact was that Fernandez likely had more experience of navigating the Indies than almost any man in England, making him a unique asset to the early English voyages of discovery in the New World.
Navigator
- "They are taking with them one Simon Fernandez, a Portuguese, a thorough-paced scoundrel, who has given and is giving them much information about that coast, which he knows very well. As I am told, he has done no little damage to the King of Portugal..."
In 1580 Gilbert sailed to America in the Squirrel, piloted by Fernandez, apparently making the Atlantic crossing in record time. Undoubtedly he was a skilled navigator, trained by the inestimable Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer, and translator. Some sources give his surname as Harriott or Hariot or Heriot. He is sometimes credited with the introduction of the potato to Great Britain and Ireland...
in the latest navigational tools, and "not without almost incredible results".
During the voyage he shocked the ships' chaplain, Richard Madox of Oxford, by announcing that he was "at war with the King of Spain". Asked how this could be, since Fernandez was by now a subject of the Queen, and therefore officially at peace with the Spanish empire, Fernandez replied that he had a "free pardon from five Privy Councillors for carrying on the war with Spain".
However, in 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert was drowned returning from a journey to Newfoundland. Fernandez was now without a patron, and he soon found himself appointed to the service of Sir Walter Raleigh, who had inherited his half-brother's Patent of Discovery in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Fernandez was undoubtedly a skilled sailor but he appears to have been unpopular among his fellow explorers. He served as master and chief pilot to Raleigh's 1585 expedition to Roanoke, which was led by Sir Richard Grenville, returning to England later that year. During the course of the voyage Fernandez was given by his shipmates the unhappy nickname of "the swine", though it is possible that his fellow sailors simply objected to a foreigner (and a former subject of Spain at that) being elevated to such a senior position in the voyage.
The Lost Colony
In May 1587 Fernandez piloted a new expedition, a group of colonists led by governor John White which sailed for Virginia in The Lion. This time White and his fellow settlers included women and children, with a view to establishing a permanent colony in VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. White and Fernandez evidently disliked one another, and White's journal records the author's unhappiness with his pilot, accusing the Portuguese of many outrages against the interests of the settlers, including "lewdly" abandoning the expedition's flyboat
Flyboat
The flyboat was a European light vessel of between 70 to 200 tons, used in the late 16th and early 17th century; the name was subsequently applied to a number of disparate vessels.The name "flyboat" is derived from Dutch vlieboot, a boat with a shallow enough draught to be...
in the course of the voyage.
In 1587 The settlers' chosen destination was not Roanoke but the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
but, on reaching Roanoake in late July, and allowing the colonists to disembark, Fernandez refused to let White's men re-board ship. According to White's journal, Fernandez's deputy "called to the sailors in the pinesse, charging them not to bring any of the planters back againe, but leave them on the island". Faced with what amounted to a mutiny by his navigator, White appears to have backed down and acquiesced in this sudden change of plan. Despite the governor's protests, Fernandez held that "summer was farre spent, wherefore hee would land all the planters in no other place.". Fernandez's motive for landing the colonists in the wrong spot is not clear, but it may be that he was prompted by his desire (and that of his crew) to return to the West Indies in order to pursue opportunites for privateering against Spanish shipping.
If Governor White's journal is to be believed, Fernandez's actions appear to have contributed to the poor outcome of the settlement, known to history as the "Lost Colony". Indeed, some modern historians (notably Lee Miller) have suggested that he may have deliberately intended to sabotage the entire enterprise. However, if this was the case then (as Miller herself concedes) his motives for doing so remain unclear.
Miller does however suggest a motive, not for Fernandez himself, but for Walsingham. In somewhat oblique language Miller suggests that the colony may have become a victim of court politics; Walsingham's jealousy at Raleigh's spectacular rise led him to do whatever was in his power to sabotage the colony. In this analysis, Fernandez appears as Walsingham's tool, willing and able to defeat the plans of his master's rival.
Whatever the truth of this, the fiasco of 1587 appears to have ended Fernandez' relationship with Raleigh. He participated in no further ventures across the Atlantic, though he did take part in the battle against the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
. He disappears from the records after 1590, when he sailed with an English fleet to the Azores, a journey which he most likely did not survive.
Legacy
A copy of one of Fernandez's charts of the East coast of North America still survives in the Cotton CollectionCotton library
The Cotton or Cottonian library was collected privately by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton M.P. , an antiquarian and bibliophile, and was the basis of the British Library...
, cotton roll XIII.48. This map appears to be one of the chief sources used by John Dee
John Dee
John Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
for his 1580 map which he prepared for the Queen, justifying English claims to all of North America north of Florida.