Thomas Hariot, the Mathematician, the Philosopher and the ScholarStevens, Henry
Philosophy
Thomas Hariot, the Mathematician, the Philosopher and the Scholar
Stevens, Henry
Harriot, Thomas, 1560-1621; Hercules Club
The fleet had a prosperous voyage by the then usual route of the West
Indies and fell in with the main of Florida on the 20th of June, made
and named Cape Fear on the 23d, and a first landing the next day, and
on the 26th came to Wococa where Amadas and Barlow had been the year
before. They disembarked and at first mistook the country for Paradise.
July was spent in surveying and exploring the country, making the
acquaintance of the natives, chiefly by means of two Indians that had
been taken to England and brought back able to speak English. On the
5th of August Master John Arundel, captain of one of the vessels, was
sent back to England, and on the 25th of August Admiral Grenville,
after a sojourn of two months in Virginia, took his leave and returned,
arriving at Plymouth on the 18th of October. There were left in
Virginia as Raleigh’s ‘First Colonie,’ one hundred and nine men. They
remained there one whole year and then, discontented, returned to
England in July 1586 in Sir Francis Drake’s fleet coming home
victorious from the West Indies.
One of these 109 men was Thomas Hariot the Author of the Report of
Virginia. Another was John White the painter. To these two earnest and
true men we owe, as has been said, nearly all we know of ‘Ould
Virginia.’ Their story is briefly told by Hakluyt.
Sir Francis Drake in the true spirit of friendship went out of his way
to make this call on the Colony of his friend Raleigh. He found them
anything but contented and prosperous. They had long been expecting
supplies and reinforcements from home, which not arriving, on the
departure of Drake’s fleet becoming dejected and homesick, they
petitioned the Governor for permission to return. Immediately after
their departure a ship arrived from Raleigh, and fourteen days later
Sir Richard Grenville himself returned with his fleet of three ships,
new planters and stores of supplies, only to find the Colony deserted
and no tidings to be had. Leaving twenty men to hold possession the
Admiral made his way back to England.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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