Thomas Cavendish

Sir Thomas Cavendish (1560 – May 1592) was an English explorer and a privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and return by circumnavigating the globe. Magellan's, Loaisa's, Drake's, and Loyola's expeditions had preceded Cavendish in circumnavigating the globe. His first trip and successful circumnavigation made him rich from captured Spanish gold, silk and treasure from the Pacific and the Philippines. His richest prize was the captured 600-ton sailing ship the Manila Galleon Santa Ana (also called Santa Anna). He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England after his return. He later set out for a second raiding and circumnavigation trip but was not as fortunate and died at sea at the age of 31. Early life Cavendish was baptized on 19 September 1560 in St Martin's Church, Trimley St Martin, Suffolk. He was the third son of William Cavendish and Mary Wentworth. When his father died in 1572, Cavendish inherited a sizeable estate and was placed under the guardianship of Thomas Wentworth, 2nd Baron Wentworth. Wentworth was required to ensure that the boy was prepared for a university education. In the spring of 1576 at the age of 15, he entered Corpus Christi College, Cambridge but left in November 1577 without taking a degree. He then entered Gray's Inn, London, and for the next several years maintained a lavish lifestyle, making connections in London society including the royal court. He also came to know Richard Hakluyt and others in his circle who were advocating for the English colonization of North America. Cavendish gained a reputation as a spendthrift and between 1583 and 1585 he was taken to court for non-payment of debts. Roanoke Colony In the 1580s, Cavendish looked for advancement under the patronage of Walter Raleigh. Raleigh and the Earl of Pembroke helped Cavendish to become a member of parliament representing the borough of Shaftesbury in 1584. In turn, he supported Raleigh's efforts to assume Humphrey Gilbert's contract to colonize America. Cavendish also studied navigation under the direction of Thomas Harriot at Raleigh's Durham House in Westminster.