Martin Pring facts for kids
Martin Pring (born 1580, died 1626) was an English explorer from Bristol, England. In 1603, when he was 23, he led a trip to North America to see if there were good business opportunities. He explored parts of what are now Maine, New Hampshire, and Cape Cod in Massachusetts. During this trip, he named what is now Plymouth Harbor 'Whitson Bay' and a nearby hill 'Mount Aldworth'. He named them after two merchants from Bristol who helped him with ships and supplies. Later, the Pilgrim fathers renamed the harbor. Martin Pring and his crew were the first known Europeans to travel up the Piscataqua River. Some people think that the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano explored this part of the New England coast in 1524-25, looking for a way to the Far East, but he did not land there until he reached the St. Lawrence River.
In 1606, Pring went back to America and drew maps of the Maine coast. Later, he became a ship's master for the East India Company (EIC). He explored places in East Asia and also worked to stop other countries from trading in those areas. By 1619, he was in charge of all the Company's ships. He returned to England in 1621 and became a member of the Virginia Company, receiving land. After leaving the EIC in 1623, Pring worked as a privateer for England, capturing several French and Spanish ships.
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Early Life and Learning
Martin Pring was born and grew up in Feniton, Devonshire. Records show he was baptized on April 23, 1580. His father was John Pringe and his mother was Mary Clarke. We don't know much about his early life, but it seems he learned about sailing from a young age in Bristol. He started working on ships early on.
Exploring North America
In 1603, important people in Bristol, including the mayor and merchants like Richard Hakluyt, supported Martin Pring. At 23, he was chosen to lead an expedition to explore the northern parts of a territory called Virginia in North America. The goal was to see if there were good ways to make money there, especially by trading for sassafras.
His main ship, the Speedwell, was 60 tons and had 30 men. (Another ship named Speedwell was used by the Plymouth Colony members 17 years later for their trip to America.) Pring's ship was joined by a smaller boat, the Explorer (also called Discoverer), which was 26 tons and had 13 men. Sir Walter Raleigh approved the trip, and they left on April 10, 1603.
First Landfall and Rivers
About two months later, the two ships first landed at the entrance of Penobscot Bay in what is now the state of Maine. They then sailed west, visiting the mouths of the Saco, Kennebunk, and York rivers. Pring noted that these rivers did not go far inland. In June, they reached the Piscataqua River, which is a tidal estuary. He described it as the westernmost and best river.
Pring explored 10 to 12 miles inland using the Piscataqua River. This river now forms part of the border between Maine and New Hampshire. He and his crew were the first Europeans known to have traveled so far up this river.
Meeting Native Americans
Pring anchored the Speedwell in the lower harbor. He then took the smaller Explorer and, with the help of rowers, went up the Piscataqua. They measured its depth, which they found impressive, and explored its banks. Pring admired the area's "goodly groves and woods."
They met the native Abenaki people. Pring's notes about them give important details about Native American life before Europeans settled there. At that time of year, the Abenaki would likely have been further upriver near the Piscataqua's tributaries. Fish and game were easy to find around the many waterfalls there.
Pring brought "two excellent Mastives" (large dogs) with them, one of which "would carrie a halfe-Pike in his mouth." He wrote that when they wanted the Native Americans to leave, they would "let loose the Mastives, and suddenly without cry they would flee away."
The Explorer sailed into Great Bay. The crew looked for sassafras, which was then thought to be a powerful medicine for fevers. They didn't find any there, so they returned to the Speedwell. Together, they continued down the coast.
They found enough sassafras in another bay. They quickly built a small fort, called a barricado, to protect themselves from the local people. Pring said that groups of Native Americans, sometimes as many as 120 at once, visited them often.
The expedition stayed for two months at the mouth of the Pamet River on Cape Cod, in what is now Truro, Massachusetts. The explorers built a small stockade (a fence of strong posts) there. The Pilgrims would later notice this stockade on their own journey to the New World. Captain Pring's men ate different kinds of fish and game. They also gathered sassafras trees to send back to England.
The Explorer left first with a load of sassafras. Pring's ship Speedwell was approached by a large group of Wampanoag people. The ship's two mastiffs woke the guard and helped keep the warriors away. As the ship left, warriors burned the woods on shore, and more than 200 shouted at the sailors. The Native Americans had left the area where the expedition camped earlier. Pring's men found one of their birch bark canoes, which he took to England. He left on August 8 or 9 and reached England on October 2.
Later Adventures
Pring continued to take part in trading trips that helped create important trade routes and set the stage for new settlements. In 1606, he went back to Maine and mapped the coast. He started working for the East India Company, becoming a ship's master by 1613. He helped prevent Spanish and Portuguese traders from controlling markets in the East Indies. By 1619, he was in charge of all the Company's naval forces.
In 1618, Pring sailed to Sumatra for the East India Company with his 1000-ton flagship, the Royal James, and a fleet of other ships. He went to Jakarta in September 1618 to deal with the Dutch, who had attacked English merchants. Pring later took command of the fleet in August 1619. He traveled to Japan for repairs and supplies, arriving at Hirado Island in July 1620.
In 1621, Pring returned to England. He was made a freeman of the Virginia Company and was given 200 acres of land. Although he left the East India Company in 1623, he soon went back to sea. He worked as a privateer for England, capturing many French and Spanish trading ships.
Pring's short story about his first trip to America was published in 1625. It was included in a book called Pilgrimes by Samuel Purchas. This account gives valuable information about the lives of the Abenaki and Wampanoag people before European settlement. It also includes Pring's descriptions of the land, plants, and animals. The explorer died in 1626 when he was 46 years old and was buried in Bristol.
Legacy
- His tomb can still be seen in St Stephen's Church, Bristol.
