Thomas Cavendish facts for kids
Sir Thomas Cavendish (born 1560 – died May 1592) was an English explorer and a privateer. People called him "The Navigator" because he was the first person who purposely tried to be like Sir Francis Drake. He wanted to raid Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific Ocean and then sail all the way around the world to get back home. Other explorers like Magellan, Loaisa, Drake, and Loyola had already sailed around the world before Cavendish. His first successful trip around the world made him very rich. He captured Spanish gold, silk, and other treasures from the Pacific and the Philippines. His biggest prize was a huge 600-ton Spanish ship called the Manila Galleon Santa Ana. When he returned, Queen Elizabeth I made him a knight. Later, he started a second trip to raid ships and sail around the world again, but he wasn't as lucky and died at sea when he was 31.
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Early Life and Education
Thomas Cavendish was born in 1560 and was baptized on September 19 in Trimley St Martin, Suffolk. He was the third son of William Cavendish and Mary Wentworth. When his father passed away in 1572, young Thomas inherited a large amount of money and land. He was put under the care of Thomas Wentworth, who made sure he was ready for university.
In the spring of 1576, at 15 years old, Thomas started studying at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. However, he left in November 1577 without finishing his degree. After that, he went to Gray's Inn in London. For several years, he lived a very fancy lifestyle, spending a lot of money. He made friends with important people in London, including those at the royal court. He also met Richard Hakluyt and others who wanted England to start colonies in North America. Thomas Cavendish became known for spending too much money, and between 1583 and 1585, he was taken to court because he couldn't pay his debts.
Journey to the Roanoke Colony
In the 1580s, Cavendish looked for ways to advance his career with the help of Walter Raleigh. Raleigh and the Earl of Pembroke helped Cavendish become a member of Parliament for the town of Shaftesbury in 1584. In return, Cavendish supported Raleigh's plans to take over Humphrey Gilbert's idea of colonizing America. Cavendish also learned how to navigate ships from Thomas Harriot at Raleigh's home in Westminster.
In 1585, Cavendish was chosen to be second-in-command to Richard Grenville on a trip to set up the Roanoke Colony in Virginia. He invested his own money to buy and prepare the ships for the fleet, which left Plymouth on April 9, 1585. A strong storm scattered the ships, but Cavendish's ship, the Elizabeth, survived. It reached the meeting point in Puerto Rico. Grenville was very impressed with how well Cavendish navigated on this first voyage.
Grenville and Cavendish spent a few weeks in the Caribbean, gathering supplies for the new colony. They bought supplies from the Spanish and Hispaniola. They also captured two Spanish ships they found along the way. In late June, they arrived at the Outer Banks, which is now in North Carolina, where the Roanoke colony was built.
Cavendish returned to England in August on the ship Tyger. He didn't make any money from his investments, but he gained important experience and made several close friends.
First Voyage: A Successful Trip Around the World
By July 1586, Spain and England were at war. This war would later lead to the Spanish Armada trying to invade England in 1588. Cavendish decided to follow Sir Francis Drake's example. He planned to raid Spanish ports and ships in the Pacific Ocean and then sail all the way around the world. After getting permission for his raids, Cavendish built a 120-ton sailing ship with eighteen cannons, which he named the Desire. He was joined by two other ships: the 60-ton, ten-gun ship Content, and the 40-ton ship Hugh Gallant.
Starting the Journey and Crossing the Atlantic
Thomas Cavendish, with his three ships and 123 men, left Plymouth, England on July 21, 1586.
They first stopped at the island of Santa Magdalena, near Punta Arenas, in the Strait of Magellan. There, in just two hours, they caught and salted two barrels full of penguins for food. They spent a lot of time exploring the many small bays and channels of Tierra del Fuego. Finally, they sailed out of the strait into the Pacific Ocean on February 24 and headed up the coast of South America.
Exploring and Raiding off South America
Along the Pacific coast, Cavendish's crew sank or captured nine Spanish ships. They also looted several towns, taking fresh food, supplies, and treasure. They intentionally sank the ship Hugh Gallant so that its crew could join the other ships and replace lost sailors. According to Richard Hakluyt's 'Voyages', they raided an island off the coast of Ecuador (probably Isla Puna), but local forces fought back and they lost some men.
Capturing a Manila Galleon
A pilot from one of the captured Spanish ships told Cavendish that a Manila galleon was expected in October or November 1587. These large ships usually stopped at Cabo San Lucas on the Baja California peninsula before continuing to Acapulco. The Spanish King allowed only one or two Manila galleons to sail each year. These ships typically carried all the goods collected in the Philippines from a year of trading silver (from Peru and Mexico) for spices, silk, gold, and other expensive items from China and other places. In 1587, there were two Manila galleons: the San Francisco and the Santa Ana. Unfortunately, both ships ran into a typhoon after leaving the Philippines and were wrecked on the coast of Japan. Only the Santa Ana could be saved, and after repairs, it continued its journey.
When they reached the Gulf of California in October 1587, Cavendish and his two ships stopped at an island above Mazatlan. There, they cleaned the bottoms of their ships and made general repairs. They also had to dig wells to get fresh water. They then sailed to Cabo San Lucas on the Baja Peninsula and set up patrols to look for the Manila galleon. Early on November 4, 1587, one of Cavendish's lookouts spotted the huge 600-ton galleon, which had over 200 men on board. After chasing it for several hours, the English ships caught up to the Santa Ana. Luckily for Cavendish, the Santa Ana had no cannons on board, as it needed all the space for cargo. After several hours of fighting, during which Cavendish used his cannons to fire into the galleon, and the Spanish tried to fight back with small guns, the Santa Ana began to sink. It finally surrendered.
Because the Santa Ana was so much larger, the Content and Desire had to choose which valuable cargo they wanted to move to their own ships. One hundred and ninety Spaniards (including Sebastián Vizcaíno, who later explored the California coast) and Filipino crewmen were put ashore with food and some weapons in a place where they had water and food. Cavendish kept two Japanese sailors, three boys from Manila, a Portuguese traveler who knew about China, and a Spanish navigator with him. They loaded all the gold (about 100 troy pounds, or 37.3 kilograms, worth 122,000 pesos). Then they picked through the silks, damasks, musks (used in perfume), spices, wines, and ship's supplies for what they could carry. Some people in Mexico claimed the total value of the cargo was about 2,000,000 pesos, or 50 tons of silver. After setting the Santa Ana on fire, the Desire and Content sailed away on November 17, 1587, to begin their journey across the Pacific Ocean.
While burning, the Santa Ana drifted onto the coast. The Spanish survivors put out the flames, got the ship floating again, and managed to limp into Acapulco.
The ship Content was never seen or heard from again. The Desire tried to avoid any more fights for the rest of its journey.
Crossing the Pacific and Exploring Southeast Asia
After crossing the Pacific Ocean, Cavendish and the Desire arrived at the island of Guam on January 3, 1588. There, he traded iron tools for fresh supplies, water, and wood from the local people. On other stops in the Philippines, Java, and other islands, he traded some of his captured linen and other goods for fresh supplies, water, and wood. He also gathered information about the Chinese and Japanese coasts. He hoped to use this information to add to England's knowledge of the area and for a possible second trip. His crew of about 48 men replaced their old clothes and bedding with new uniforms made from silken damask.
In 1587, Cavendish attacked Arevalo, which was the capital of the Spanish settlement in Iloilo at the time. This raid made Arevalo the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines to be attacked by a British pirate. It was also the first time a British ship was recorded in Philippine waters.
Returning to England
By May 14, 1588, Cavendish reached the coast of Africa. He returned to England by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, stopping at the island of Saint Helena for supplies.
On September 9, 1588, the Desire sailed into the harbor at Plymouth, England. Later, it sailed up the River Thames through London, showing off its new sails made of blue damask.
Cavendish's first voyage was a huge success, both financially and in terms terms of fame. Cavendish was not yet 28 years old when he returned. He had sailed around the world in two years and 49 days, which was nine months faster than Drake. However, like Drake, Cavendish returned with only one of his ships—the Desire—and a crew of about 48 men. Queen Elizabeth I, who was invited to a dinner aboard the Desire, made him a knight. England celebrated both the return of the Desire and the defeat of the Spanish Armada earlier that year.
Second Voyage and Death
Cavendish started a second expedition in August 1591, joined by the navigator John Davis. They sailed further south to the Strait of Magellan. Then they returned to Brazil, where they hid and restocked supplies in Ilhabela. They also looted the towns of Santos and São Vicente. Going further north, they lost most of their crew in a battle against the Portuguese at the village of Vitória, which is now the capital of the State of Espirito Santo. One sailor who was left behind, Anthony Knivet, later wrote about his adventures in Brazil. Cavendish then set off across the Atlantic towards Saint Helena with the rest of his crew. However, he died of unknown causes at age 31, possibly off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic in 1592. In his last letter, written a few days before his death, Cavendish accused John Davis of being a "villain" who caused the "decay of the whole action" (meaning the failure of the trip). John Davis continued with Cavendish's crew and ships and discovered the Falkland Islands before returning to England. Most of his crew were lost to starvation and illness.
Images for kids
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An engraving from Henry Holland's Herōologia Anglica (1620). Animum fortuna sequatur is Latin for "May fortune follow courage."
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The North Pacific currents and winds used by both the Manila Galleon and Cavendish to get to Guam and the Philippines--the North Pacific Gyre
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