David Ingram (explorer)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

David Ingram, Davy Ingrams, or Davyd Ingram ( 1542 – after 1583) was a 16th-century
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
sailor and explorer who claimed to have walked across the interior of the
North American continent North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...
from
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
to
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
in 1568.


Early life

The precise date or year of Ingram's birth are unknown. However,
Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...
noted in 1582 that Ingram was then "''abowt the age of fortye yeares''". He was born and grew up in
Barking, Essex Barking is a riverside town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is east of Charing Cross. The total population of Barking was 59,068 at the 2011 census.If defined as the Abbey, Eastbury, Gascoigne, L ...
.


Exploration

Ingram signed on with English
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
Sir John Hawkins Admiral Sir John Hawkins (also spelled Hawkyns) (1532 – 12 November 1595) was an English naval commander, naval administrator, privateer and slave trader. Hawkins pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic s ...
in 1567 to raid and trade along the coasts of Portuguese Africa and
Spanish Mexico New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
. After a brief skirmish with the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, around a hundred men from Hawkins' expedition were left at
Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...
. Hawkins himself returned to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and he was expected to take two to three years to return for the men left behind. The men at Tampico faced immediate peril at the hands of the Spanish and Mexican Native Americans. The sailors were aware that English fishing ships frequented
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. Ingram and a few others from his party decided to march northwards into the interior to reach Newfoundland, ignorant of the fact that Newfoundland was around 3,000 miles away from Tampico. After eleven months, only three men survived the walk - Ingram, Richard Browne, and Richard Twide. In October 1568, they spotted a
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
vessel lying at anchor in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
. They managed to reach
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
with that vessel and then crossed the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
on a separate fishing vessel.


Walsingham's account

The only account of Ingram's travels was written down by
Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...
and Sir George Peckham in 1582, after Ingram narrated the account to him at the request of
Sir Humphrey Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North Americ ...
. Browne and Twide had died in the interim and only Ingram could attest to their purported journey. Ingram described
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
as a fertile and pleasant land, reporting its vast plains and diverse forests. He claimed to have seen cities and towns, including
Norumbega Norumbega, or Nurembega, is a legendary settlement in northeastern North America which was featured on many early maps from the 16th century until further European colonization of the region. It was alleged that the houses had pillars of gold ...
, a
legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
ary city that featured on early European maps of the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
. He further reported the
inhabitants In law and conflict of laws, domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law", which includes the law that governs a person's status and their property. It is independent of a person's nationality. Although a domicile may change from time ...
as "canibals" with canine-like teeth. However, he added that the kings of the lands usually carried
precious stone Precious may refer to: Music * Precious (group), a British female pop group Albums * ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992 * ''Precious'' (Conrad Sewell album), 2023 * ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998 * ''Precious'' (Ours album), 20 ...
s,
pearls A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...
,
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
, and
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
, as well as that the ordinary people wore gold and silver
bracelets A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, ...
and
anklet An anklet, also called ''ankle chain'', ''ankle bracelet'' or ''ankle string'', is an ornament worn around the ankle. Barefoot anklets and toe rings historically have been worn for at least over 8,000 years by girls and women in Indus Valley, ...
s. He claimed to have given a pearl to the captain of the French ship that transported him to
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
. Ingram's descriptions are fanciful, perhaps derived from things he had seen or heard about in his travels near the coasts of
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
. For example, he claimed to have encountered
elephants Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian ele ...
and white-headed birds that the locals called "''
penguins Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...
''". He theorised that the word was of
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...
origin.


Veracity and treatment

The account written by Walsingham was published in 1589 in
Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the British colonization of the Americas, English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discov ...
's ''The Principall Navigations Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation''. However, the second edition of Hakluyt's ''Principall Navigations'' of 1599 did not contain Ingram's account, as Hakluyt himself doubted the veracity of Ingram's claim. In 1625,
Samuel Purchas Samuel Purchas ( – 1626) was an England, English Anglican cleric who published several volumes of reports by travellers to foreign countries. Career Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex, England, Essex, son of a yeoman. He graduated from St J ...
, who continued Hakluyt's work, with his ''Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas his Pilgrimes'', contested some of Ingram's claims. On the omission of Ingram's account from Hakluyt's second edition, Purchas commented that "''It seemeth some incredibilities of his reports caused him to leave him out in the next impression, the reward of lying eingnot to be believed in truths.”'' In 1999, British writer Richard Nathan attempted to see if the Ingram's journey was physically possible in only 11 months. On 18 August 1999, Nathan started walking from
Guysborough Guysborough (population: 397) is an unincorporated village in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Guysborough County. Located at the head of Chedabucto Bay, fronting Guysborough Harbour, it is the administrative seat of the G ...
,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
and walked 3,300 miles for nine months to reach Barra del Torro,
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...
on 14 May 2000. In 2023, Dean Snow, archaeologist and head of the Anthropology Department at Penn State, published "The Extraordinary Journey of David Ingram: An Elizabethan Sailor in Native North America" in which he examined the original manuscripts of Ingram's interview and determined the confused version of his story that appeared in Hakluyt was the result of disorganization and poor editing. Snow reordered the testimony in chronological order and demonstrated that, once unscrambled, Ingram's testimony is plausible and that he should be reinstated as a trustworthy source.


Later life

In 1583, Ingram returned to the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
with
Sir Humphrey Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North Americ ...
, in Gilbert's unsuccessful attempt to establish an English settlement in
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
.


References


External links


Ingram's Improbable Walk Across 16th-Century America

"The Long, Forgotten Walk of David Ingram" by John Toohey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingram, David English explorers Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown