001      |      Vol_XV-0206                                                                                                                  
EA-Biography

(Eloise McCaskill Popini)

JOHN DAVIS

        John Davis or Davys (1550?-1605) was the most influential arctic navi–

gator of his time. As Sir Clements Markham says; "He converted the Arctic

regions from a confused myth into a defined area. He not only described

and mapped the extensive tracts explored by himself, but he clearly pointed

out the work cut out for his successors. He lighted Hudson into his strait,

as Luke Fox truly said. He lighted Baffin into his bay. He lighted Hans

Egede to the scene of his Greenland labours. He did more. His true-hearted

devotion to the cause of Arctic discovery, his patient scientific research,

his loyalty to his employers, his dauntless courage and enthusiasm, his care

for the welfare of his men, form an example which has been a beacon light

to the best Arctic explorers for all time."

        Although we know nothing of Davis's parentage, and there is no record

of his baptism, his contemporaries tell us that he was born at Sandridge in

the parish of Stoke Gabriel, on the east side of the river Dart. He was

probably of yeoman stock, and inherited a portion of the Sandridge property.

He describes himself as "of Sandridge, gentleman,." He was on terms of in–

timacy with the Gilberts, especially Adrian, and their half-brothers, the

Raleighs, who belonged to the same neighborhood. While there is no doubt

that Davis had a classical education, probably at Totnes grammar school, he

apparently went to sea at a very early age and remained away for many years.

002      |      Vol_XV-0207                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

On his return he was married, in September 1582, to Faith Fulford, said to

have been a daughter of Sir John Fulford, High Sheriff of Devon in 1535.

By this marriage he had a son Gilbert, baptized in 1583, a daughter who died

in infancy, and three other sons.

        The earliest definite notice of John Davis seems to appear in the private

diary of Dr. John Dee, the famous mathematician and astrologer, who was tech–

nical adviser to many of the Elizabethan voyages of northern discovery. This

entry is of date October 18, 1579, and reads" "Mr. Adrian Gilbert and John

Davys reconciled themselves to me, and disclosed some of Emery his most

unhonest, hypocriticall, and devilish dealings and devises agaynst me and

other, and likewise of that errant strompet her abominable wordes and dedes;

and John Davis sayd that he might curse the tyme that ever he knew Emery, and

so much followed his wicked counsayle and advyse, so just is God," The

Emery referred to is doubtless Emery Molyneux, who constructed the two famous

globes, one celestial and the other terrestrial, which were made by order of

William Sanderson, chief financial backer of Davis's voyages, and dedicated

to Queen Elizabeth. It is not known what Molyneux had done to incur the wrath

of John Davis and Dr. Dee.

        An entry in the same journal of June 3, 1580, reads: "Mr. A. Gilbert

and J. Davys rode homeward into Devonshire," and would imply that Davis was

then living at Sandridge, and that after a visit to Dee in consultation con–

cerning the discovery of the Northwest Passage, the two friends were riding

home together. The next mention of the name of John Davis is in Dee's journal

under January 23, 1583. He writes: "The Ryght Honorable Mr. Secretary

Walsingham came to my howse, where by good lok he found Mr. Awdrian Gilbert,

and so talk was begonne of North-west Straights discovery. Jan.24. I,

003      |      Vol_XV-0208                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

Mr. Awdrian Gilbert, and John Davis, went by appointment to Mr. Secretary

to Mr. Beale his howse, where onely we four were secret, and we made Mr.

Secretary privie of the N.W. passage, and all charts and rutters were agreed

upon in general." Subsequent entries read: "March 6. I and Mr. Adrian

Gilbert and John Davis did mete with Mr. Alderman Barnes [ one of the most

influential directors of the Muscovy Company ] , Mr. Rounson [ or Towerson,

also connected with voyages of discovery ] , and Mr. Young, and Mr. Hudson

[Thomas Hudson, son of one of the founders of the Muscovy Company, related

to the navigator], about the N.W. passage, March 17. Mr. John Davys went

to Chelsey with Mr. Adrian Gilbert to Mr. Radforth's, and so the 18th day

from thence toward Devonshyre".

        As Dr. Dee went abroad shortly after this, his direct connection with

the projected voyages ceased, although his name appears in a memorial presented

by Adrian Gilbert to Queen Elizabeth on the subject as one of the associates

in the enterprise, together with himself, Walter Raleigh, and John Davis. In

this Adrian Gilbert, "having heretofore greatly travelled, and continuing to

his great charges to travel to discover the northerly parts of Atlantis, called

Novus Orbis, not inhabited or discovered by any Christians hitherto, but by

him, requests the Queens licence for himself and his associates...to depart

to any of the northerly parts between the Equinoctial Line and the North Pole...

Adrian Gylberte, John Dee, and John Davies, having been the chiefest travellers

to find out this northerly voyage, ...to be especially exempted for ever from

payment of custom outwards or inwards."

        It may be conjectured from this that Davis and Adrian Gilbert had been

associated for years in attempts to launch voyages of Arctic discovery, and

had almost certainly been at sea together, perhaps in northern waters. Gilbert

004      |      Vol_XV-0209                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

had already obtained a patent in 1579 for a company to trade with the North–

west and discover the Northwest Passage. He obtained a fresh patent in 1583

for a voyage of discovery to the Northwest, and by 1585 had succeeded in

obtaining the financial backing for it from William Sanderson, an influential

merchant of London, who was one of the most important persons in all that

concerns the voyages of John Davis. Sanderson was joined by other merchants,

but we are told that, in addition to his indefatigable efforts in behalf

of the voyages, "he became the greatest adventurer with his purse." He

was also a patron of geographical knowledge.

        John Davis, who is described at this time as "a man very well grounded

in the principles of the arte of navigation," was made "captaine and chief

pilot of this exployt." The expedition consisted of two small vessels, the

Sunshine of London, of fifty tons, and the Moonshine , built at Dartmouth, of

thirty-five tons. Davis sailed in the Sunshine , with William Eston as master

and Richard Pope as master's mate, Henry Davy and William Crosse as gunner and

boatswain, and Mr. John Jane or Janes, a nephew of William Sanderson and the

historian of the voyage, as merchant and supercargo. The Moonshine The crew

consisted of a carpenter, eleven seamen, four musicians, and a boy. The

Moonshine was commanded by William Bruton, with John Ellis as master.

        The ships sailed out of Darmouth harbor on June 7, 1585. There was a delay

at the Scilly Islands on account of unfavorable winds, and Davis employed this

time in making a complete survey of the islands for the use of navigators. On

June 28, the expedition weighed anchor and set sell for the voyage to Greenland.

On July 19, in a calm sea and a dense fog, they heard "a mighty great roaring

of the Sea, as if it had bene the breach of some shoare." A boat was hoisted

out to sound, but they could find no bottom at 300 fathoms. Then Davis,

taking Eston and Jane with him, went out in search of the mysterious noise, giving

005      |      Vol_XV-0210                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

orders to the gunners to fire muskets at the end of every half hour as a

signal of the ship's position. He soon found that the noise was caused

by the grinding together of the pack ice, and Jane described it as "making

such yrksome noyse as that it seemed to be the true pattern of desolation,"

because of which Davis named the coast "the Land of Desolation." (This was

not Cape Desolation, on the south coast of Greenland, but was on the east

coast, probably a little to the north of Cape Discord.) The land, which

they saw [ ?] when the fog lifted, is described as "the most deformed rocky

and mountainous land that ever we sawe."

        After this, Davis coasted along the shore for two or three days south–

ward, rounded the point which he later named Cape Farewell, and coasted

northward, where, on July 29, he entered a fjord in latitude 64° 15′ N.,

which he named Gilbert Sound in honor of his friend and colleague, Adrian

Gilbert. This was in the vicinity of the present Danish settlement of

Godthaab. Davis, with Eston and Jane, landed on a small island to look

for water and driftwood. Here they found signs of people, and not long

after this, on another island, they encountered humbers of natives.

Stefansson has called the Davis narratives "the first reasonably good des–

cription of the people of Greenland that has be ne en preserved in modern litera–

ture." As these accounts are quite detailed in this respect, a resum e é of

impossible here.

        Friendship was established with the Eskimos, who welcomed them on the

subsequent voyages. Davis observed among them traits which Stefansson believes,

may have been vestiges of European influence, perhaps a survival of the "lost"

No r se Greenland colony — such things as physical appearance, placing of crosses

on graves, kissing the hands of the Englishmen, use of salt water, eating of

006      |      Vol_XV-0211                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

vegetable matter, and use of nets in fishing. These observations are all

the more striking in view of the fact that Davis knew nothing about the

existence of a medieval European Greenland colony, and so of course did not

realize when he went ashore near the present Godthaab settlement that he

was in the very neighborhood where he might reasonably expect to discern

surviving traces of it. "But in our eyes," writes Stefansson, "the very

unawareness of men like Frobisher and Davis that such problems might exist

gives added value to whatever they say that has a bearing."

        On August 1, Davis left Gilbert Sound, shaped his course northwestward,

and sighted land on the opposite side of the channel in lat. 66° 40′ N. He

anchored at a place he named Totnes Road, with a lofty overshadowing cliff

which he named Mount Raleigh. The large surrounding bay he called Exeter

Sound, the point to the north Cape Dyer, and that to the south Cape Walsing–

ham. Here they had their first encounter with polar bears, of which they

killed several. They saw dwarf willows on the shore, and a yellow flower

which they took for the primrose.

        Leaving Totnes Road on August 8, Davis proceeded to an examination of

Cumberland Sound, the northern entrance of which he named the Cape of God's

Mercy. He made a thorough examination of the gulf, without, hoever, sighting

the end of it, since he was obliged by a strong northwest wind to shape his

course again toward the open sea. He believed there were strong indications

that the sound was the passage he sought, and on August 23 anchored on its

southern shore. On August 26, the season being far advanced, the two ships

set sail homeward and arrived at Dartmouth on September 30.

        Three days after his arrival Davis wrote a letter to Secretary of State

Walsingham, expressing confidence that the passage might be found, and pointing

out the trade in oil and furs that might be opened with the lands which he

007      |      Vol_XV-0212                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

had discovered. He then hurried to London to give a personal account to

Walsingham and to Sanderson and to induce the merchants to fit out a second

expedition for the discovery of the Northwest Passage. In six months he

had succeeded in obtaining the requisite financial backing and the ships for

the enterprise. In this instance the merchants of Devonshire were the

largest contributors, and owned two of the ships. The fleet consisted of

the Mermaid, of 120 tons, the Sunshine and Moonshine , and a pinnace, the

North Star , of ten tons. Davis sailed in the Mermaid, with Eston again as

his master. Richard Pope was in command of the Sunshine, with Mark Carter

as mate, and Henry Morgan, a "servant" of Sanderson, as purser.

        The squadron sailed from Dartmouth on May 7, 1586. Shaping his course

toward Greenland, Davis, after passing 60° N. latitude, gave instructions

to Captain Pope in the Sunshine, with the pinnace as a tender, to part com–

pany with the other two ships and search for a passage between Greenland

and Iceland as far northward as 80° if he were not stopped by land. Meanwhile

Davis would return to Davis Strait. Davis himself wrote a graphic account of

his second voyage, while the account of the Sunshine's part in the expedition

was written by Henry Morgan, the purser.

        The Mermaid and the Moonshine parted company with the Sunshine on June 7,

and on June 16 sighted the southern extremity of Greenland. Here the pack ice,

extending for several leagues offshore, made it impossible to land, and so

Davis gave the point the name of Cape Farewell. Rounding this, he encountered

such severe gales that it was not until June 29 that he was again at Gilbert

Sound, discovered the previous year. Here they were welcomed by the Eskimos,

who recognized them, and who offered them skins in exchange for the knives

which Davis presented to them. But it was explained to them that "the knives

were not solde, but given them of curtesies."

008      |      Vol_XV-0213                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

        Davis was anxious to explore the indentations of the coast, and for this

purpose a small pinnace, which had been brought out in pieces on board the

Mermaid, was assembled. Boats were sent up the fjords for some miles and,

much of the country was explored. But on July 17 Davis fell in with an

enormous iceberg to the southward of Gilbert Sound, of such extent and

height that the pinnace was sent to ascertain whether it was land or ice.

It was found to be one gigantic mass of floating ice, with bays, capes,

plateaus, and towering peaks. Davis found this disheartening because the

previous year he had found the sea free and navigable in the same latitude.

        Davis finally resolved to send the Mermaid home, as she was not so

serviceable as a smaller ship for his purpose, and to continue his explora–

tions in the Moonshine . First he steered to 66° 38′ N., and on August 2

anchored in the vicinity of the present Sukkertoppen, where he explored the

surrounding country. The heat was verygreat, and members of the party

suffered greatly from mosquitoes. Friendly relations were established here

with the natives. On August 15 Davis sailed across the strait and once more

sighted the Cape of God's Mercy. Astrong current to the west aroused great

hope that there might really be a passage by way of Cumberland Sound. But they

ran into foul weather and were obliged to heave-to off the shore.

        When the weather cleared, Davis continued his examination of the coast to

the southward, searching for a passage. From August 20 to 28 he surveyed this

coast, laying it down from 67° to 57° N. latitude. On this course he landed on

some of the islands on the north side of Frobisher Bay, although he did not

recognize it as the site of Frobisher's discoveries; he passed the entrance to

Hudson Strait, where he noted " A a Furious Overfall"; and then sailed along the

coast of Labrador. Here he anchored in a roadstead, where he remained until

009      |      Vol_XV-0214                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

until September 1, sending exploring parties into the interior. On September

4 he anchored again, having passed another great opening which gave hope of

a passage. This was probably the Strait of Belle Isle, but the wind was

dead against him and he could not enter it. On September 11 he shaped his

course for England, arriving early in October.

        After the Sunshine and the North Star had parted company with Davis on

June 7, Captain Pope proceeded northward in accordance with his instructions.

He anchored in one of the ports of Iceland on June 11, remained there for

a few days, resumed his voyage, and sighted the east coast of Greenland on

July 7. He coasted along the ice until he came in sight of the land named

"Desolation" by Davis the previous year. Unable to continue a northward

course, Pope proceeded to the rendezvous at Gilbert Sound, reaching it on

August 3. Here the mariners had several games of football with the Eskimos,

visited two other places on the Greenland coast, and had an unfortunate

encounter with the natives, three of whom were killed. They finally com–

menced their homeward voyage on August 31. During a severe gale the pinnace

North Star was lost, but the Sunshine arrived safely in the Thames on October 6.

        While the results of Davis's second expedition did not appear to the

merchants who had backed it so encouraging as they did to Davis himself, he

immediately renewed his advocacy for the dispatch of a third expedition. He

was supported in this by William Sanderson, Adrian Gilbert, and a few of the

London merchants, as well as by the Lord High Treasurer and the Secretary

of State. One factor in the decision of the venturers to send Davis on his

third arctic voyage was his successful catch of an immense number of codfish

off Labrador, quantities of which were salted and taken home to England.

        Three ships were ultimat e ly equipped, the Elizabeth of Dartmouth (tonnage

not mentioned), a the old Sunshine, and a pinnace called the Ellen of London,

010      |      Vol_XV-0215                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

of probably not more than twenty tons. The Ellen was a clinker-built vessel

(the outside planks overlapping each other), an unusual build for a seagoing

fessel even in those days, and, as the explorers were to find to their sorrow,

most dangerous in ice navigation. Davis's orders were to proceed on his

voyage of discovery in one of the whips while the other two were to be employed

entirely for the fishing. It was hoped that the value of their cargoes would

be sufficient to defray the expenses of the expedition and also net a small

profit to the venturers. There are two accounts of the voyage, one by Davis

himself and another by John Jane.

        Sailing from Darmouth on May 19, 1587, with Davis in the Elizabeth,

they sighted land on the west coast of Greenland on June 14, having apparently

rounded Cape Farewell without seeing it. Steering to the northward, they

anchored in Gilbert Sound. Here Davis, holding in mind the importance of

making the venture pay its expenses, decided to dispatch both the Sunshine

and the Elizabeth to the fisheries and to continue his voyage of discovery

in the clinker-built Ellen. Before he had departed, however, this vessel

sprang such a serious leak that it required three hundred strokes of the

pump during a watch to keep her free of water. It was carefully considered

by Davis and those who were to accompany him, including John Jane, whether

they should risk their lives in the wretched little craft. Davis told them

that it would be better to die with credit than return with disgrace. At

midnight, June 21, the ships departed from Gilbert Sound, the two barks south–

ward for the fishing voyage and Davis northward in the pinnace for the discovery.

        The Ellen proceeded along the west coast of Greenland, to which Davis

gave the name of London Coast, to latitude 72° 12′ N., and found the sea

quite open to the northward and westward. This was his farthest north.

011      |      Vol_XV-0216                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

Here, on June 30, he named a lofty cliff, one of several islands off the

coast, "Sanderson his Hope" (of a Northwest Passage), as he felt that here

was the greatest hope yet that the expectations of his friend and patron

might be fulfilled. The Eskimos came out in great numbers in their kayaks,

sometimes as many as a hundred at a time, eager to barter any of their

possessions for the English knives, nails, needles, and trinkets.

        During the night a strong northerly wind sprang up and Davis was

obliged to alter his course to the westward. On July 2 he encountered a "mighty

bank of ice" which checked his progress. The wind prevented him from carrying

out his intention of doubling the northern end of the pack and reaching the "North

Water." He therefore coasted the pack to the southward, in the hope of

doubling the southern end and then running westward in search of a passage.

On July 3 and 4 it was very foggy, but on the 6th it was clear, and a close

examination led Davis to believe that a land of water through the pack would

lead to an open sea. By means of cars they took the craft five leagues up

this lane, but theice had closed up, and there was nothing for them to do

but turn back. On July 8 they recovered the open sea to the eastward.

Coasting along the pack for three more days, they reached the western coast

of Davis Strait, where they bartered with the natives.

        July 19 the expedition sighted Mount Raleigh, named on the first voyage,

and proceeded to Cumberland Sound, which Davis decided to examine again.

He sailed along its northern side until he reached a group of islands which

he named Cumberland Islands. He had all along paid close attention to

variation of the compass, and found it here to be 30°. On July 24 he again

shaped his course toward the open sea, but was becalmed on the 25th. Here

William Bruton, the master, went ashore with some of the crew to course

012      |      Vol_XV-0217                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

with their dogs, but these had become so fat that they were scarcely able

to run.

        Proceeding farther south, they came to a great bay which Davis named

Lord Lumley's Inlet. It was Frobisher Bay, but, as pointed out, Davis was

ignorant of this, and, because of the errors in longitude of the time, may

have believed, as geographers did long after him, that "Frobisher Strait"

cut through Greenland. The name Lumley's Inlet stuck to Frobisher Bay until

Captain Charles Francis Hall in 1861-12 discovered the relics of Frobisher's

expeditions there.

        Thereafter the expedition passed again by the "very great gulfe" where

there was the "furious overfall" (Hudson Strait). Coasting along an ice floe

which had drifted out of the strait, Davis came to the point of land which

forms the southern entrance point and named it Cape Chidley. Continuing

along the coast of Labrador, they came, on August 12, to an island which

Davis named Darcy Island, after Lord Darcy. They proceeded along the coast

to the redezvous which had been agreed upon with the fishing vessels, Sunshine

and Elizabeth, at the islands off the Labrador coast in 54° N. latitude. In

looking for them the Ellen struck a rock and sprang a serious leak. After

repairs were made, Davis "shaped a course for England in God's name," not

having encountered the other vessels, which had apparently already returned

home. (There seems to be no record of the results of their [ ?] fishing.)

The Ellen arrived in Dartmouth on September 15, 1587.

        The three arctic voyages of John Davis were concluded. He had doubtless

kept logs and drawn charts [ ?] during all three voyages, but the log of his

third voyage, which he calls his "Traverse Book," is the only one which has

been preserved. It is in columns headed with the months, days, hours, courses,

distances, runs, winds, elevation of the pole or latitude, and remarks.

013      |      Vol_XV-0218                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

This and the various narratives of the voyages were first published in

Hakluyt's 1589 edition of Principal Navigations . In his World's Hydro–

graphical Description, published in 1595, Davis gives, in arguing for

the existence of the Northwest Passage, a resume of the three voyages and

their results.

        While Davis was not the first European to discover the northern coasts

and seas which he explored, no navigator, as Clements Markham puts it, "had

previously entered those seas whose scientific knowledge could be compared

with that of John Davis. All the coasts and seas not actually discovered

were laid down and mapped afresh, and must be considered to have been redis–

covered and first brought within the actual knowledge of his generation by him."

        Through the labors of Davis, and also of his companion, Captain Pope, the

east coast of Greenland was traced from the latitude of the northwestern

point of Iceland to Cape Farewell. The west coast was laid down from Cape

Farewell in 60° N. to Sanderson's Hope in 72° 12′, a distance of 732 miles.

Davis collected important information concerning the physical conditions of

land and sea in Davis Strait. He gives an account of the different kinds of

ice and explains correctly how icebergs are formed. He discovered the position

of the Middle Pack, its character and drift. He ascertained the existence

of four (five, if the Strait of Belle Isle be included) which he believed

might be passages: Cumberland Sound, Frobisher Bay (his Lumley's Inlet),

Hudson Strait, and that part of Davis Strait now called Baffin Bay. Of

these he was right about the last two. He also examined and laid down the

whole coast of Labrador, and it was to him that the world owed the most

exact knowledge of this coast until recent times.

        Davis observed with care the animal life of the Arctic and its vegetation

014      |      Vol_XV-0219                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

and minerals; he described the Eskimos and their customs and collected a

vocabulary of their language He took scientific observations regularly

and carefully, fixing his latitudes by meridian altitudes of heavenly

bodies, and taking a regular series of observations for variation of the

compass and dip of the magnetic needle. Clements Markham says: "His

diligently worked system of dead-reckoning, combined with astronomical

observations, enabled him to prepare charts of his discoveries, and his

nautical experience suggested improvements in methods of observing and work–

ing which were of great service during that and the next generation to his

brother seamen."

        It is not possible to give here any detailed account of the remaining

important eighteen years of Davis's life, since these comprehended little

direct participation in arctic activity. During the next three years he,

like almost every other patriotic British seaman, was engaged in services

connected with the war with Spain. This and the death of Walsingham put an

end to his voyages toward the northwest. But in 1591 he joined an expedition

destined for the South Seas through the Strait of Magellan, giving as his

sole reason for doing so his vehement desire to search for the passage on

the "back parts of America." This was the expedition of Thomas Cavendish,

who had recently returned from his successful voyage of circumnavigation.

In the fleet of five ships Davis commanded one, the Desire , and he and Adrian

Gilbert owned another, the bark Daintie . Cavendish promised Davis that when

they reached California Davis might have his own bark and a pinnace to

"search that north-west discovery upon the back parts of America." The

voyage, however, resulted in failure. In the Strait of Magellan the Desire

was separated from the rest of the ships by storms. Cavendish returned to

Brazil and bitterly accused Davis of deserting him. Davis made several attempts

015      |      Vol_XV-0220                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

to pass the strait, and tells us: "And three times I was in the South Seas,

but still by furious weather forced back again." During this time he discovered

the Falkland Islands, not sighted by Sir Richard Hawkins until 1594. After

harrowing experiences, including battles with the Portuguese on the coast

of Brazil and the loss of most of his men, Davis managed to return to England

in 1593.

        In his absence his wife had taken a lover, one Milburne, "a fugitive

and dissolute person," a counterfeiter, who trumped up some charge against

Davis and had him arrested. Through Sir Walter Raleigh he was cleared, and

seems to have spent the next year or two in England preparing his Seamen's

Secrets and World's Hydrographical Description. The former, published in

1594, is a treatise on practical navigation and at once became popular among

seamen. It ran through eight editions in a comparatively short time. The

latter, previously mentioned as published in 1595, is the clearest, most

sensible and succinct exposition of the case for a "friendly Arctic" and a

Northwest Passage put forth in those times. He argues from theory and

experience that the sea is everywhere navigable and a Northwest Passage possible.

He proves that "the sea freezeth not," and shows that "the air in cold regions is

tolerable." In the section entitled "Under the Pole is the place of greatest

dignity," he argues that the climate at the Pole must be delightful and that

the people dwelling there "have a wonderful excellency and an exceeding pre–

rogative above all nations of the earth...for they are in perpetual light and

never know what darkness meaneth, by the benefit of twilight and full moons."

It may [ ?] be that "there never is pitch darkness in the polar regions" was

not emphasized from the time of Davis until by Louis Bernacchi, astronomer

for the first Scott expedition. In that, as in a number of other things, Davis

was three hundred years ahead of his time.

016      |      Vol_XV-0221                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

        In 1596-97 Davis appears to have served with the Earl of Essex in

the expedition to Cadiz and the Azores. He next accepted an engagement

as chief pilot in a Dutch ship, destined to form a part of a fleet intended

for the East Indies, evidently at the suggestion of the Earl of Essex, and

undertaken by the famous Dutch merchant family of the Moucherons. The

account of the voyage, written by Davis to the Earl of Essex in 1600, was

published by Purchas.

        Immediately upon his return to England, Davis was engaged to go

as pilot major of the English East India Company's fleet under Captain James

Lanchester. The fleet returned in 1603 and Davis was engaged the following

year for another East India voyage. Off the island of Bintang, a little

to the east of Singapore, Davis's ship, the Tiger , encountered a Japanese

junk which had been pillaging on the coast of China. The pirates made

a murderous attack upon the English in an attempt to take possession of

the Tiger, and in the course of this Davis was killed, December 29 or 30, 1605.

        By his will we learn that he had then three living sons, Gilbert,

Arthur, and Philip. There is no mention of his faithless wife, who apparently

had died; but he left one-fourth of his "worldly goods" to Judith Havard,

"unto whom I have given my faith in matrimony to be solemnized at my return,"

his estate to be "equally divided between my three sons and Judith Havard,

my espoused love."

017      |      Vol_XV-0222                                                                                                                  
EA-Biog. Popini: John Davis

---

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Richard Hakluyt. Principal Navigations , London, 1589.

Samuel Purchas. Purchas his Pilgrimes , London, 1625.

Markham, Albert Hastings, (ed.) The Voyages and Works of John Davis the

Navigator , London, Hakluyt Society, 1880.

Markham, Sir Clements R. A Life of John Davis, the Navigator , George Philip

[ ?] Son, London, 1889.

----. Lands of Silence , Cambridge, University Press, 1921.

Miller, Christy (ed.) The Voyages of Foxe and James , London, Hakluyt Society,

1894.

Stefansson, V., and Wilcox, O.R. (editors). Great Adventures and Explorations ,

Dial Press, New York, 1947.

Dictionary of National Biography : article, "John Davys"

       

Eloise McCaskill Popini