|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Giovanni da Verrazzano |
Giovanni da Verrazzano (often spelled Verrazano, sometimes also "de" instead of "da") (c. 1485 – c. 1528) was an Italian explorer of North America, in the service of the French crown. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between South Carolina and Newfoundland, including New York Harbor and Narragansett Bay, in 1524.
He was born in Greve in Chianti, Tuscany.
Contents |
The cause of Verrazzano's death is not known for certain. The most popular story places his death in 1528, while exploring Florida, the Bahamas, and the Lesser Antilles. Verrazzano anchored away from shore and rowed in in a little boat to greet the natives. But he found that they were not pleasant natives who wanted to trade. Some say that he died in the Caribbean, killed by cannibals who ate him immediately1. His brother was in the main boat that was anchored away from shore. He witnessed this, but could not do anything about it, as he was out of gunshot range, and could not make it to shore in time. According to some other sources, Verrazzano was killed in 1528 on his third voyage to the New World, by the natives of the Lesser Antilles. Another source says that he was captured by the Spanish and hanged as a pirate. Whatever the case, Giovanni da Verrazzano died at the age of 43.
A thousand years ago, the Norseman Bjarni Herjólfsson discovered the Coast of Labrador (northeastern continental Canada), which with Greenland and Newfoundland comprised the Vinland of the Vikings. Bjarni is believed to have been the first European to view the mainland of North America. The following Europeans known to have arrived on the coasts of the North American continent were several Spanish explorers who disembarked on the coasts of Texas and other lands of the Gulf of Mexico, in the 15th century. In April, 1513, again a Spaniard, Juan Ponce de León, explored the Atlantic coast of Florida, including Saint Augustine. Only 11 years later, Verrazzano landed on northernmost points of the present-day United States. Nevertheless, his reputation did not endure and proliferate as much as other explorers of that era. As a prime example, in accordance with the practices of the time, Verrazzano gave a European name to the new land he had seen, Francesa, after the French king he had been appointed by. This and other names he bestowed on features he discovered have not survived.
The most important evidence for Verrazzano's voyage is a long letter he wrote to Francis I describing the geography, flora, fauna and native population of the east coast of North America. In the 19th and early 20th centuries there was a great debate in the United States about the letters authenticity, some considered it a fake by someone who had not been on the voyage.2 Others thought it was true, and it is almost universally accepted as authentic today3, particularly after the discovery of the letter signed by Francis I which referred to Verrazzano's letter.4 This debate minimized considerably Verrazzano's reputation (in the United States at least) as the European discoverer of the mid-Atlantic coast of North America, but he has always remained a French and Italian hero.
Verrazzano's reputation was particularly obscure in New York City, where the 1609 voyage of Henry Hudson came to be regarded as the de facto start of the European exploration of New York. It was only with great effort in the 1950s and 1960s that Verrazzano's name and reputation as the European discoverer of the harbour was re-established, during an effort to have the newly built Narrows bridge named after him. See Naming controversy of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. A Staten Island ferryboat that served New York from the 1950s to the 1990s was also named for him (oddly, the ferry was named the "Verrazzano", while the bridge, another Staten Island landmark, was named "Verrazano", indicating the ongoing confusion over the spelling of his name). There are numerous other commemorations on Staten Island itself to the explorer — a Little League is named for him, for instance — reflecting not only his connection to Staten Island but also the large number of descendants of Italians who live there. In Narragansett Bay, the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge is also named for him.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | often spelled Verrazano; sometimes also "de" instead of "da" |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between South Carolina and Newfoundland |
| DATE OF BIRTH | |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |