Thornton expedition

Last updated
Ferdinando I ordered an expedition in order to create a Tuscan settlement on the territory of modern French Guiana French Guiana in its region.svg
Ferdinando I ordered an expedition in order to create a Tuscan settlement on the territory of modern French Guiana

The Thornton expedition was a 1608 Tuscan expedition under Captain Robert Thornton, an Englishman, sent by Ferdinando I of Tuscany to explore northern Brazil and the Amazon River and prepare for the establishment of a settlement in northern coastal South America, which would serve as a base to export Brazilian wood to Renaissance Italy. The area that Thornton considered as a possible site of a Tuscan colony now lies in modern French Guiana, near Cayenne, [1] which would be colonised by France in 1630. The expedition was the only attempt by an Italian state to colonise the Americas. [2]

Contents

The Amazon region had been previously visited by numerous European explorers and traders over the course of the preceding century. Robert Harcourt sailed for Guiana in 1608, establishing an English base on the Oyapock River which lasted a few years. [3] William Davies, a surgeon on the Thornton expedition noted that they expected to find the Amazon by sailing south from the West Indies until "...you shall see the Sea change to a ruddie colour, the water shall grow fresh, by these signes you may run boldly your course [ sic ]." [4]

Sailing from Livorno in September 1608, Thornton returned to the same port in the end of June 1609, reportedly completing the voyage without losing a man. [5] He brought back with him to Tuscany five or six natives, most of whom died of smallpox. Only one lived on at the Medici court for several years, and learned to speak Tuscan. [5] The natives often talked about the richness and fertility of their native land, speaking of a country rich in silver and gold. [5] Thornton himself corroborated these reports, and asserted that the country was rich in rosewood, wild sugar canes, white pepper, balsam, cotton and many other kinds of merchandise which would form an abundant commerce for the Tuscans. [5]

However, once back in Tuscany, Thornton found that Ferdinando I had died, and that his successor Cosimo II was uninterested in the establishment of a colony. Thornton was ready to sail back to the area between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in the summer of 1609 with Italian settlers from Livorno and Lucca, but the project was scrapped. [6]

In the first years of the 17th century Ferdinando I of Tuscany evaluated the possibility of a colony in Brasil […] Ferdinando gave captain Thornton a caravelle and a tartane [for an expedition in 1608] […] Thornton sailed for one year: he reached Guyana and Brasil, exploring the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. […] In July 1609 he was back in Livorno, but in February of that year the Grand Duke died and in Florence nobody [after him] was still thinking about establishing an overseas colony.

— Matteo Sanfilippo [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Medici</span> Italian banking family and political dynasty

The House of Medici was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici, during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. This bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livorno</span> Port city in Italy

Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn.

Tuscany is named after its pre-Roman inhabitants, the Etruscans. It was ruled by Rome for many centuries. In the Middle Ages, it saw many invasions, but in the Renaissance period it helped lead Europe back to civilization. Later, it settled down as a grand duchy. It was conquered by Napoleonic France in the late 18th century and became part of the Italian Republic in the 19th century.

Charles-Antoine Campion, italianized as Carlo Antonio Campioni was a French-Italian composer who was born in Lorraine, France. He was a prolific composer and represented a link between Baroque compositional methods and those of the Classical style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Dudley (explorer)</span> English engineer, explorer, cartographer (1574–1649)

Sir Robert Dudley was an English explorer and cartographer. In 1594, he led an expedition to the West Indies, of which he wrote an account. The illegitimate son of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, he inherited the bulk of the Earl's estate in accordance with his father's will, including Kenilworth Castle. In 1603–1605, he tried unsuccessfully to establish his legitimacy in court. After that he left England forever, finding a new existence in the service of the grand dukes of Tuscany. There, he worked as an engineer and shipbuilder, and designed and published Dell'Arcano del Mare (1645-1646), the first maritime atlas to cover the whole world. He was also a skilled navigator and mathematician. In Italy, he styled himself "Earl of Warwick and Leicester", as well as "Duke of Northumberland", a title recognized by Emperor Ferdinand II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Duchy of Tuscany</span> Former Italian state (1569–1801; 1815–1859)

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population of the Grand Duchy was about 1,815,000 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany</span> Grand Duke of Tuscany

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filippo Mazzei</span> Italian physician, winemaker, and arms dealer

Filippo Mazzei was an Italian physician, winemaker, and arms dealer. A close friend of Thomas Jefferson, Mazzei acted as an agent to purchase arms for Virginia during the American Revolutionary War.

Marco Amelia is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and current coach.

Marino Nicolich, also known as Marino Nicoli, was an Italian professional footballer who played as a full back. He made 100 appearances in the top two tiers of Italian football in the late 1920s and 1930s.

Antonio Bueno was an Italian painter of Spanish origin, who acquired Italian citizenship in 1970. He was born in Berlin while his journalist father was posted there by the newspaper ABC of Madrid.

This is a list of the major football derbies in Italy.

<i>Fontana dei mostri marini</i> Fountains in Florence, Italy

The two fontane dei mostri marini are located in the Santissima Annunziata plaza in the Italian city of Florence.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Prato in the Tuscany region of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferdinando Giorgetti</span>

Ferdinando Giorgetti was a composer, violinist, educator and Italian publicist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italy and the colonization of the Americas</span> Roles of Italians in the colonization of the Americas

Italy and the colonization of the Americas was related to:

Luigi Ferdinando Casamorata was an Italian composer and music critic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanna Ceccardi</span> Italian politician (born 1987)

Susanna Ceccardi is an Italian politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Mordini</span>

Antonio Mordini was a longstanding Italian patriot and, after 1861, a member of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1869 he served as Minister of Public Works of the Kingdom of Italy, a member of the third Menabrea government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flavia Peretti</span> Italian noblewoman, Duchess of Bracciano

Flavia Damasceni Peretti was an Italian noblewoman, niece of Pope Sixtus V and duchess consort of Bracciano as wife of Virginio Orsini. She is also known as the patroness of several poets, writers and musicians.

References

  1. ↑ Ridolfi, R. Pensieri medicei di colonizzare il Brasile p. 14
  2. ↑ Ridolfi, R. Pensieri medicei di colonizzare il Brasile, in «Il Veltro», Roma, luglio-agosto 1962, pp. 1-18
  3. ↑ Hakluytus posthumus or Purchas His Pilgrimes, Samuel Purchas, volume xvi, 1625, reprinted 1906
  4. ↑ Amazon Sweet Sea, Nigel J. H. Smith, University of Texas Press, 2002
  5. 1 2 3 4 John Temple Leader, Life of Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Warwick and Duke of Northumberland : Illustrated with letters and documents from original sources, collected by the author, and hitherto inedited (1895)
  6. ↑ Ridolfi, R. Pensieri medicei di colonizzare il Brasile, in «Il Veltro», Roma, luglio-agosto 1962, p. 12
  7. ↑ Matteo Sanfilippo (2008-06-23). "Gli italiani in Brasile" (in Italian). Archivio Storico dell'Emigrazione Italiana. Retrieved 28 March 2010. Nei primi anni del Seicento Ferdinando I di Toscana ...valuta la possibilità di una colonia brasiliana...Ferdinando fa armare una caravella e una tartana nel porto di Livorno e le affida al capitano Thornton...Thornton naviga per quasi un anno: approda in Guyana e in Brasile, esplora il Rio delle Amazzoni e l'Orinoco, rientra facendo tappa alla Caienna e a Trinidad. Il 12 luglio 1609 è di nuovo a Livorno, ma...il 7 febbraio di quell'anno il granduca è morto e a Firenze non si pensa più alla possibilità di fondare una colonia...oltreoceano.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.