Thomas Cavendish - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sir Thomas Cavendish was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

explorer and a privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake

Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...

and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and return by circumnavigating the globe. While members of Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....

's, Loaisa

García Jofre de Loaísa

García Jofre de Loaísa was a 16th century Spanish explorer ordered by king Charles I of Spain to command an expedition to Asia, known as the Loaísa expedition, which in 1525 was sent by the western route to colonize the Spice Islands in the East Indies, thus crossing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans...

's, Drake

Francis Drake

's, and Loyola

Martín Ignacio de Loyola

Martín Ignacio Martínez de Mallea, known as Martín Ignacio de Loyola, was a Franciscan friar, best known for his two travels around the world in 1580-1584 and 1585-1589, being the first person to complete the world circumnavigation twice, and for his missionary effort in China.He was a grandnephew...

's expeditions had preceded Cavendish in circumnavigating the globe, it had not been their intent at the outset. His first trip and successful circumnavigation, made him rich from captured Spanish gold, silk and treasure from the Pacific and the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. His richest prize was the captured 600 ton sailing ship

Sailing ship

The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...

the Manila Galleon

Manila Galleon

The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...

Santa Ana (also called Santa Anna). He was knighted by 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...

after his return. He later set out for a second raiding and circumnavigation trip, but was not as fortunate and died at sea at the age of 32.

Biography

Cavendish was born in 1560 at Trimley St. Martin near Ipswich, Suffolk, England. His father was William Cavendish; he was a descendant of Roger Cavendish, brother to Sir John Cavendish

John Cavendish

Sir John Cavendish of Cavendish came from Cavendish, Suffolk, England. He and the village gave the name Cavendish to the aristocratic families, of the Dukedoms of Devonshire, Newcastle and Portland.-Biography:...

from whom the Dukes of Devonshire and the Dukes of Newcastle derive their family name of Cavendish.

When Cavendish was 12 he inherited a fortune from his deceased father William, but after leaving school at age 17, for the next 8 years or so he spent most of it on luxurious living. At the age of 15 he attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge|Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University for two years, but did not take a degree. He was a member of the Parliament for Shaftesbury, Dorset, in 1584. He sailed with Sir Richard Grenville to Virginia in 1585 gaining much valuable experience but losing money on his investments. He was a member of Parliament for Wilton, 1586.

By July 1586 Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

were at war culminating with 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...

and its threatened invasion of England in 1588. Thomas Cavendish determined to follow Sir Francis Drake by raiding the Spanish ports and ships in the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

and return by circumnavigating the globe. After getting permission for his proposed raids Cavendish built a larger 120 ton sailing ship

Sailing ship

with 18 cannons named the Desire

Desire (ship)

The Desire was the 120 ton flagship Thomas Cavendish built for his highly successful 1586-1588 circumnavigation of the globe. The Desire was only the third ship to circumnavigate the globe after the Victoria of Ferdinand Magellan and the Golden Hind of Francis Drake...

. He was joined with the 60 tons, 10 cannon, ship Content and the 40 ton Hugh Gallant sailing ship

Sailing ship

s. He with his three ships and 123 men set out from Plymouth, England on 21 July 1586 and reached the Strait of Magellan

Strait of Magellan

The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...

on 6 January 1587. After extensive exploration of the many inlets, labyrinths, and intricate channels of the islands and broken lands of Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...

and its environs they emerged from the strait into the Pacific on 24 February and sailed up the coast of South America. He anchored first at the island of Santa Magdalena near present day Punta Arenas Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, where in two hours they killed and salted two barrels full of penguin

Penguin

Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...

s for food.

There on the Pacific coast he sunk or captured 9 Spanish ships and looted several towns of quantities of fresh food, supplies and treasure while intentionally sinking the ship Hugh Gallant to use her crew to replace crew members lost on his other ships. One of the captured Spanish ship's pilots revealed that the Manila Galleon

Manila Galleon

was expected in October or November 1587 and usually stopped at Cape San Lucas on the Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

peninsula before going on to Acapulco

Acapulco

Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...

. The Manila Galleon

Manila Galleon

s were restricted to one or two ships/year by the Spanish Monarch and typically carried all the goods accumulated in the Philippines

Philippines

in a year's worth of trading silver from the Mints in Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

with the Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

and others for spices, silk, gold and other expensive goods. In 1587 there were two Manila galleons: the San Francisco and the Santa Ana. Unfortunately both encountered a typhoon on leaving the Philippines

Philippines

and were wrecked on the coast of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Only the Santa Ana was salvageable and after repairs resumed her voyage.

Upon reaching the Gulf of California

Gulf of California

The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...

in October 1587 Cavendish and his two ships put in at an island above Mazatlan

Mazatlán

Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...

where they careened

Careening

Careening a sailing vessel is the practice of beaching it at high tide. This is usually done in order to expose one side or another of the ship's hull for maintenance and repairs below the water line when the tide goes out....

their ships to clean their bottoms and made general repairs. They had to dig wells for water. They sailed for the Cape San Lucas on the Baja Peninsula and set up patrols to see if they could spot the Manila Galleon. Early on 4 November 1587 one of Cavendish's lookouts spotted the 600 ton Galleon manned with over 200 men. After a several hour chase the English ships over hauled the Santa Ana--which conveniently had no cannons on board to allow more cargo. After several hours of battle where Cavendish used his cannon to fire ball and grape shot into the galleon while they tried to fight back with small arms, after starting to sink the Santa Ana finally struck her colors and surrendered.

Because of the great disparity in size the Content and Desire had to pick and choose what rich cargo they wanted to transfer to their ships. One hundred ninety Spaniards (including Sebastián Vizcaíno

Sebastián Vizcaíno

Sebastián Vizcaíno was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Philippines, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Japan.-Early career:...

(1548–1624), later explorer of California coast), and Filipino crewmen were set ashore with food and some weapons in a location where they had water and food available. Cavendish kept with him two Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

sailors, three boys from Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, a Portuguese

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

traveler familiar with China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

and a Spanish pilot

Maritime pilot

A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....

(navigator

Navigator

A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...

). They loaded all the gold (about 100 troy pounds or 122,000 pesos worth) and then picked through the silks, damask

Damask

Damask is a reversible figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave...

s, musk

Musk

Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a...

s (used in perfume

Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...

manufacture), spice

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...

s, wines, and ship's supplies for what they could carry. Some in Mexico claimed that the total value of the cargo was about 2,000,000 pesos. After setting fire to the Santa Ana, the Desire and Content sailed away on 17 November 1587. The Content was never heard from again. The Santa Ana, while burning, drifted into the coast where the Spanish survivors extinguished the flames, re-floated the ship and limped into Acapulco. The Desire tried to avoid conflict for the rest of her voyage.

Cavendish then sailed across the Pacific and arrived at the island of Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

on 3 January 1588 where he traded iron tools for: fresh supplies, water and wood supplied by the natives. On further landings in the Philippines

Philippines

, Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

and other islands he traded some of his captured linen and other goods for fresh supplies, water and wood and collected information about the Chinese

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

and Japan

Japan

ese coasts. His crew of about 48 men replaced their worn out clothing and bedding with uniforms made out of silken damask

Damask

. He hoped to use this information to augment existing English knowledge of the area and for a possible second voyage. By 14 May 1588 he reached the coast of Africa and returned home by way of the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

, stopping at the island of Saint Helena

Saint Helena

Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...

for fresh supplies. On 9 September 1588 the Desire sailed into Plymouth, England harbor. Later she paraded up the Thames River through 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...

England displaying her new sails of blue damask

Damask

(a type of silk). The circumnavigation of the globe was done in two years and 49 days, nine months faster than Drake, but, like Drake, Cavendish returned with only one of his ships—the Desire

Desire (ship)

with a crew of about 48 men. He has knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I of England

who was invited to a dinner aboard the Desire

Desire (ship)

. England celebrated the return of the Desire and the defeat of the Spanish Armada

Spanish Armada

earlier that year.

His first voyage was a huge success financially and otherwise; Cavendish was only 28. Cavendish sailed on a second expedition in August 1591, going further south to the Strait of Magellan. Cavendish then returned to Brazil, where he lost most of his crew in a battle against the Portuguese at the Village of Vitória. He set off across the Atlantic towards Saint Helena

Saint Helena

with the remainder of the crew, but died of unknown causes at age 32, possibly off Ascension Island

Ascension Island

Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...

in the South Atlantic in 1592. The English explorer John Davis

John Davis (English explorer)

John Davis , was one of the chief English navigators and explorers under Elizabeth I, especially in Polar regions and in the Far East.-Early life:...

continued on with Cavendish's crew and ships and discovered the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

, before returning to England with most of his crew lost to starvation and illness.

External links

John D. Neville. "History of Thomas Cavendish", Heritage Education Program, US National Park Service.
Christian Isobel Johnstone
Christian Isobel Johnstone
Christian Isobel Johnstone was a prolific journalist and author in Scotland in the nineteenth century. She was a significant early feminist and an advocate of other liberal causes in her era....

(1831). Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier. Oliver & Boyd. From Google Books.
Christian Isobel Johnstone (1892). Early English voyagers : or, The adventures and discoveries of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier. London : Nelson. From Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.