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Humphrey Gilbert

Type Figure Region England Time c. 1539–1583 Also known as Humphrey Gilbert、Sir Humphrey Gilbert

Humphrey Gilbert was a pioneering colonial explorer of the early Elizabethan age, from a Devon gentry family, known for military repression in Irelan…

Timeline

  1. c. 1539–1560Devon · DevonBorn in Devon, with a maternal line from the Champernowne family. Educated in the 1550s at Oxford and the Inner Temple, he also took up arms, gaining combat experience in the aftermath of the Anglo-French wars and the turmoil in Ireland, gradually forming the idea of opening overseas colonies by force.
  2. 1561–1570Ireland · MunsterIn the 1560s he led troops to Munster in Ireland to suppress local rebellions, establishing a military presence by harsh means and receiving a knighthood. As member for a Devon constituency he also took part in Commons debates, vigorously advocating colonization of the Americas to divert the domestic poor and weaken Spain's maritime advantage.
  3. 1571–1583Newfoundland · NewfoundlandAfter an initial North American voyage in 1578 ended in failure, he led five ships to Newfoundland in 1583, formally claiming the territory for England at St. John's and applying colonial law. On the return voyage his flagship sank in a storm near the Azores, Gilbert going down with it, and the colonization plan did not continue.

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