Sir Thomas Cavendish

Cavendish was an English navigator and privateer who led the third circumnavigation of the Earth.

Born in 1560 into the prominent English family, Cavendish inherited a fortune from his father’s estate as a young boy. At age of 15 he entered Corpus Christi College, Cambridge but he left it two years later without taking a degree, and spent the next eight years living luxurious fashionable life.

His business engagement started around 1585 when he joined the expedition of Sir Richard Grenville to Virginia. Although he gained valuable experience, his investment proved to be unprofitable. With the outbreak of the English war with Spain (1586), Cavendish decided to follow the example of Sir Francis Drake and to raid Spanish ports and ships in the Pacific and circumnavigating the globe. After he got the necessary permission, he set out from Plymouth in 1586 with three ships and the crew of 123 men. Perhaps the only worthwhile geographic contribution was a discovery of Port Desire, present day Puerto Deseado in Argentina after he reached the Patagonian coast.

After he passed the Strait of Magellan his ships started to attack Spanish settlements and shipping from South America to Mexico. The treasure 600-ton galleon Santa Ana, seized off the coast of California is regarded the biggest treasure that ever fell in English hands. Some in Mexico claimed that the total value of the cargo was about 2,000,000 pesos.

Cavendish continued his expedition by way of the Philippines, East Indies, and Cape of Good Hope, returning to Plymouth in 1588 after more than two years on the sea. Encouraged by glory and wealth, Cavendish embarked on a second journey across the world in 1591, which proved to be disastrous venture. He lost his life en route.