SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT 

Sir Humphrey Gilbert was born in Dartmouth England in 1539 but sadly, he became lost at sea in 1584.  Born as the half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, Gilbert went on to become a famous English navigator.  He began by studying at two Ivy League universities, Oxford and Eaton with the direction of getting involved with the military.  In fact, Gilbert fought in the north region of England, as well as against Roman Catholics in Scotland.  Soon, he was given command of an army at which time he was sent to overpower the Irish. 

Gilbert was very successful in this campaign, which led him to be knighted and made Munster’s governor in 1570.  Soon after, he returned to his home country of England, commanding a fleet used for blockading Flushing.  When completed, Gilbert published a pamphlet called “A Discourse of Discovery for a New Passage to Cataia”.  Although he was known for many things, Gilbert was probably one of the greatest advocates of the northwest, passage theory.  Interestingly, Gilbert was determined to become an explorer after he helped Frobisher and other mariners by using his finances. 

With a letter from Queen Elizabeth in hand authorizing him to make discoveries over a six-year period through the barbarous countries that were not yet in Christian possession, he set out to occupy and dispose of these countries in the name of the Queen.  Gilbert’s started his first expedition in 1581 but with one of his vessels being destroyed, he returned to port with this and his other ships, also damaged.  Soon after, he mortgaged his estate to come up with enough money for yet another expedition, which began in the summer of 1583 heading to Newfoundland. 

This particular expedition included two decked ships as well as three sloops with 260 men on board as crew.  The largest of the ships was commanded by Sir Walter Raleigh but when he noticed that a large number of men onboard were becoming ill, he became worried.  With this, he made the decision to head back to England after being at sea just three days.  However, Gilbert moved on toward Newfoundland, arriving on the coast while dodging icebergs and major storms.  Landing in St. John, he saw 36 vessels of various nationalities there but that was not enough to stop him from taking possession in the name of his supreme ruler. 

Gilbert pushed the Portuguese off the island who had settled there and then published statutes that explained the religion the country should follow.  He also advised that anyone who rebelled against the queen would be put to death, being regarded as a traitor.  In addition, he let everyone know that any individual who even spoke disrespectfully about the queen would suffer by having his ears cut off and all of his ships taken.  Unfortunately, the colonization was disastrous with many sailors deserting him.  Those that stayed became seriously ill. 

Realizing he was defeated, Gilbert sailed for Norumbega, which would later be known as New England.  The primary vessel struggled and soon, the vessel commanded by Sir Walter Raleigh sank in a horrific storm off Azores while heading to England.  With this ship, Gilbert lost his life.  Even so, he would go on to be known as a successful navigator in spite of his shortcomings.