Thomas Cavendish

Timeline

1. 1560–1585Trimley St Martin · SuffolkBorn into a Suffolk gentry family, he inherited his estate as a youth. In 1585 he sailed with Richard Grenville's fleet to the Roanoke area of North America, taking part in the capture of Spanish ships en route and gaining command and privateering experience; after returning to England he resolved to emulate Drake with a global raiding voyage.
2. 1586–1588Plymouth · DevonOn July 21, 1586, he sailed from Plymouth with the Golden Hind, the Desire, and the Hugh Gallant, about 123 men in all. Passing through the Strait of Magellan, he raided Spanish ports along the west coast of South America. In November 1587 off Lower California he captured the Manila galleon Santa Ana, taking vast spoils of gold, silver, and silk. Only the Desire returned to England in September 1588, the whole voyage lasting about two years and forty-nine days, and he was knighted by Elizabeth I.
3. 1591–1592North Atlantic · North AtlanticIn 1591 he again assembled a fleet with John Davis and others, attempting to repeat the circumnavigation while also seeking the Northwest Passage. The fleet encountered storms at the southern tip of South America and failed to pass the Strait of Magellan; Cavendish was forced to turn back and died of illness in the North Atlantic around May 1592, only in his thirties.