Bartholomew Gosnold

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The coat of arms of Bartholomew Gosnold

Bartholomew Gosnold (* 1572 in Grundisburg ; † August 22, 1607 in Jamestown ) was an English lawyer, entrepreneur and explorer. He was instrumental in founding the Virginia Company and the settlement of Virginia operated by it and also led the expedition which visited Cape Cod on May 15, 1602 .

Origin and education

He was born in Grundisburg, Suffolk , in 1572 to Antony Gosnold and Dorothy Bacon, who owned an estate in Otley . He first attended Cambridge University and then studied law at the Middle Temple .

Drive to New England

Friend of the geographer Richard Hakluyt and taking part in one of Walter Raleigh's voyages , he decided in 1602 to sail from Falmouth to North America with the 32-head Concord . His route took him across the Azores directly to Cape Elizabeth in what is now Maine , where he arrived in early May 1602. He followed the coast for a few days and discovered York Harbor, the Cape Cod peninsula - which had been discovered by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 - Martha's Vineyard and Cuttyhunk Island , where he founded a small settlement. However, this was given up in autumn because the settlers did not have sufficient supplies for wintering. In 1602 a report on this trip - written by John Bereton - was published in London .

Expedition to Virginia

After his return, Gosnold stayed in England for a few years in order to advance the preparation of a serious settlement attempt in North America. In 1606, King James I gave the Virginia Company of London , which was largely initiated by him, the exclusive right to establish the Jamestown colony. Gosnold recruited the leaders of the expedition mainly from relatives and participants in the 1602 expedition.

With the ships Godspeed , Susan Constant and Discovery , the expedition set sail with 104 settlers and sailors in the spring of 1607 and reached the coast of North America in early May 1607. On May 14, 1607, the city of Jamestown was founded on an island in the James River in the presence of Gosnold, who was serving as vice admiral of the fleet . Gosnold, popular with the settlers, who had spoken out against the establishment of the colony on the island, actively helped build a fort against the ongoing attacks of the Powhatan Confederation. However, he died on August 22, 1607, probably from an intestinal infection.

anthropology

In 2002 an archaeological investigation in Jamestown revealed human remains in a grave from the period shortly after 1600, which anthropologists and historians on the basis of all evidence have identified as those of the expedition leader Bartholomew Gosnold.

Honors

There is a monument to Bartholomew Gosnold on the island of Cuttyhunk. In 1832 a whaler built in Woods Hole was named Bartholomew Gosnold . The ship's figurehead is on display at the New Bedford Whaling Museum .

literature

  • Warner F. Gookin, Philip L. Barbour: Bartholomew Gosnold. Connecticut / London 1963.
  • Gosnold, Bartholomew . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 12 : Gichtel - harmonium . London 1910, p. 265 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Founding of Jamestown
  2. ^ Archaeological finds, probably with the grave of Bartholomew Gosnold
  3. ↑ Figurehead of Bartholomew Gosnold (PDF)
personal data
SURNAME Gosnold, Bartholomew
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English lawyer, entrepreneur and explorer
DATE OF BIRTH 1572
PLACE OF BIRTH Grundisburg
DATE OF DEATH August 22, 1607
Place of death Jamestown