Despite the controversy, the United States used privateering to supplement their small naval force during the American Revolution and the War of Even before the United States declared itself independent from Great Britain the Continental Army began utilizing privateers to undermine British commerce and support the war effort.
By the end of the summer of , General George Washington began converting schooners to prey on British supply ships heading to Boston to apply pressure on the British and gain some thoroughly needed supplies.
Washington called these vessels privateers; however, that was technically inaccurate as they were not commissioned by the Continental Congress and thus were essentially pirates under international law. Early privateers sailed on small vessels that normally carried no more than six guns and had a crew of about twenty-five; however, as the war progressed and the Continental Navy dwindled, the scale of privateering grew.
By the summer of , the American fleet of privateers numbered in the hundreds, and many privateers were skilled seamen. In the American Revolution, privateers transported arms, munitions and tropical products to the American continent. Privateers became a weapon in the fight for independence.
Following the American Revolution, many former privateers became captains on merchant ships, because without war, privateering was no longer needed on such a large scale. Maintaining a large standing navy proved to be an expensive endeavor, which also carried with it political intrigue and ramifications.
In the build up to the War of , the United States increasingly relied on privateering for naval protection. Its importance only increased during the American Revolution. Philadelphia served as the seat of the Continental Congress during the Revolution, and privateers helped supply the city and the war effort while it was blockaded by the British. After the federal government left the city in , its role in privateering diminished, though a few privateers operated out of Philadelphia's port during the War of This painting by Thomas Birch shows maritime activity on the Delaware River near the old Philadelphia Navy Yard in the early nineteenth century.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania British colonial privateers engaged with French vessels during a series of wars in the early eighteenth century as European hostilities spilled over onto North America.
Privateers carried letters of marque that granted them the legal right to engage enemy vessels. During the colonial days, Britain was frequently at war with France, which also held colonies on the continent and in the Caribbean.
This painting, a reproduction of an original from , shows the ship Greyhound commanded by Richard Jeffries in battle with the French ship La Fleury. Library Company of Philadelphia Privateering was a lucrative career for some.
The home was constructed in the early s by architect Thomas Nevell. MacPherson and his wife resided at Mount Pleasant for only a few years before it was sold to a series of high-profile residents, the most famous being the traitor Benedict Arnold.
Arnold resided at Mount Pleasant in , the year he married staunch loyalist Peggy Shippen and one year before he plotted to aid the British in the Revolutionary War.
The estate was purchased by the city in and restored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the twentieth century. In the early twenty-first century it continued to be open to the public as a museum. Historical Society of Pennsylvania Privateering differed from piracy in that privateers were issued letters of marque allowing them to raid enemy vessels. As such, privateers were not outlaws as pirates were and could transition into civic life at the end of their seafaring days.
William Bingham, the son of a Philadelphia merchant, amassed great wealth privateering during the early years of the American Revolution. Bingham's ship Reprisal was sent to French Martinique to bring war supplies to the colonies.
He returned to Philadelphia in and the next year was one of the founding members of the country's first bank, the Bank of North America. Join the discussion at a Greater Philadelphia Roundtable or add your nomination online. As one of the largest British ports in North America, during the eighteenth century Philadelphia held a prominent place in privateering, the practice of privately financed warships attacking enemy shipping during wartime. These vessels, either converted merchant vessels or purpose-built commerce raiders, were often investments of wealthy or enterprising merchants.
In order to operate legally, a privateer had to carry a letter of marque. This document separated a privateer from a pirate by granting the vessel governmental authority to raid opposing vessels. Privateers could either seek out enemy shipping lanes in order to locate and target enemy ships or simply haul cargo and if necessary attack and capture enemy vessels.
This painting depicts a battle between the colonial privateering ship Greyhound in battle with the French ship La Fleury in Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Privateers sought to inflict minimal damage on targeted vessels. Prizes, or captured enemy vessels, were only valuable if they survived a battle, and sunken ships could only be salvaged in the shallowest waters.
Privateers would either bombard an enemy ship until its captain ordered surrender or attempt to close the distance in order to grapple and board the vessel. It is interesting because coinage or money in the 16th century was usually known by its picture or some other visual characteristic, and not its monetary value. It did not have an actual value printed on it, as we commonly do today. It's value relative to the money of account has fluctuated throughout the century, and was struck by Louis XI to Francis I It could be assumed that monetarily these coins are in decreasing values.
Lyons d'or Gold Lion. The Golden Lion is a coin with the image of a gold lion at the feet of the king of France seated. The first gold lions were first issued in under the reign of Philip VI. Other coins, minted in Flanders and Brabant in the fifteenth century are also called "Golden Lion".
The first minting of the Gold crown began in It was called so becasue it depicted the kings shield. Its value relative to the money of account has fluctuated throughout the century, and was struck by Louis XI to Francis I With a letter of marque, he harassed the Portuguese fleet in the Atlantic, and even threatened to block the port of Lisbon.
The Portuguese king finally agreed to pay reparations. Ango was an intimate friend of king Francis I. In he was styled Viscount of Dieppe, and in , after the king had visited him in his mansion in Normandy, captain of Dieppe.
Jean d'Sngo controlled a fleet of privateers, most notably, in he equipped the Dauphine, in which Giovanni da Verrazzano explored the east coast of North America and discovered the site of what is now New York City. When John III of Portugal confiscated one of his ships which carried plunder from captured vessels, Ango received the French king's permission to respond.
Acting under a letter of marque issued on 26 July , he harassed the Portuguese fleet in the Atlantic, and even threatened to block the port of Lisbon.
On 15 August , the Portuguese king agreed to pay reparations of 60, ducats in return for Ango's agreement to stop his actions and surrender the letter of marque. In , Jean d'Ango's fleets captured nine ships carrying silver from Peru.
These hauls were taken near the Azores. But their extraordinary richness encouraged French captains to invade the Caribbean itself during the s. Between the years of and , some sixty-six Spanish ships were captured by French corsairs. Jean D'Ango, passed away of natural death in , rich and respected in Dieppe, where he left to bourgeois descendants a castle in Normandy. Giovanni da Verrazzano was born in a little town situated in the Val di Greve, near Florence, in His father was Piero Andrea, the son of Bernardo of Verrazzano,--the latter Bernardo having belonged to the magistracy of the priors in Verrazzano then moved from Florence to Normandy and in order to prove his desire to integrate to his new surroundings, he changed his name to make it more French.
Thus, he became known in France as, Jehan de Verrazane. This, and the complaints every where made of the injuries inflicted by French corsairs, rendered the early attention of the king necessary. It was well understood that the power of Philip II depended upon his New World treasure, and his treasure upon his control of the sea. In this account, on Jan. He was later the commander of the Knights of Malta. Villegagnon's initial plan was to help the Huguenots establish a colony in the New World.
Map of Antarctic France circa Rio de Janeiro , based on the trips of. The "Cosmographie Universelle" atlas was dedicated to his mentor and patron Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, who had become leader of the Huguenots only three years earlier.
This manuscript, consists of 56 maps, that was pieced together using a collection of charts from French, Spanish and Portuguese sources supplied by Coligny and drawn by Le Testu.
In such sort as we needed not doubt of their forces, being but twenty; nor be hurt by their portions, being no greater than ours: and yet gratify them in their earnest suit, and serve our own purpose, which without more help we could very hardly have achieved.
Indeed, he had 70 men, and we now but 31; his ship was above 80 tons, and our frigate not 20, or pinnace nothing near 10 tons. Yet our Captain thought this proportionable, in consideration that not numbers of men, but quality of their judgements and knowledge, were to be the principal actors herein: and the French ship could do not service, or stand in any stead to this enterprise which we intended, and had agreed upon before, both touching the time when it should take beginning, and the place where we should meet, namely, at Rio Francisco.
An account is as follows:. And then bore to Rio Francisco, where both Captains landed 31st March with such force as aforesaid, and charged them that had the charge of the pinnaces to be there the fourth day next following without any fail. And thus knowing that the carriages [mule loads] went now daily from Panama to Nombre de Dios; we proceeded in covert through the woods, towards the highway that leadeth between them. It is five leagues accounted by sea, between Rio Francisco and Nombre de Dios; but that way which we march by land, we found it above seven leagues.
We marched as in our former journey to Panama, both for order and silence; to the great wonder of the French Captain and company, who protested they knew not by any means how to recover the pinnaces, if the Cimaroons to whom what our Captain commanded was a law; though they little regarded the French, as having no trust in them should leave us: our Captain assured him, "There was no cause of doubt of them, of whom he had had such former trial.
These three Recuas were guarded with forty-five soldiers or thereabouts, fifteen to each Recua , which caused some exchange of bullets and arrows for a time; in which conflict the French Captain was sore wounded with hail-shot in the belly, and one Cimaroon was slain: but in the end, these soldiers thought it the best way to leave their mules with us, and to seek for more help abroad.
In which meantime we took some pain to ease some of the mules which were heaviest loaden of their carriage. And because we ourselves were somewhat weary, we were contented with a few bars and quoits of gold, as we could well carry: burying about fifteen tons of silver, partly in the burrows which the great land crabs had made in the earth, and partly under old trees which were fallen thereabout, and partly in the sand and gravel of a river, not very deep of water.
Thus when about this business, we had spent some two hours, and had disposed of all our matters, and were ready to march back the very self-same way that we came, we heard both horse and foot coming as it seemed to the mules: for they never followed us, after we were once entered the woods, where the French Captain by reason of his wound, not able to travel farther, stayed, in hope that some rest would recover him better strength.
The raft was fitted and fast bound; a sail of a biscuit sack prepared; an oar was shaped out of a young tree to serve instead of a rudder, to direct their course before the wind.
At his departure he comforted the company, by promising, that "If it pleased GOD, he should put his foot in safety aboard his frigate, he would, GOD willing, by one means or other get them all aboard, in despite of all the Spaniards in the Indies! In this manner pulling off to the sea, he sailed some three leagues, sitting up to the waist continually in water, and at every surge of the wave to the arm-pits, for the space of six hours, upon this raft: what with the parching of the sun and what with the beating of the salt water, they had all of them their skins much fretted away.
At length GOD gave them the sight of two pinnaces turning towards them with much wind; but with far greater joy to them than could easily conjecture, and did cheerfully declare to those three with him, that "they were our pinnaces! But see, the pinnaces not seeing this raft, nor suspecting any such matter, by reason of the wind and night growing on, were forced to run into a cover behind the point, to take succour, for that night: which our Captain seeing, and gathering because they came not forth again , that they would anchor there, put his raft ashore, and ran by land about the point, where he found them; who, upon sight of him, made as much haste as they could to take him and his company aboard.
Girard Le Testu 15?? Guillaume Le Testu had a son Girard. There is very little documentation about the early days of Girard le Testu, but there is an account of him engaged in the "triangle of trade" bringing goods from Safi, Morroco to the Channels islands, where he was attacked by Dutch privateers and taken to Vlissingen only a few short years after his fathers death:.
Not much is heard again from Girard le Testu, until he became part of a mercenary fleet with a mission to protect the Azores island group from the Spanish. Champlain - Huguenot or not?
Privateer History - Cont'd. It appears that Verazzano may have sailed under the guise of many different aliases. Furthermore, in some historical records he is occasionally refrerred to as Juan Florin of Dieppe. The first mention of the "Florin" or "Florinus" presumeably as an alias for Verrazano was stated by Peter Martyr, Dec.
Epistola ed. Murphy, Buckingham Smith, Hobbs, Brevoort, Fiske, Avery and others have identified the navigator Giovanni da Verrazano with a corsair named Jean Florin or Florentin the Florentine , who operated against Spanish and Portuguese treasure ships during these years. Modern authors have hotly contested the identification of researchers, and Prospero Peragallo and William F. E Morley provide a convincing argument that this seems to be a simple matter of confusion of personalities.
The Spanish trade route from Europe to the new lands. These proved easy pickings for the corsairs, as Spanish caravels and cogs were not well suited for sea-battle. He became famous in the s when valuable commerce had grown up between Spain and her conquests in the West Indies, and large amounts in gold, pearls, sugar, hides and other articles were sent home.
A ship, on her way from Hispaniola, was captured by him, and had on board eighty thousand ducats in gold, six hundred pounds in weight eight ounces to the pound , of pearls and two thousand arrobas, of twenty-five pounds each, of sugar. In the following year, he took possession of seven vessels bound from Cadiz to the Canary islands, with emigrants, but being overtaken off the point of Gando, by vessels sent in pursuit, he was compelled to relinquish his prizes.
Madrid In November, , a vessel arrived in Spain which had been sent from Mexico, by the conquistador with the emperor's share of the tribute money collected in that country, in the special charge of Captain Alonzo Davila and Antonio Quinones, with other articles of value. Fearing capture by the French corsairs, this vessel had sailed by the way of the Azores, and left the treasure, at the island of Santa Maria, and proceeded on without it, in order that a proper force might be sent to that island to bring it safely to Spain.
Three caravels were dispatched from Seville, Spain to Santa Maria, under the command of Captain Alonzo Davila , and arrived there on the 15th of May Davila and Quinones immediately embarked with the treasure, sailing directly to Spain. Vincent, for the purpose of intercepting them, which he succeeded in doing.
After a sharp encounter, in which Captain Quinones was killed, they captured two of them, one of which Captain Davila was taken with the gold, and the other valuable articles. The third caravel escaped, and arrived in Spain, with a tiger and various articles of rich manufacture, which had belonged to Montezuma. One of the most interesting treasures captured by D'ango and the corsairs, is an obsidian mirror that is now housed in a Paris Musuem. Obsidian mirrors were adopted by Mesoamerican rulers as objects of power and divination, granting them a medium through which they could look into the future and connect with the realm of the gods.
Verrazano took his prizes into Rochelle. The value of the treasure and articles taken was estimated at more than six hundred thousand ducats, or approximately one and a half million dollars. Alfonso Davila in a letter to the Spanish emperor, describes the loss Translated from the original in the Archivo de Indias at Seville :.
Captain Domingo Alonso, who was commander of the three caravels that sailed as guard on the coast of Andalusia, gave a cedula to Antonio Quinones and myself at the Island of Azores, in which Your Majesty was pleased to state to us that, from the news of our fear of the French who were said to run the coast, we had remained at the island of Santa Maria until your Highness should direct what might be for the royal service, in so doing we had acted well; that to secure the gold and articles we had brought, the three caravels were sent to us under that captain; and we were enjoined to embark in them at once and come with every thing to the city of Seville, to the House of Contratacion, and the officers who by the royal command reside there, for which favor we kiss your feet and hands.
The caravels arrived the xvth of May, and directly in fulfilment of the order we embarked, sailing for the Portuguese coast, which the pilots deemed the safer course, and coming within ten leagues of Cape St. Vincent, six armed French ships ran out upon us. We fought them from two caravels, until we were overpowered, when everything eminently valuable on the way to Your Majesty was lost; the other caravel not being disposed to fight escaped to carry the news; and but for that perhaps the captain might better have staid with his additional force aid our defence than to carry back such tidings.
Quinones died, and I am a prisoner at Rochelle in France. I should desire to come, would they but let me, to kiss your royal feet, and give acomplete history of all; for I lost everything I possessed in the service of Your Majesty, and have wished that my life had been as well.
I entreat that privileges begranted to the residents and inhabitants of New Spain and that you will consider services to have been rendered, since that people have loyally done their duty to this moment, and will ever do as true vassals. I beseech that Your Majesty be pleased to order good protection placed on the coastof Andalusia for the ships coming from the Indies; for now all the French, flushed as they are, desire to take positions whence they may commit mischief.
Let it be an armament that can act offensively, and which will not flee, but seek out the enemy. I entreat, prisoner and lost as I am, yet desiring still to die in the royal service, that Your Highness will so favor me, that if any ship should be sent to New Spain, an order be directed to Hernando Cortes, requiring that the Indians I have there deposited in the name of Your Majesty be not taken, but that they be bestowed on me for the period that is your pleasure.
Our Lord augment the imperial state of Your Royal Majesty to the extent your royal person may require. XXIIJ years. Soon after this point in history what happens to Verrazano remains a mystery.
Some historians argue that he embarked on several voyages of discovery. He is apparently meditating an expedition against the Portuguese possessions in Brazil, upon the pretext of discovering other countries in the east. The mention of this project is positive, and becomes curious and interesting in the history of his life, as it affords the only authentic evidence extant of any suggestion of a voyage of discovery, contemplated by him towards Cathay.
The design, if ever really entertained, appears however to have fallen through and was abandoned; nevertheless, it may have been the foundation of the story of the alleged voyage of discovery. After referring to the death of Magellan, as an event which removed a cause of difference between the crowns of Portugal and Castile, which grew out of the famous expedition of that navigator, Andrade mentions Verrazano while commenting on the state of affairs between the crowns of France and Portugal:.
The time when these preparations were being made by Verrazzano is more definitely fixed by a dispatch of Silveira to the king, from Paris on the 25th of April , in which he states that "Verazano" had not yet left for Cathay and that this whole story of an intended voyage of discovery was proposed for the purpose of concealing the real object of the preparations which were going on in Normandy.
Namely, of seizing the treasure which had been sent from Mexico, by Cortes to the emperor, of the successful accomplishment of which we have previously described.
It is generally assumed preparations for an expeditionary voyage did not occur until the end of , in a ship called the Dauphine. Verrazno set out from Dieppe late in with four ships, but that a storm forced him to find a haven in Brittany with only the Normanda and the Dauphine.
The "Verrazano Letter", upon which all the arguments center, is known to exist in two or three copies, but no original. These are copies of a letter which Verrazano wrote to King Francois I of France, dated July 8, , and copies of which he sent to various friends. One copy was printed in , a second found and published in and the third was first published in A section of the "Verrazano Map" by Hieronimo Verrazano, circa There also exists as evidence of the voyage a chart known as the "Verrazano Map.
The map traces the coast line between Florida and Labrador and bears an inscription stating that this land was discovered by Giovanni di Verrazano, of Florence, by the order and command of the Most Christian King of France. It now resides at the library in the Vatican. After sailing westward for about 49 days March , Verrazano and his crew reached the American coast, probably not far from Cape Fear or present day Wilmington, N. He thus became the first European to explore this part of the American coast.
He exclaimed, "A newe land never before seen by any man, either auncient sic or moderne. After making a brief landing on the Carolina coast, the "Dauphine" proceeded northward, ever looking for a water route to China. As the voyage continued northward to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Verrazano from time to time and place to place would send men ashore to look over the countryside and the natives.
After Verrazano had sailed as far north as Newfoundland, he set sail for France, reaching Dieepe early in July, It was from here that he wrote his famous letter which is the earliest description known to exist of the shores of the United States. It is suspected, Verrazano made two more voyages and in his men mutinied and ordered him to return to France, but Verrazano, using their incompetence in navigation, nonetheless reached Brazil, cut logwood a red dye wood then named Brazil wood - this is the origin of the name Brazil and his backers made good profit from it.
What happened to Verranzano next is a matter of speculation, but the official account is that in he again crossed the Atlantic exploration and the cutting of logwood being the joint goals of the expedition , landing in Florida, then following the chain of the lesser Antilles. On one of the islands probably Guadeloupe his habit of anchoring away from the shore became fatal.
Giovanni was going ashore in a boat to greet the natives, wading the last part while the boat, with his brother, remained at sea. Unfortunately, the natives were not a friendly tribe that wanted to trade, but cannibalistic Caribs.
They expertly killed Giovanni and ate him while still fresh, under the eyes of his brother. The ship was too far away to give gunfire support. It is suspected, Verrazano made two more voyages and in his men mutinied and ordered him to return to France, but Verrazano, using their incompetence in navigation, nonetheless reached Brazil, cut logwood a red dye wood then named Brazil wood, this is the origin of the name Brazil and his backers made good profit from it.
Another account does not have him making the voyage in , but instead he is once again collaborating with Jean d'Ango. A letter from Chabot, as admiral of France, states he should furnish two galleons, Jean d'Ango one ship, and Verrazano two pilots besides himself, and that the three persons here named should with Guillaume Preudhomme, general of Normandy, Pierre Despinolles and Jacques Boursier, in different specified amounts each, make up the sum of twenty thousand pounds in Tours currency for the expenses, on joint account, of a voyage to the Indies for spices,--the admiral and Ango, however, to have one-fourth of all the merchandise returned, for the use of the vessels, and Verrazano to have one-sixth of the remaining three-fourths, for his compensation and that of his two pilots.
The contract contained another provision, that if any booty should be taken on the sea from the Moors, or other enemies of the faith and the king, the admiral should first take a tenth of it and the remainder should be divided as stipulated in regard to the merchandise, except such part as should, upon advisement, be given to the crew.
The admiral was to have letters patent expedited from the king for permission to make the voyage. This paper has no date, but as it was made by Chabot, in his official capacity, as admiral of France, it could not have been earlier than March It is known that he communicated to persons in England a map of his discoveries, and a document found at Rouen in proves that he executed a power of attorney to his brother, Geronimo Jerasme de Verasenne , 11 May, , before sailing to the East Indies, by virtue of an agreement with Admiral Philippe Chabot and the famous merchant of Dieppe, Jean Ango.
Friday the Eleventh of May, Jehan de Varasenne, nobleman, captain of the ships equipped to go on the voyage to the Indies, has made, named, ordained, constituted and instituted his attorney, and certain special commissioners that is to say, Jerosme de Varasenne his brother and heir and Zanobis de Rousselay, to sue and especially to receive all which to the said principal is, shall be, may and may become due by any person and for any cause or causes whatsoever as regards what is thus due as well by reason of the said voyage to the Indies as otherwise; and also his disagreements and law suits to treat compound and settle by such prices, means and conditions as the said Jerosme and de Rousselay shall be able to do, and to receive and receipt for and discharge according as the case may be, and generally to pledge, hold and bind chattels and lands.
Present mol Gales and Nicolas Doublet. Saturday the Twelfth day of May, Messire Jehan de Varasenne, nobleman, captain of the ships equipped to go on the voyage to the Indies acknowledged that he had appointed, constituted and instituted Adam Godeffroy citizen of Rouen, to whom be has given and gives by these presents power and authority to act for the said de Varrasenne [FOOTNOTE: The words "in his quality of captain of the said ships" are here erased in the original, and they have added in the margin these; "and for the said Godeffroy.
And for doing this the said de Varrasenne has promised to pay to the said Godeffroy for his trouble and time and attention in doing and fulfilling the said articles and memoranda according to his ability in making the said voyage of the said barque, the sum of five hundred pounds Tours currency, and this sum to pay on the return from the said voyage, to do which the said de Varrasenne has bound and binds all his chattels and lands, and to take them by execution immediately on the said return.
And in like manner the said Godeffroy has undertaken to make the said voyage and duly and loyally to serve the said de Varrasenne, and to carry out according to his power the said articles and memoranda which thus shall be given by the said de Varrasenne. And it is without prejudice of the goods, funds and merchandise which the said Godeffroy shall have and might place on the said ships to make the said voyage, which he and his shall have carried away with them, for their profit, besides the said sum of five hundred pounds Tours currency for the said voyage.
And to keep this, each for himself, both parties bind themselves, their chattels and lands. Present Jehan Desvaulx and Robert Bouton. While the apparent intention was a voyage to the Indies, there is every reason to believe that was not the real object of the parties to this agreement.
One of the stipulations between them was for a division, of booty, showing an intention to make captures on the sea. Who were the enemies of the king from whom it was to be taken is not stated. But, by the treaty of Madrid, in January , peace existed between France and Spain, and any expedition from one of them against the commerce of the other, was clearly piratical.
Neither did war exist at this time, between France and Portugal. It appears that both the Spaniards and the Portuguese, were searching for Verrazano at the time, when the former may have succeeded in capturing him, in September or October Bernal Diaz, gives an account of his capture and execution, states that he was actually so engaged.
He was sent under guard with the adventurers to Madrid, but was overtaken on the way at Colmenar near Puerto del Pico, villages between Salamanca and Toledo, by the judge of Cadiz with an order made by the emperor at Lerma on the 13th of October , by virtue of which he was there put to death in November of that year Translated from the original in the Archivo general in Sijoncas Astado : Legajo 18, fol.
Sacred Caesarean Catholic Majesty:. The Licentiate Giles, Resident Judge in the City of Cadiz, in compliance with what your Majesty required by your cedula that it should be stated who captured Juan Florin and his accomplices, answers that Martin Yricar, Antonio de Cumaya, Juan Martinez de Aricabalo, Martin Perez de Leabnr, Saba de Ysasa, Juan de Galarza, Captains of their galleons and ships, with their people, were those who captured Juan Florin in the manner that they will relate, and brought him to the Bay of Cadiz.
I went directly to their galleons, and to my requirement they answered that they would keep him in safety, that they desired all for your service; and this notwithstanding that the said Juan Florin promised them thirty thousand ducats to be released. The captains of the fleet of Portugal who were cruising at sea in quest of him at the same place in which he was taken also offered ten thousand ducats for him that they might take him to their king, and other offers were made, none of which they would accept, but, unitedly, with the sheriff of that city, took him to Your Majesty, like good and loyal servants.
And when they arrived at Puerto del Pico, finding Your Majesty had commanded that he and his said accomplices should be given up to me at once, they delivered and I executed the law upon them. Those captains have sustained much injury and have been at much cost, as I am witness. They arrived with their ships broken, the sails ruined, and the forecastles carried away.
They had spent much in munition and powder, and for the sustenance of those French before they delivered them to me. When they arrived in the bay they were greatly reduced and hungered, having exhausted their stores by giving to the French. Much would it be for the service of Your Majesty that those Captains should be satisfied for their losses and rewarded which I have promised them, as Your Highness desired by your cedula, that others seeing how they are honored may be encouraged in the royal service.
Thus much I entreat that Your Majesty will order done for the loyalty I know those captains tear to your service, and because they are persons by whom you may he much served. I kiss the sacred feet of your Highness. Today, A bronze statue, set up in , by his admiring fellow countrymen, facing the mouth of the great river on whose east bank the metropolis of the United States has grown, proclaims their conviction that Giovanni da Verrazano, and not Henry Hudson, was its discoverer.
Guillaume Le Testu de Le Havre ? Guillaume Le Testu de Le Havre. Although his exact birthdate is unknown, it is presumed to be between based on the fact that in his "Cosmographie Universelle", published in , he stated that he was born in the first decade of the 16th century.
In any event, Le Testu claims that he is a native of Le Havre de Grace, and was born near the outer harbour. This may provide an argument for a later date for his birth, as the port of "Le Havre de Grace" did not exist under that name until after Historians often debate as to whether Le Havre was a completely new town, or whether it was an extension of the pre-existing Harfleur the former Gallic town of Caracotinum Cauchois, which is now a suburb of the town.
It was intended to be a replacement for the existing one at Harfleur, as well as for Honfleur and Caudebec, which had all silted up. Le Testu studied studied navigation at Dieppe, eventually becoming a pilot of a ship on an exploratory mission to Brazil in Together, they charted as far as the Rio de la Plata.
In late December, he became involved in a firefight with two Portuguese ships near Trinidad and sustained heavy damage to his ship, although he was successful in mapping much of the South American coastline by the time of his return to Dieppe in July Nicholas de Villegagnon In addition to a Huguenot stronghold, Villegagnon also wanted to secure a permanent base in Brazil in order to explore and harvest Brazilwood, which then was a very valuable source of a beautiful scarlet dye used by the merchants of Rouen.
It was also a good quality hard wood used for construction the wood gave the name to what was to become the country of Brazil , and to explore precious metals and stones, which the Europeans believed to exist in abundance in the land. The Brazilian logging operation is evidenced by carved wood panels kept at the Museum of Antiquities in Rouen.
The panels show the various operations in Brazil: logging, barking, transportation to boarding points on the coast, transport by boat and then unloading to vessels anchored near the shore. Villegagnon convinced King Henry II, to back the attempt to build a " France Antarctique ", and was provided funding of 10, livres.
In addition, he was also able to secure funding from the ship owners, and merchants in Dieppe, including Jean d'Ango. Due to lack of volunteers for the mission, Villegagnon went through the prisons of northern France, and promised freedom to those that would join him. In , he was able to put together a small fleet of two large ships, one small supply vessel, and soldiers and colonists. They were mainly comprised of French Huguenots and Swiss Calvinists who sought to escape Catholic persecution in Europe.
Villegagnon himself was protected by a small personal guard composed of eight Scots. The expedition also included an indigenous Tabajara native, who was fluent in the Tupi language to act as an interpreter.
In order to not arouse the attention of the Portuguese ambassador in France, Villegagnon spread a rumor that an expedition was bound for the coast of Guinea. The ships left Le Havre De Grace on 12 July, but weather conditions forced them to return twice the port of Dieppe. Finally, on August 14, the ships set sail toward South America, and after three months' voyage, on November 10th, the fleet anchored in the Bay of Guanabara , to avoid the coast that was already occupied by the Tupi tribes.
His work entitled " Les singularitez de la France antarctique " was published in , and is considered one of the founding narratives of American ethnography. His narrative not only describes the French settlement but offers a detailed first-hand account of the Tupi tribes of the Brazillian coast. He described their ways of applying makeup, eating, and methods of warfare. He also wrote about their beliefs, myths and customs.
In addition, he gave an accurate description of the wildlife and the plants used by the native people at the time, such as: wild boar, deer, sweet potatoes, petun tobacco , manioc cassava root, cashews and pineapples.
The Tupi natives were powerful warriors who often fought against the other tribes of the region or even amongst themselves, because there was not a unified Tupi identity or nation. Despite the fact that they were a single ethnic group that spoke a common language, the Tupi were divided into several tribes which were constantly engaged in war with one another. In these wars, the Tupi normally tried to capture their enemies to later kill the m in cannibalistic rituals, instead of just killing them in battle.
Cannibalism was part of their ritual after a war,and the warriors captured from other Tupi tribes were eaten as they believed they were absorbing their strength. Another problem for the French settlers, were the Portugese, who had been colonizing the coasts of Brazil since the beginning of the 16th century.
Fortunately for the French, the Portugese had made enemies of the principal Tupi tribes, and the French, despite being afraid of the Tupi's cannibalistic rites, soon became allies. The French, decided on an island site, called "French Island" for which to start a colony. The island was referred to as Serigipe by the Tupi tribes of the region, and is near the mouth of the large Guanabara Bay. Today, it is known as Villegagnon Island. The island was rocky and almost barren, but served Villegaignon's purpose of being near the shore, while at the same time achieving a good defensive position against attacks from sea and land.
Almost immediately, houses were built on the ground, men, weapons, ammunition and tools were landed. The settlers learned native methods of hunting, and how to make preparations from the local fauna. The early French Huguenot settlers known as, "Canadiens", learned from the Tupi how to spear wild boar and game and smoke it on a wooden platform resting on sticks over a sacred fire. The French word "boucan" came from a Tupi word meaning "a rack used for roasting or for storing things, or a rack-like platform supporting a house.
Thus, the French word boucane and the name boucanier was given to hunters who used such frames to smoke meat. It became such a common practice in the New World, that the French Huguenots in the Caribbean became known collectively as Buccaneers. Petun was the original word for Tobacco in French. The plant then became known as Nicotiana. Nicot's seed, Nicotania rustica, which originally came from Florida, is primarly grown in Turkey today.
Despite the difficulties facing the European workforce, a fortification was built in three months with the help of the Tupi people. Although, Fort Coligny had five batteries pointing toward the sea after a few months, the indigenous workforce grew tired of the rewards that they had received from the French, and became very aware of the excess of work that were providing, knowing that the French avoided the heavier tasks.
They began to show some signs of discontent with the rule of the French settlers. In addition, the colonists also became tired of the hardships incurred on the island.
Villegagnon, in response decided to rule with strict discipline and began limiting long incursions on the mainland, primarly to avoid prolonged contact between the French settlers, and the native population. While Villegagnon wanted strong relationships with the Tupi tribes, he found that it often happened that the sailors and even the colonists, adjusting to "wild" life, abandoned their religion and adopted the native rites and traditions.
Villegagnon also began to demand that French sailors and colonists who had relations with native woman, be married under a French notary, and live on the island. Discipline amongst the colony soon became an obvious problem, as discontent grew amongst the settlers and many took advantage of the passage of commercial vessels to return to France. Villegagnon was also still in conflict with his allies, the Tupi, about the cannibalism that they practiced.
The iron discipline imposed by Villegagnon, accompanied by strife, threatened the balance of the French establishment. Within three months of establishing the colony, Villegagnon wrote a report on the situation, requesting reinforcements, and supplies from the King, and it was sent back with Le Testu to Le Havre.
Thirty conspirators, headed by a French Settler that was forced to marry a Tupi native woman, planned the assassination of Villegagnon, who was defended by only eight Scottish Guards.
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