Arent Schuyler de Peyster (captain)

Arent Schuyler de Peyster , also Arendt Schuyler de Peyster (born June 27, 1779 in New York , † November 1822 in Dumfries ) was an American merchant captain in British service who discovered the islands of Funafuti and Nukufetau for Europe.

He came from a long-established and influential family of Dutch Protestants who immigrated to Nieuw Amsterdam (now New York City ) in the 17th century . Two men in the family were mayors of New York: brothers Abraham and Johannes de Peyster.

Schuyler de Peyster was given command of the armed brigantine Rebecca , which sailed under the British flag. He went on a trade trip across the Pacific from the Chilean port city of Valparaíso to India . In May 1819 he discovered a group of 14 islands, which he named "Ellice's Islands" (after the British merchant and politician Edward Ellice , the owner of Rebecca ) and shortly afterwards a group of seven islands, which he named "De Peyster's".

According to Schuyler de Peyster's records, the atolls of Nukufetau (De Peyster's) and Funafuti (Ellice's Island) can be identified. However, he did not enter either island. The name Ellice Islands was common for the entire archipelago of Tuvalu until 1978 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b N.N .: Military (1776 – '79) transactions of Major, afterwards Colonel, 8th or King's foot, Arent Schuyler de Peyster ... Details of the discovery of the Ellice and de Peyster Islands in the Pacific Ocean in May, 1819 . In: babel.hathitrust.org. Accessed May 2, 2017 .
↑ Max Quanchi, John Robson: Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham (MD) 2005.
^ Andrew Sharp: The Discovery of the Pacific Islands . Greenwood Press, Westport (CT) 1960.

personal data
SURNAME	Schuyler de Peyster, arent
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Schuyler de Peyster, Arendt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	US trade captain in British service
DATE OF BIRTH	June 27, 1779
PLACE OF BIRTH	new York
DATE OF DEATH	November 1822
Place of death	Dumfries

[nn-mil-1] N.N .: Military (1776 – '79) transactions of Major, afterwards Colonel, 8th or King's foot, Arent Schuyler de Peyster ... Details of the discovery of the Ellice and de Peyster Islands in the Pacific Ocean in May, 1819 . In: babel.hathitrust.org. Accessed May 2, 2017 .

[hist-dict-2] Max Quanchi, John Robson: Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham (MD) 2005.

[sharp-3] Andrew Sharp: The Discovery of the Pacific Islands . Greenwood Press, Westport (CT) 1960.