250px|thumb|right|An engraving from Henry Holland's [[Herōologia Anglica (1620). Animum fortuna sequatur is Latin for "May fortune follow courage."]]<!--lit. the spirit-->

Sir Thomas Cavendish (1560 – May 1592) was an English explorer and privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first to deliberately attempt to emulate Sir Francis Drake, raiding Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and then returning by circumnavigating the globe. Though Magellan-Elcano, Loaísa, Drake, and Loyola had all preceded him in circumnavigating the globe, Cavendish's own successful voyage, between 1586 and 1588, was the first deliberately planned circumnavigation. It made him rich from captured Spanish gold, silk, and treasure from the Pacific and the Philippines, with his richest prize being the 600-ton Manila galleon Santa Ana (also called Santa Anna). He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England after his return. He later set out for a second raid and circumnavigation but was not as fortunate and died at sea in 1592, at the age of 31.

Early life

Cavendish was baptized on 19 September 1560 in St Martin's Church, Trimley St Martin, Suffolk. He was the third son of William Cavendish and Mary Wentworth. When his father died in 1572, Cavendish inherited a sizeable estate and was placed under the guardianship of Thomas Wentworth, 2nd Baron Wentworth. Wentworth was required to ensure that the boy was prepared for a university education.

In the spring of 1576 at the age of 15, he entered Corpus Christi College, Cambridge but left in November 1577 without taking a degree. He then entered Gray's Inn, London, and for the next several years maintained a lavish lifestyle, making connections in London society including the royal court. He also came to know Richard Hakluyt and others in his circle who were advocating for the English colonization of North America. Cavendish gained a reputation as a spendthrift and between 1583 and 1585 he was taken to court for non-payment of debts.

On 9 September 1588 the Desire sailed into the harbour at Plymouth, England. Later she paraded up the River Thames through London, displaying her new sails of blue damask.

Cavendish's first voyage was a huge success both financially and otherwise; Cavendish was not yet 28 at his return. The circumnavigation of the globe had been completed in two years and 49 days, nine months faster than Drake, although, like Drake, Cavendish returned with only one of his ships—the Desire with a crew of about 48 men. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was invited to a dinner aboard the Desire. England celebrated both the return of the Desire and the defeat of the Spanish Armada earlier that year.

Second voyage and death

Cavendish sailed on a second expedition in August 1591, accompanied by the navigator John Davis. They went further south to the Strait of Magellan and then returned to Brazil, where they hid and reprovisioned in Ilhabela and looted Santos and São Vicente. Going further north, they lost most of the crew in a battle against the Portuguese at the village of Vitória, today the capital of the State of Espirito Santo. One abandoned sailor, Anthony Knivet, later wrote about his adventures in Brazil. Cavendish set off across the Atlantic towards Saint Helena with the remainder of the crew, but died of unknown causes at age 31, possibly off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic in 1592. The last letter of Cavendish, written to his executor a few days before his death, accuses John Davis of being a "villain" who caused the "decay of the whole action". John Davis continued on with Cavendish's crew and ships and discovered the Falkland Islands before returning to England with most of his crew lost to starvation and illness.

  • Cavendish is the central figure in the 1948 historical novel Captain for Elizabeth by Jan Westcott, which follows the events of his first circumnavigation.
  • Cavendish tobacco, a popular pipe tobacco, is named after Thomas Cavendish.
  • In the anime and manga series One Piece, a pirate named Cavendish refers to Thomas Cavendish.

See also

  • Pedro de Unamuno
  • Christian Doctrine in the Brasílica Language

References

Further reading

  • John D. Neville. "Thomas Cavendish", Heritage Education Program, US National Park Service
  • Christian Isobel Johnstone (1831). Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier. Oliver & Boyd. From Google Books
  • Christian Isobel Johnstone (1892). Early English voyagers : or, The adventures and discoveries of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier. London : Nelson. From Internet Archive