James Alday facts for kids

James Alday (born 1516, died around 1576) was an English navigator, explorer, and privateer from the 1500s. A privateer was like a sailor who had permission from their government to attack enemy ships during wartime. James Alday took part in raids against Spanish ships in the 1540s with other privateers like James Logan and William Cooke. He is also known for helping to start regular trade between England and the Barbary coast (which is in North Africa) along with Sebastian Cabot and Henry Ostrich.

Alday himself said he planned the very first trip to the Barbary Coast. He called it "inventing the Barbary trade." Even though he wanted to lead this trip, he got sick and had to let someone else take command. This first trip wasn't successful. Another expedition, led by Thomas Windham, was the first to successfully reach the Barbary Coast in 1551. People often don't fully believe Alday's claim, partly because he was involved in privateering and there isn't much proof.

Who Was James Alday?

James Alday was a ship captain from Dartmouth, Devon, a town in England. He was known for sailing the seas and sometimes raiding ships, which was a mix of privateering and what some might call piracy. He commanded a ship called the Trinity Gilbert. With other captains, like James Logan of the Flying Ghost, he raided the coast of Galicia in the 1540s.

Early Voyages and Trade

James Alday was a student and close friend of the famous explorer Sebastian Cabot. Alday, Cabot, and Henry Ostrich worked together on plans to start trading with the Barbary Coast. Alday had organized what he believed was the first voyage to this region. However, he became very ill with a sickness called the "great sweat." Because of his illness, he had to give up his command to another captain. This voyage didn't seem to go well, as there are no records of it returning, and it might not have even left port.

Later that same year, Thomas Windham successfully led a voyage that reached the Barbary Coast in 1551. Alday wrote a letter to his friend Michael Lok, explaining that he and many others on his planned trip got sick. He mentioned that "the chief of those with whom I joined in that voyage died," including John Lutterel, John Fletcher, and Henry Ostrich. Alday was one of the few who survived. By the time he recovered, Windham had already sailed for Morocco, taking the ships from Portsmouth. Alday felt he had lost a lot because of this.

Later Adventures

In 1576, James Alday offered to join Martin Frobisher on his journey to find the Northwest Passage. This was a very risky trip, and Alday was ready to "risk his life to the uttermost point." His name isn't on the list of sailors who were paid after they returned, so it's thought he might have died on that expedition.

However, some records show that he led another expedition in 1579 for King Frederik II of Denmark. This trip was to Greenland and was not successful. He was likely chosen for this trip because of his experience with Frobisher. With two ships, he sailed to Greenland with orders to claim a lost colony for Norway and to teach the people about Lutheranism. The expedition faced delays because one ship needed to be replaced and then because of stormy weather. When they finally reached Greenland, they couldn't land because there was too much ice near the shore, so they had to turn back. It's also believed that James Alday wrote the oldest German book about navigation, which was published in 1578.