Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c.1539–83) was an English adventurer, explorer, and soldier, known for his role in English colonial expansion. He helped pioneer North American exploration, claiming Newfoundland for England in 1583.
Born in Devon, England, Gilbert studied navigation and military science at Eton College and the University of Oxford. He served in Ireland during the Tudor conquest, earning a reputation for ruthless tactics. In 1566, he wrote A Discourse of a Discoverie for a New Passage to Cataia (1576,) advocating for a Northwest Passage to China.
Granted a charter by Queen Elizabeth I (1578) to establish colonies, his first expedition failed, but in 1583, he annexed Newfoundland, England’s first overseas colony. His return voyage ended in tragedy when his ship sank in the North Atlantic.
William Gilbert Gosling’s The Life of Sir Humphrey Gilbert: England’s First Empire Builder (1911) explores his colonial ambitions and exploration.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Humphrey Gilbert
We are as near to heaven by sea as by land.
—Humphrey Gilbert
Topics: Army, The Military, Navy
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