Bartholomew Gilbert
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Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Bartholomew Gilbert was an English
mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor' ...
who in 1602 served as co-captain on the first recorded European expedition to
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
. His decisions resulted in that expedition's failure to establish a colony there.


Voyage to Cape Cod

Gilbert served aboard ''The Concord'', a small
bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...
which sailed out of
Dartmouth, Devon Dartmouth () is a town and civil parish in the England, English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the western bank of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies w ...
, to establish a colony in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, which was then known as Northern Virginia and was considered a part of the
Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
. The ship's captain was Bartholomew Gosnold, an experienced seaman who had sailed with
Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...
and who was related to Gilbert on Gosnold's father's side. ''The Concord'' had 32 men on board and sailed due west from the
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to New England, arriving in May 1602 at Cape Elizabeth in
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
at the latitude 43 degrees and skirted the coastline for several days before anchoring in York Harbor, Maine, on 14 May 1602. The next day, they sailed into
Provincetown Harbor Provincetown Harbor is a large harbor#Natural harbors, natural harbor located in the town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, Provincetown, Massachusetts. The harbor is mostly deep and stretches roughly from northwest to southeast and from northea ...
and named it
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
. Following the coastline for several days, they discovered and touched at
Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...
, entered Buzzard's Bay, which they called Gosnold's Hope, and established a small post on Elizabeth's Island, which is now called Cuttyhunk Island and is part of the town of Gosnold. In nineteen days they built a fort and storehouse on an islet and began to trade with the
Massachusett The Massachusett are a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...
in
fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
s, skins, and the sassafras plant. They sowed wheat,
barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
, and
peas Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum ...
, and in fourteen days the young plants had sprung nine inches and more. Gookin, Warner F. and Barbour, Philip L., Bartholomew Gosnold: Discoverer and Planter, Archon Books, Hamden CT, 1963. They planned to leave Gosnold and some of the crew to start a colony while Gilbert returned to
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
for more supplies. However, when it became known that Gilbert had provided insufficient provisions for the winter; their provisions, after division, would have lasted only six weeks. All hands decided to return to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
with him. They made a very short voyage of five weeks and landed at
Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...
on 23 July. Their freight realised a great profit, the sassafras alone selling for £336 a ton. A notable account of the voyage, written by John Brereton, one of the gentlemen adventurers, was published in 1602, and this helped in popularising subsequent voyages of exploration and colonisation of the northeast seaboard of North America. A second account by Gabriel Archer was not published until over 20 years later. Although the mission failed to establish a colony, the attempt is commemorated by the New World Tapestry and Gilbert is one of the people represented thereon.


Voyage to Virginia

In July 1603, Gilbert returned to
the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...
. Setting anchor in
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
, Gilbert and four crewmen went ashore to search for the missing members of the
Roanoke Colony The Roanoke Colony ( ) refers to two attempts by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The first colony was established at Roanoke Island in 1585 as a military outpost, and was evacuated in 1586. ...
. They subsequently ran afoul of and were killed by a group of Algonquians on 29 July. The date of this historic landing is represented in the Seal of Northampton County, Virginia. Not until 1607 did the English successfully establish
Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent British colonization of the Americas, English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Willia ...
, their first colony in what is now the United States. St. John's, Newfoundland, in what is now Canada, was founded shortly before this.


References


Bibliography

*Baigent, Elizabeth: ''John Brereton'', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004 *Gookin, Warner F. and Barbour, Phillip ''Bartholomew Gosnold, Discoverer and Planter'', Hamden, CT: Archon, 196

*Quinn, David B & Quinn, Alison M, ''The English New England Voyages 1602–1608'', The Hakluyt Society Series II, Vol 161, 1983. *Venn: Alumni Cantab, 1921 *Westby-Gibson, John: ''John Brereton'', in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Bartholomew Year of birth missing 1603 deaths 16th-century births 17th-century English explorers 16th-century English explorers English explorers of North America