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GIOVANNI
DE VERRAZANO
Giovanni
de Verrazano was a Florentine navigator who originated in
Val di Greve. Born
in 1470, Verrazano lived until 1527 when he died in Puerto
del Pico or Newfoundland. When Verrazano was just 25 years of age, he decided to join
the French maritime service, becoming employed to set out on
voyages of discovery. According
to historians, he headed to the northern coast of America in
1508 although apparently no accounts of discoveries have
been found.
Verrazano
later began working to devour both Portuguese and Spanish
possessions in the West and East Indies.
With this, Verrazano made a name for himself as
corsair. Then
in 1521, he took possession of impressive valuables while in
the West Indies and just one year later, captured Hernan
Cortes’ ship that was being sent to Mexico full of
treasures. Just
two years later, Verrazano left Dieppe aboard La Dauphine,
working for Francis I who was the King of France.
Their goal was to learn more about the coast of North
America so they sailed from Madeira in January of 1524,
arriving a month later.
During
the next three months, Verrazano and his crew explored the
land near Cape Fear, discovering the Narragansett and New
York Bays. Landing in Newfoundland, he claimed many valuable possessions
in the name of Francis I, setting his heart and mind on
finding a way to the East Indies from the northwest.
While returning to Dieppe, Verrazano wrote a special
memoir to the king, telling about his many discoveries
although his information was a bit confusing.
Interestingly,
history tells us very little about the remaining years of
Verrazano’s life. However,
a number of references indicate that Indians killed him in
Newfoundland while on a voyage for exploration.
We do know that he spoke with people in England with
a map of his discoveries. Then in 1876, a document was found that proved he had
executed a power of attorney to his brother, Geronimo in
1527 just before sailing to the East Indies.
This particular document stated that while Verrazano
was on a voyage, he was captured on Spain’s southern
coast.
Then
in the 19th century, a discovery was made in the
Strozzi Library at Florence.
There, a manuscript copy of Verrazano’s letters
were found, which contained additional writings.
Published in transactions of the New York historical
society in 1841, some of the documents were signed by the
brother, Geronimo.
In one, the brother called the land Nuova Gallia
quale discopri, e annos fa, Giovanni de Verrazano Fiorentino.
Additional documents have been discovered in the
French archives, proving that Giovanni de Verrazano did in
fact discover North America’s northern coast.
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