1485-1528
Nickname - Maine Fear
My name is Giovanni da Verrazzano and I am an explorer for Italy. I am from Greve in Chianti, Italy. When I was young, I traveled to Syria and Egypt, which some people thought was mysterious and dangerous. Between 1507 and 1508, I traveled to France and met King Henry I. During my stay there, I met a few members of the French navy. This familiarized me with the way the navy worked; their missions and building rapport with the sailors and commanders. Around the same time, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, and Amerigo Vespucci we're becoming well-known for their explorations on behalf of Spain and Portugal. King Francis I was becoming concerned because France was falling behind exploration-wise. There were reports of riches being found in the New World, and we did not have this because we weren't exploring. Francis I started to plan an expedition on behalf of his country so he could get riches and land overseas. Between 1522 and 1523, Francis I and I met and I convinced the king that I would be the right man to lead the exploration to the New World. I prepared four ships, loaded with ammunition, cannons, lifeboats, scientific equipment, and provisions that would last my crew for about 8 months. We named the flagship in honor of the king's daughter, Delfina. It set sail with three other ships; the Normanda, Santa Maria, and Vittoria. I was on the Delfina, and our ship and the Normanda came into contact with Spanish ships and fought. I assume that the Santa Maria and Vittoria were lost at sea; we couldn't find them anywhere else. In the end, we were the only ship that survived the grueling trip. We landed in the New World on January 17, 1524. Our goal was to find a passage to Asia and the Pacific Ocean, and I thought that we would be able to do this by sailing along the northern coast of the New World. I believed we would find a path to the west coast of the New World soon enough. After 50 days we spotted the land that we believed was Cape Fear, North Carolina. I turned the ship south but turned north right at the northern tip of Florida. While traveling up the northern coast, we saw many things on the new land. We wrote down stories in journals and blogs such as this. Eventually, in 1524 we made landfall on the great land we call Cape Fear. After a short stay, we reached the Pamlico Sound, I am convinced that this is the beginning of the Pacific Ocean, from which an access could be gained to China. In the much excitement, I wrote a letter to my captain, King Francis I. We continued upstream, and faced the one thing we were unprepared for… the native landers. The natives were kind, however we felt lucky to make it by without any scuffle. Traveling forward again, we spotted an abnormally large lake; my men took action by writing of these things for the king. We decided to take a break and rest for a few weeks in Longa Villa, named after Francois d’Orleans, duc de Longueville. We made the decision to head back to France landing in port in July 1524. Three years later, was hungry to discover more about this unknown land. We disembarked in 1527 and returned on our failed mission in 1528. Only a few months passed before I made the life-changing decision to return to the land one more time. We recently traveled through a large section of islands, and we landed just two days ago on the shore of a land formation that we believe to be a part of the land we discovered in 1524. I am currently canoeing to the shore of this land. I can see a tribe of inhabitants who seem to be coming toward-
Nickname - Maine Fear
My name is Giovanni da Verrazzano and I am an explorer for Italy. I am from Greve in Chianti, Italy. When I was young, I traveled to Syria and Egypt, which some people thought was mysterious and dangerous. Between 1507 and 1508, I traveled to France and met King Henry I. During my stay there, I met a few members of the French navy. This familiarized me with the way the navy worked; their missions and building rapport with the sailors and commanders. Around the same time, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, and Amerigo Vespucci we're becoming well-known for their explorations on behalf of Spain and Portugal. King Francis I was becoming concerned because France was falling behind exploration-wise. There were reports of riches being found in the New World, and we did not have this because we weren't exploring. Francis I started to plan an expedition on behalf of his country so he could get riches and land overseas. Between 1522 and 1523, Francis I and I met and I convinced the king that I would be the right man to lead the exploration to the New World. I prepared four ships, loaded with ammunition, cannons, lifeboats, scientific equipment, and provisions that would last my crew for about 8 months. We named the flagship in honor of the king's daughter, Delfina. It set sail with three other ships; the Normanda, Santa Maria, and Vittoria. I was on the Delfina, and our ship and the Normanda came into contact with Spanish ships and fought. I assume that the Santa Maria and Vittoria were lost at sea; we couldn't find them anywhere else. In the end, we were the only ship that survived the grueling trip. We landed in the New World on January 17, 1524. Our goal was to find a passage to Asia and the Pacific Ocean, and I thought that we would be able to do this by sailing along the northern coast of the New World. I believed we would find a path to the west coast of the New World soon enough. After 50 days we spotted the land that we believed was Cape Fear, North Carolina. I turned the ship south but turned north right at the northern tip of Florida. While traveling up the northern coast, we saw many things on the new land. We wrote down stories in journals and blogs such as this. Eventually, in 1524 we made landfall on the great land we call Cape Fear. After a short stay, we reached the Pamlico Sound, I am convinced that this is the beginning of the Pacific Ocean, from which an access could be gained to China. In the much excitement, I wrote a letter to my captain, King Francis I. We continued upstream, and faced the one thing we were unprepared for… the native landers. The natives were kind, however we felt lucky to make it by without any scuffle. Traveling forward again, we spotted an abnormally large lake; my men took action by writing of these things for the king. We decided to take a break and rest for a few weeks in Longa Villa, named after Francois d’Orleans, duc de Longueville. We made the decision to head back to France landing in port in July 1524. Three years later, was hungry to discover more about this unknown land. We disembarked in 1527 and returned on our failed mission in 1528. Only a few months passed before I made the life-changing decision to return to the land one more time. We recently traveled through a large section of islands, and we landed just two days ago on the shore of a land formation that we believe to be a part of the land we discovered in 1524. I am currently canoeing to the shore of this land. I can see a tribe of inhabitants who seem to be coming toward-