Captain Peter Easton

In 1602, Captain Peter Easton was commissioned by the Queen of England to take three British warships to Newfoundland on a mission to enforce a British peach among lawless fishermen living along the hundreds of miles of coastline. In 1603, James I took the throne. Then in 1604, the Spanish Armada was defeated, being ended by Spain. With this, James I reduced both size and power of the English navy, meaning Easton and his men were left stranded in Newfoundland with no money. Because of this, they began forming a plan for pirate crews.

The majority of the English officers and men took an oath of blood with Easton, taking over vessels that had formerly been sailed as warships for Britain. With this, they set out for the Spanish Main to take over the shipping coastline communities. Then in 1610, Easton was given the name of Notorious Pirate by the British. However, Easton was soon becoming increasingly powering in the Western Hemisphere, also becoming a very wealthy man with thousands of men on his side.

In fact, Easton soon had a fleet of 40 ships. Stationed at the Avon River mouth, he was able to stop traffic going into the English Channel. This resulted in Bristol merchants having to look for help from the Lord Admiral, Earl of Nottingham as a way of getting Easton and himself to leave. Then in 1610, Easton came back to Newfoundland and two years later, along with his fleet, he sailed the rough coasts, sweeping out everything he came across to include the capture of ships, cannons, and even more than $100,000 in bounty.

Enlisting more than 500 men as crew, the majority who went along gladly, he took his new cannons and fortified Harbor Grace Bay. Then in Caplin Cove, Easton built a fort and then set up headquarters across the bay on Kelly's Islands. While there, the king's representative was captured. To try to bring order, Sir Richard Whitbourne was sent to Newfoundland, setting up the first English court of law in the New World.

According to what Sir Richard published, he stayed onboard the ship for 11 weeks at which time Eaton pampered him with fine treatment in an effort to persuade him to join him and his men. However, Sir Richard had his eyes set on ruling Newfoundland, using the colony as his base for taking control of the New World. Refusing to get involved with Easton's scheme, he did make an agreement to go to England, supporting a petition for pardon that would allow him to go back to England so he could spend his days in the lap of luxury.

Realizing that Harbor Grace was in a position for attack by the sea, he quickly moved the base to Ferryland, fortifying the harbor. From his fortress, Easton was able to send an ultimatum to England saying if he were pardoned, he would agree to go home and then quietly live out his life. With this, the governor of England granted the pardon but for some reason, Eason never received it. From that point, he lived on Ferryland waiting for the pardon, building a palace on Fox Hill, which can be seen today.

Easton continued conducting raids on merchant ships, keeping part of the fleet for himself. Growing impatient for the pardon, he finally set sail for Azores to intercept the Spanish fleet. Then in 1614, Easton was on Barbary Coast with 14 ships, loaded with treasure taken. At that time, he made an alliance with the King of Algiers, working together to fight against the Spanish. Disbanding his armada, his vast fortune was divided and the palace purchase in Savoy, near what we know today as Monaco. Never knowing about the sent pardon, Eason lived his life to an old age in great wealth.

WILLIAM BAFFIN

William Baffin was born in 1584, becoming a famous British arctic explorer. History tells us that Baffin was born in London but died in 1622 while in Kishm, Persia. Most people referred to Baffin as "the pilot of Patience", which was actually a vessel he took a voyage on with James Hall on the way to Greenland.

Then in 1613, Baffin joined the Muscovy Company, becoming a top pilot of seven vessels. As a part of his job, he often visited the Spitzbergen coast for incredible fishing. By 1615, Baffin had piloted another vessel called the Discovery under the command of Robert Bylot, searching for the Northwest Passage. Today, his original manuscript about this voyage is preserved in the British museum.

On the first trip, he searched in vain for a channel in Hudson Bay, located just to the north of Southampton Island. Then during his second expedition, Baffin headed in a northwesterly direction directly through Davis Strait, which led him to what would later be called Baffin Bay, as well as Baffin Island on the northeast shore. This particular part of the voyage was also published by Purchas, providing exact and fascinating information deemed valuable.

Unfortunately, Baffin's great discover of "Baffin Bay" was discredited until 1818 at which time Sir John Ross confirmed his observations and discovery. Then in 1617, Baffin joined the East India Company, sailing under a Captain Shilling on two voyages, one in 1617, and the other in 1620. The final voyage that Baffin would make was in 1621, with a distinct purpose of pushing the Portuguese out of Ormuz.

Sadly, while under siege and engaging in measurements, Baffin was shot and killed. In addition to being a master pilot of large vessels, Baffin is known for something more important. He was the first man to determine longitude by observing the time of the moon's culmination. This discovery would make a huge difference in how future pilots handled voyages!

WILLEM BARENTS

Willem Barents was a Dutch navigator born in 1550 in the Netherlands. Although a wonderful man, he was best known for making three different voyages going from Amsterdam to Asia, searching for a northeast passage. The first voyage occurred in the summer of 1594 where he reached the extremity of Novaya Zemlya. From there, the charts he maintained show that he traveled northward. However, upon reaching the northern extremity, he was forced to turn back home.

For Barents' second trip, he took a full expedition with him to include seven vessels, heading out the following year in 1595. This time, they headed for the strait located between the Asiatic coast and Vaygach Island. Unfortunately, they had headed out on this voyage too late in the year to find open water. Finally, his third voyage began in 1596. This time, his expedition discovered Bear Island and Spitsbergen, which today is known as Svalbard.

At that time, the two vessels separated with the intention of performing independent explorations. On the first vessel was Barents with his crew but after heading to the north area of Novaya Zemlya, they were confronted with heavy ice, compelling them to spend winter in the north. Since his ship was not released until early 1597, Barents' party left the area in two open boats in June. Unfortunately, problems arose and while the majority of crew escaped, Barents died two weeks later.

Then in 1871, the house where Willem Barents had stayed during those cold, winter months was discovered. Better yet, within the house were a number of relics that today, are preserved and on display at The Hague. However, another great discovery would be made when just four years later, his journal was found. Because of the three voyages Willem Barents made in 1594, 1596, and then again in 1597, Barents Island located in the Svalbard archipelago was named after him.

In addition, with his extensive explorations and accuracy of charts for each of his voyages, Barents is still considered today as one of the most important of all arctic explorers, leaving valuable information for others who followed. In fact, the meteorological data he collected and used is still consulted today for other people sailing this area of the world. Today, the Barents Sea in the Arctic is named after this magnificent Dutch navigator.

AMERIGO VESPUCCI

Amerigo Vespucci, also known as Americo or Vespucio, was an Italian navigator born in Florence, Italy in 1451. Vespucci lived until 1512 when he died in Seville but not until he had made himself known. Born into a very wealthy family of merchants, he was educated from his uncle, Giorgi Antonio Vespucci who was a Dominican friar, as well as colleague and friend of Savonarola. At first, Vespucci got involved with business during which time he met Christopher Columbus. Although the exact date of their meeting is not 100%, historians estimate it could have been as early as 1493.

Then in 1497, Vespucci set up his vessels with supplies and navigated his third voyage, already experienced since one year earlier, he had equipped a fleet that would be used by the Spanish government. Then in 1499, he set sail from Spaifi, visiting Cape Paria along with several hundreds of miles along the coastline. In the summer of 1500, he returned home. Then in the spring of 1501, Vespucci came into service under Emmanuel of Portugal, participating in an expedition that would go to Brazil in 1503.

Vespucci also commanded a caravel that sailed to discovery Malacca. However, parting the company of others, he made his way to the coast of Brazil, during which time he discovered All Saint's bay. Vespucci stayed in Brazil for two months, running 260 leagues more to the south. Once there, a fort was built near Cape Frio. In 1504, he left the colony and returned to Lisbon. By the early part of 1505, Vespucci had obtained letters of naturalization from the King of Spain.

Then in March of 1508, was appointed as the pilot major over the kingdom. In fact, Vespucci held this office until his death. His position meant he controlled the preparation of coast descriptions, as well as new discoveries and overseeing pilot examination and chart construction. However, a controversy began as to whether Vespucci was ahead of Columbus and Jabots of the discovery of America's mainland.

This dispute remains today. Unfortunately, none of Vespucci's letters on the subject exists with the exception of some translations. The problem is that even these translations also differ and contain some inaccuracies pertaining to date and fact. Making it even more difficult to stop the controversy is that the letters are written in an unknown language.

VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA

Born in 1475, Vasco Nunez de Balboa was a Spanish conquistador and explorer but not just any conquistador and explorer, he was the first European to lay eyes on the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean. That day in 1513 was a huge accomplishment, one made after a difficult trek through the jungles of today's Panama. Balboa staked claim of the Pacific Ocean, along with the shores for his country of Spain. With this, Spanish exploration and conquest along South America's western coast began. Even so, Magellen, a Portuguese explorer, was the one that gave the ocean its name, Pacifica, which translates to "peaceful".

Balboa's father was not a wealthy or powerful man so Vasco was required to work in the household of a rich nobleman in the city of Moguer as a young boy. When Columbus arrived in America in 1492, Balboa was just 17 years of age. At that time, there were many ships all heading to the New World. On their way, they would stop by the port city of Moguer to take on supplies and sailors. As the voyages came back through Moguer, the sailors would tell magnificent stories about other lands discovered across the sea. They also bragged about all the opportunities for fame and wealth. As you can imagine, this peaked Balboa's attention.

By 1501 and at the age of 26, Balboa decided to join a Spanish expedition heading to South America. This particular voyage explored the northern coast of today's Columbia. However, the vessel was short on food, workers, and other supplies, making it impossible to establish a settlement. With this, Balboa had no choice but to return to Hispaniola, becoming a pig farmer.

Then in 1509, something incredible happened, a Spanish expedition made its way from Hispaniola to South America, colonizing the mainland. Although Balboa had tried desperately to get on that particular expedition, he was too far in debt, thus being stopped from leaving. However, the following year, Balboa had a different plan, he would stow away on another ship taking supplies to this new colony, which is exactly what he did. While he made the trip, once there, the settlers of the colony found Spaniards had left because of the danger of Indians and not enough food.

At that point, Balboa recommended that he and the crew head to the western side of the gulf where the Indians were friendly and peaceful. The Spaniards obliged and the City of Darien was established. With such valuable insight, Balboa was named the "unofficial" governor of the city, leading further expeditions into Panama while at the same time, conquering several Indians but making various types of agreements with others.

In the year 1511, the Indians had told Balboa about another sea located on the other side of Panama, along with great stories of gold and wealth to the south, which was a reference to the Inca Indians of Peru. However, since he was not yet the official governor of Darien, he knew that leaving could put this position at risk. Therefore, to speed up the process of receiving the King's approval for becoming governor, he knew he would have to do something very, impressive. He decided in 1513 that he would lead an expedition of 90 Spaniards, as well as numerous Indians into the "unknown sea" earlier told about.

Traveling for three weeks, Balboa was finally able to see the ocean from a nearby mountain range, sighting the Pacific Ocean for the very first time. As the group reached the waters, they also found pearls and gold. With the great find Balboa sent some of the treasures to the King Ferdinand of Spain, hoping this would be enough to get the needed governorship approval. Unfortunately, before word of Balboa's successful trip and riches could reach the King, another man was named governor of Darien, Pedro Arias Davila.

However, when the King finally received the great news, all he could do was appoint Balboa to serve under Davila. As you can imagine, Balboa was extremely disappointed and to make things worse, he discovered the Davila was a jealous man. In fact, this new governor did not care for Balboa's growing popularity and influence so in 1518, Balboa was accused of treason, although not true. Davila had Balboa arrested and after a hurried trial, he was sentenced to death. In 1519, Davila got his wish when Balboa and four of his closest friends were beheaded.