English Buccaneer
& the third person
to circumnavigate the Earth
Born: 1560
Died: 1592
Cavendish sailed with
Sir Richard Grenville’s expedition to America in 1585, and upon his
return to England began to plan for his own circumnavigation of the
globe, this time modeled on sir Francis Drake’s voyage.
Cavendish sailed from Plymouth England with three boats in 1586, and
generally followed Drake’s route of 1577-80 and reached the Cape Verde
islands before starting to head West. He discovered Port Desire (now
Puerto Desaedo) in Argentina. After passing through the strait of
Magellan, he looted Spanish ships and settlements as far north as
California before crossing the Pacific.
Cavendish stopped in the Philippines, Moluccas and Java before crossing
the Indian Ocean. He rounded the Cape of Good Hope and arrived in
Plymouth in the Fall of 1588 with only one ship left, but it was loaded
to the brim with treasures. Cavendish had successfully circumnavigated
the globe in 26 months, 7 months less time than it had taken Sir Francis
Drake in 1591.
Cavendish undertook another grand expedition, this time to China, but
died en route in 1592.
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Cavendish sailed with
Sir Richard Grenville’s expedition to America in 1585, and upon his
return to England began to plan for his own circumnavigation of the
globe, this time modeled on sir Francis Drake’s voyage. 
