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Giovanni da Verrazano
Italian Navigator & Explorer
Verrazano first became
famous for raiding Spanish ships while serving the French. Late he
sought and received a commission from the French King, Francis I, to
seek a western sea route to China. This trip was not entirely funded
by the French crown, but also by a group of private investors.
Since the Spanish had already explored South and Central America in
search of a strait leading to Asia, Verrazano decided to seek such a
strait on along the North American coast. He set sail in 1524 and
quickly reached the coast of present day North Carolina and
continued northward. While cruising along the Carolina Banks
Verrazano spotted Pamlico Sound, which he mistook for the Pacific
Ocean. He also discovered Block Island near Connecticut, Rhode
Island, and the New York and Narragansett Bays. His explorations
went further north, eventually reaching Nova Scotia. Although
Verrazano was the first person to name sites in the New World after
people and places in the Old World, but most for these names are no
longer used. However, in his Journal, Verrazano compared Block
Island to the Isle of Rhodes in the Mediterranean sea. Later,
thinking Verrazano was referring to Aquidneck Island, named their
new settlement ‘Rhode Island.’
Although Verrazano was unsuccessful in luring the French to invest
on settlements and colonies in the New World, he was able to
organize another expedition in 1527. He made no new discoveries
during this voyage, but did return with a profitable cargo of
logwood. The following year Verrazano led yet another expedition to
the New World, but while exploring the Lesser Antilles, he was
killed and eaten by the Carib Indians.
The Verrazano Narrows, at the mouth of New York Harbor and the
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York Harbor (between Brooklyn and
Staten Island) are named after him. |
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