u/FullyFocusedOnNought

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who has joined the sub and especially those who contribute to the discussion! I feel like there is a lot of interesting debate and – very importantly – some pretty funny people here too. I'd also add that (almost) everybody is very respectful, which is not always easy considering the oft-delicate subject matter.

Secondly, I would like to ask something. I know that Reddit is really not the place for making appeals or going all marketingy. But somehow Reddit has been the Age of Exploration place so far – I guess there are quite a few history buffs floating around on here.

Anyway, I really do promise only to do this on very rare occasions, as it's not the done thing.

So as you may know, we have a site linked to the sub, theageofexploration.com where we explore this era in more detail. This is a pretty new website, and every single article (and Reddit post) is (often painstakingly) written and researched either by myself or one of the other writers.

This isn’t a problem, exactly. The Age of Exploration is kind of a passion project, so I will be happy to do it for free for many years to come.

At the same time, if just 1% of our Reddit members were able to support us financially, it would be a massive help for us in both maintaining the site and dedicating more time to researching and writing articles, and also tracking down more paintings of weird animals eating colonial adventurers in far and distant lands for Reddit.

In fact, if even 0.1% of our Reddit readers supported the site (and the sub) through Patreon it would make a big difference and would generally be quite a boost.

Of course we also try to offer something in return to our Patreon members:

• Exclusive articles, images and mini-posts (e.g. ancient Chilean cannons, letters written by lost members of the Franklin expedition)
• Monthly updates about our latest plans
• Starting in November, the chance to vote on future articles and research

You can find our Patreon site here: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheAgeofExploration

Just to try and entice you a little bit more, I also added a 50% discount on the first month’s membership for our Reddit readers, which is available until 9 October. The promocode is: AOESUB26. 

(So you know, you can cancel after the first month if you really want 🙂 )

There is also free membership available on Patreon for anyone who wants to show their support but doesn’t really want to make a financial commitment – it’s still a huge help and a real fillip for me and the rest of the team, and actually we try to do quite a few posts for free members too.

Okay, that's all, back to the history posts!

Jonathan B

p.s. Image: Shipping on Stormy Seas, by Aert van Antum

Reibey, at that time named Mary Haydock, was sent to the nascent colony of New South Wales in 1792. After working in the service of Major Francis Grose, Mary later married Thomas Reibey, a freeman and businessman from Ireland.

When Thomas died in 1811 and his business partner passed away soon after, Mary took over the business and helped grow it into a hugely successful enterprise. Later in life, she also became involved in philanthropy, contributing to church life and education in the burgeoning colony.

(You can read more details about Mary Reibey's life on our website, here.)

Images: Miniature watercolour of Mary Reibey, c.1835/Australian $20 bank note

p.s. Thanks to an Age of Exploration Reddit reader Top-Expert6086 for the tip!

The lithograph was published in the book Sir Walter Raleigh, The Discovery Of The Large, Rich And Beautiful Empire Of Guiana. Raleigh wrote the account one year after his 1595 journey to the region.

Although Raleigh failed to find El Dorado, discover any new lands or bring home wealth for his queen, the book itself was a huge success and captured the imagination of the English public back home.

(The Age of Exploration will be delving into this adventure and the subsequent book at a later date.)

The caravel had several qualities that together made it the perfect ship for exploration. The lateen sails enabled it to tack and sail close to the wind, while its small draught enabled the caravel to explore inland waterways and inlets that other vessels couldn't reach.

But it was also sturdy – the skeleton-first construction provided a solid base, while the high length-to-width ratio helped it handle the larger and more dangerous waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

Two of the vessels on Columbus's first voyage to the Americas were caravels – the Pinta and the Niña. Columbus adored the Niña in particular for its speed and manoeuvrability.

Main image: "The three caravels of Christopher Columbus", 1885, watercolour by Rafael Monleon y Torres

For further details on the ship and information about the difference between the two types of caravel, caravela latina and the caravela redonda, you can visit our website here.

Pedro Álvares Cabral was awarded command of the Second Portuguese India Armada over a number of far more experienced seafarers, including Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias.

Although he was expected to go south-east round Africa and on to India, Cabral instead went west (probably accidentally), landing in Brazil - at that time unknown to the Europeans. After claiming the region for the Portuguese Crown, Cabral stopped off at various points in Africa and India to establish trade deals.

Calicut in India, however, the Portuguese were attacked by a mix of Arab merchants and Indians, with 50 men killed. In retaliation, the Portuguese burned ten Arab ships, killing approximately 600.

When he finally arrived back in Lisbon, Cabral was told by King Manuel I that he would lead a "Revenge Fleet" to attack the leaders of Calicut. But after a bitter dispute over preparations for the new expedition, Manuel gave the job to Vasco da Gama instead. Cabral never led another sea voyage again.

Image: Depiction of Cabral by Aurélio de Figueiredo, early 20th century.

You can find the full story on our website here.

Pierre Gambré was part of a group of 300 French colonists who settled at Fort Caroline in Florida the 16th century.

Gambré was a soldier at the fort, but also a businessman. He traded with the local Native Americans, the Timucua, and married the daughter of a chief.

The French records state that Gambré was killed by two indigenous people in his canoe as he was cooking fish. The motive of the attack is unknown.

De Bry's engraving was published in the book "A brief narrative of what happened to the French in Florida, the province of America: in the second voyage, led by Renato de Laudoniere, captain of the fleet, in the year 1634."

EDIT: Additional info, as I wrote in the comments:

I have managed to track down a transcript of the description in the plate where this image was first published. Seems like something of a revenge killing:

"We have spoken in our account of a certain Pierre Gambié, a delegate of Laudonnière. In carrying his merchandise across the country to sell it, he had traded so honestly that not only had he enriched himself but he had also married into the family of one of the kings of the region. The king allowed him to leave to pay us a visit on condition that he returned after a certain number of moons. He gave him a canoe and two Indians to accompany him. Thus he embarked with his riches, but his traveling companions slew him while he was poking a fire. They had two motives for this: the first was revenge (Gambié, who during the king's absence was managing his affairs, had killed one of their tribe with a stick); and the second was greed. Having seized the riches stored in the boat, they fled and the deed remained unknown for some time. This picture has been put in at the end so as not to disturb the order of the preceding series. We would not have reproduced it had not the author of the narrative recalled the event."

Source: https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/294808?utm_source=gemini#:~:text=We%20have%20spoken%20in%20our%20account%20of,canoe%20and%20two%20Indians%20to%20accompany%20him.

It's all a bit murky, but I believe the "author of the narrative" is René Goulaine de Laudonnière, who was Gambié's trading partner.

There are several notable accounts of encounters with sea lions in the Age of Exploration.

Antonio Pigafetta, the Italian writer who was part of the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation, described them as "sea wolves":

"Then proceeding on the same course toward the Antarctic Pole, coasting along the land, we came to anchor at two islands full of geese and sea-wolves... Those sea-wolves are of various colors, and as large as a calf, with a head like that of a calf, ears small and round, and large teeth. They have no legs but only feet with small nails attached to the body, which resemble our hands, and between their fingers the same kind of skin as the geese. They would be very fierce if they could run."

Francis Drake came across sea lions in California during his own circumnavigation, noting that they were a very useful form of sustenance.

There have been several investigations into the ship, known as the Animas de la Victoria, over the past 15 years. A group of researchers published a summary of their initial findings earlier this year.

Based partly on analysis of the cannons and the anchors, the team believe the ship was a merchant frigate from England or possibly France that operated in Spanish waters. With no signs of conflict, it seems likely that the vessel was driven against the reefs and wrecked in a gale.

The debris of the ship – including the cannons – is spread over a large area. There are plans to continue investigations of the site in order to determine the definite origin of the vessel and also its probable purpose.

Image: A cannon from the wreck on the seabed / Helena Barba-Meinecke

More details about the investigations: https://theageofexploration.com/cannons-and-anchors-revealing-the-mysteries-of-the-animas-de-la-victoria-shipwreck/

HMS Beagle had a strange history, however. Its first captain, Pringle Stokes, committed suicide in 1828 on board the ship, no longer to face the arduous work of surveying the Strait of Magellan.

With Darwin in tow, the Beagle later embarked on a mission around the world, stopping off at various points of South America, the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, Australia and South Africa, among many other locations. The wildly diverse fauna and flora encountered on his voyage inspired Darwin to articulate his theory of evolution.

The captain of this second voyage, however, proved no more fortunate than the first. Robert FitzRoy, who took over from Stokes and led the ship on the journey that contributed so much to the advancement of science, also suffered severely from depression. He took his own life at home in 1865.

The Beagle Channel, of course, was named after the iconic ship.

Painting: Conrad Mertens, The 'Beagle' in Beagle Channel

De Bry completed the illustration from the drawings of John White, the governor of the English colony Roanoke. De Bry’s work was published in 1588 in Thomas Hariot's account of his visit to North America, A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia.

Though De Bry became well-known throughout Europe for his detailed representations of the New World, he never made the journey to North America himself.

The statue of Christopher Columbus, which had stood by the city waterfront at Seaside Park since 1965, was vandalised on several occasions before being removed in July 2020.

In an op-ed article published in New Haven Register, community organisers Gemeem Davis and Calabria Gale Heilmann argue the statue is an affront to the inhabitants of the city and must not be allowed to return.

The Council of Italian American Societies of Greater Bridgeport, on the other hand, asserts that the removal of the statue was disrespectful to the city’s Italian-American community and that it should be reinstated.

Full story here.

In 1770, James Cook claimed the lands of the Australian continent for the British. Seventeen years later, a fleet of 11 ships with 1,400 people sailed from England to establish a permanent settlement in the south. Among the passengers were some 750 convicts.

Whilst the vast majority were British, there were also convicts born in continental Europe (in what is now the Netherlands, Germany and Norway), while at least 11 were of African descent. Over the next century or so, more than 160,000 convicts would make the trip to the Southern Hemisphere.

It is not quite true, however, that Australia was a 'nation of convicts'. Two modern Australian states, South Australia and Victoria, saw no importation of prisoners from Britain at all, while other areas of the country were populated with people from all walks of life. Then, of course, there were the Aboriginal people who had first arrived in Australia around 60,000 years ago.

Image: "The Founding of Australia. By Capt. Arthur Phillip R.N. Sydney Cove, Jan. 26th 1788", painted 1939, oil by Algernon Talmage R.A.

Full story: https://theageofexploration.com/sent-down-under-breaking-free-from-australias-historical-convict-chains/

The English privateer Francis Drake was a huge fan of fire as a method of spreading terror among the enemy, and was known as El Draque (The Dragon) by the Spanish.

Drake's crew employed both fire arrows and firepots in their raids on Spanish galleons in their quest for gold and silver. Naturally, the sight of a fire breaking out in the sails or on the decks of their wooden ships – often filled with gunpowder – soon caused panic in the ranks of Spanish seamen, who swiftly capitulated.

The international research team, which includes specialists from institutions in the Dominican Republic, Spain, Mexico, Argentina and the United States, is centring activities close to La Isabela, Columbus’s former colony.

There are also expectations that they might be able to reveal the remains of other historic vessels from the 15th to the 18th century.

The investigations are expected to take place in 2027.

If successful, it is hoped the work will help La Isabela in its bid to become an official UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Full story here: https://theageofexploration.com/search-planned-for-columbus-era-shipwrecks-near-la-isabela-colony/

Drake sailed the original Golden Hinde around the world between 1577 and 1580 – the second-ever circumnavigation after the Magellan-Elcano voyage. On the way, the Englishman stole a huge amount of gold and silver from the Spanish in South America and valuable cloves and nutmeg in the Spice Islands of South-East Asia.

There are no contemporary drawings or paintings of the Golden Hinde. This meant the construction team had to rely on brief descriptions of the vessel and records of similar ships when building the replica. After decades of sailing, the Hinde was taken out of the water in 2017 and placed at St Mary Overie Dock for a major refit. On board, you can tour the whole ship and also learn how to fire a 16th-century cannon.

The Age of Exploration visited the replica in London a couple of weeks ago - you can read about it here.

Image: Photo of the ship, Golden Hinde

As the man who ‘legalised’ England’s presence in Newfoundland, Sir Humphrey Gilbert could legitimately be seen as the man who founded the English (British) Empire.

In reality, however, Gilbert is more widely known for the circumstances of his death.

On the return journey from Newfoundland to England, Gilbert got into trouble in the Atlantic Ocean, close to the Azores. When the captain of the accompanying ship, the Golden Hind, Edward Hayes, offered to assist Sir Humphrey, he refused the offer, declaring  “We are as near to heaven by sea, as by land.”

Hayes claims that when Gilbert made this statement, he was reading Thomas More’s Utopia, which contains the text “He that hathe no grave is covered with the skye: and, the way to heaven out of all places is of like length and distance.”

Gilbert went down with his ship, but the manner of his death has remained a legend in maritime history and a symbol of British stoicism in the face of adversity.

(As Ben Lowings argues in a recent Age of Exploration article, however, the story may not be entirely reliable.)

Image: The Last Moments of Sir Humphrey Gilbert (illustration of the sinking of Squirrel, c. 1874)