In the eventful and famous history of England in the second half of the 16th century, the name of John Davis, an outstanding English navigator and explorer, for many years was in the shadows in comparison with the representatives of the galaxy of "sea dogs" D. Hawkins, F. Drake, W. Raleigh and polar explorers G. Hudson, W. Baffin and others. But he is not inferior to them either in the scale of the voyages, or in the results achieved. In recent years, people began to remember him more often, but only about his pirate activities. As a result, in the USA, it got to the point that John Davis became one of the characters in the Hollywood movie "Pirates of the Caribbean", in which he, under the name of Davy Jones, has been sailing the seas on the damned ship "Flying Dutchman" for 4 parts. At the same time, they somehow do not remember at all that he owns the honor of being a re-discoverer (after the Vikings) of Greenland in 1585. That on his second voyage in 1586, he discovered the Cumberland Bay of the Baffin Land, surveyed the North American coast in detail and determined the exact location of the Hudson Strait. On the third voyage in 1587, he again surveyed Greenland, moving north to 72 ° 12 'N. NS. The accurate maps he created paved the way for later explorers such as the Hudson and Baffin. His observations contributed to the development of the English whaling industry. In addition, Davis is the inventor of several navigation instruments, including the Davis double quadrant. He was the author of a number of books on nautical affairs.
The history of the birth of John Davis is not known for certain. According to some sources, he was the only son and heir of an English lord, but after graduating from the Liverpool nautical classes, being twenty-one years old, he preferred the fate of a pirate to the royal service and went to sea in one of his father's ships in search of adventure. According to another version, which was more widespread in Soviet historiography, John Davis came from an unborn, poor family and began his life as a ship's cabin boy.
Be that as it may, a good primary education, along with natural abilities, the desire for knowledge and the acquired experience in sailing, allowed him to become a famous captain by the age of thirty. The brothers Andrian and Humphrey Gilbert, who were looking for northern routes to India and China, introduced Davis to some of the highest statesmen, to whom he presented in January 1583 his proposals for opening the northwest route. Finding them noteworthy, they, in turn, introduced him to a group of wealthy and influential London merchants. Thanks to their material support, Davis two years later received two vessels under his command - the Sunshine with a displacement of 50 tons with a crew of 23 people and the Moonshine with a displacement of 35 tons with a crew of 19 people.
On June 7, 1585, both ships sailed from Dartmouth, and on July 20 approached the southeastern coast of Greenland, surrounded by continuous ice. Impressed by the lifelessness of the unknown land, Davis called it "the Land of Despair." Having proceeded to the south-west, the vessels rounded the southern tip of Greenland - Cape Farvel, headed north-west and at latitude 64 ° 15 'again entered a vast bay called Gilbert's Bay (now Gothob Bay). Here the first acquaintance of English sailors with Greenlandic Eskimos took place. In the first days of August, the ships again went out into the ice-free sea, laying a course to the north-west.
Despite frequent storms interspersed with snowstorms, the ships sailed over 320 miles. At 66 ° 40 'latitude, a land was discovered, which he named Cumberland, which turned out to be a peninsula on a large island (now Baffin's Land). So the strait between Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago was discovered, which received the name of Davis. Believing he had gone too far north, Davis turned south. Coming out to the wide entrance between the two, as he believed, islands, he decided that there might be a desired passage, and turned into it. But soon the ships entered a dense fog that prevented further travel. Believing that the beginning of the Northwest Passage had been found, Davis hastened to return to Dartmouth.
Satisfied with a daring voyage, stories about the results and possible prospects, the London merchants released funds for a new expedition in the next year, 1586. To the previous vessels "Sunshine" and "Munshine" were added "Mermaid", with a displacement of 250 tons and a ten-ton pinas "Nora Star". The ships left Dartmouth on May 7, and on June 15, at a latitude of 60 °, they approached the ice and snow-covered land (southern tip of Greenland). It turned out to be impossible to land on it. A strong storm that began on June 29 carried the ships far north - up to the 64th parallel, from where they quickly reached Gilbert's Bay. Despite the bad weather, Davis began searching for a passage, but on July 17, at latitude 63 ° 08 ', the ships encountered a solid ice field. Until July 30, they followed along its edge in a dank, cold fog. The rigging and sails froze over, and the crews began to catch colds. Difficult sailing conditions, illness, and deteriorating nutrition caused discontent among sailors, and Davis decided to send the Mermaid and Moonshine, unsuitable for sailing in ice, to England with the sick and dissatisfied. and fog to the north.
On 18 August, at latitude 65 °, a high rocky promontory opened up, south of which no land was observed. Both ships turned west. However, on the evening of the 19th, a heavy snowfall began, the wind intensified, turning into a snow storm in the morning. A few hours later, they managed to take refuge in a bay sheltered from the winds, but, having landed on the shore, the sailors found that they were on the island. Turning south, Davis, while following, did not notice the entrance to Hudson Bay and went to the shores of the Labrador Peninsula. At latitude 54 ° 15 'the ships approached the strait, which was taken for the desired Northwest Passage. Two violent storms prevented its survey. On September 6, Davis lost 5 people killed while fishing by local residents. In the evening of the same day, a new storm hit the ships, in which they lost each other, and the Moonshine was severely damaged in the mast and rigging. The weather calmed down on September 10, replaced by favorable north-westerly winds.
The Moonshine arrived at Dartmouth on 4 October, but the Burrow Star was missing. A brief account of Davis' about this voyage has survived, in which he indicates the prey brought - 500 full and 140 halves of seal skins and many small dressed pieces. Although the desired path to China and India was not found, the merchants equipped a new expedition on three ships, demanding that the search for the Northwest Passage be combined with hunting. In the spring of 1587, Davis set out again on three ships for the Arctic, immediately heading for Gilbert's Bay. Here he left two large vessels for fishing, and on the small one he resumed the search for the passage. It passed along the coast of Greenland to 72 ° 12 ', and then over the open sea to 73 ° N. NS. Stopped by impassable ice, Davis turned south-west and in mid-July approached Baffin Land, and then, proceeding south, came out to the strait, which was open in the first voyage. After sailing northwest for two days, he nevertheless came to the conclusion that it was a bay, which he named Cumberland. Coming out of it, Davis began to survey the southeastern ledge of Baffin Land. Then he passed the entrance to the Hudson Bay and proceeded along the Labrador Peninsula to the 52nd parallel, after which, lacking food and fresh water, he returned to England.
Despite the successful fishing of the other two vessels, the merchants refused to subsidize another expedition. In July 1588, a Spanish fleet called the Invincible Armada appeared off the coast of England, threatening to invade the island. Davis joined the British fleet and took command of the Black Dog, which he used to defeat the Armada. The following year, 1589, he took part in the seizure of cargoes of American gold and silver from the Spanish galleons off the Azores under the command of George Clifford. The raid brought the coveted booty and made up for the material loss of the captain's place with the London merchants.
Davis acquired a good seaworthy vessel. Two years later, Davis and Thomas Cavendish set about organizing a caper expedition to the Pacific Ocean. The share of Davis, Cavendish's first deputy, was the cost of his own ship and £ 1,100. The main thing in the "gentlemen's agreement" was the condition that on the way back from the coast of California, Davis would leave the Cavendish "Designer" and on his ship with pinas he would separate and proceed north to search for the Northwest Passage on the western side of the still unknown American mainland.
An expedition consisting of three ships and two small ships left Plymouth on August 26, 1591. On November 29, the ships reached the coast of Brazil. On December 15, they approached the then small town of Santos, and on the 24th laid down a course for the Strait of Magellan. On February 7, a hurricane force storm scattered the ships across the ocean. When the weather improved, Davis decided to head to Port Design Bay (now Puerto Deseado in Argentina) and arrived in March with three ships joining the route. The Cavendish did not arrive until March 18th. From his stories to Davis, it became clear that he had lost the desire and energy to continue the raid. Nevertheless, on April 8, the detachment again headed for the Strait of Magellan and anchored in a small bay. Famine and disease began on the ships. Cavendish finally lost faith in the success of the passage of the Strait of Magellan and insisted on returning to Brazil in order from there to continue the raid around the Cape of Good Hope. After a long dispute, which lasted until May 15, he insisted on returning. Coming out of the strait on May 18, the ships soon lost each other.
"The Designer" went to an unknown land, but since the storm lost its mast, and of the 75 people on board, in addition to Davis and his assistant, there were only 14 healthy sailors, it was not possible to investigate the discovery. These were the Falkland Islands. At Port Design, Davis decided to leave the ship for repairs awaiting the arrival of the Cavendish, and with the healthy sailors proceed on a pinnacle along the American mainland to the Northwest Passage. The sailors began to work together to repair ships and replenish provisions. The bay was teeming with seals and penguins, fish and mussels. On August 6, deciding that the Cavendish had already proceeded to the Strait of Magellan and, possibly, they were waiting there, they left Port Design.
Exhausting storms, the daily likelihood of near death, dampness, monotonous meager food gave rise to discontent among some of the crew and a desire to return to Port Design. Davis gathered the carriage and indicated that waiting for Cavendish had put them on the brink of death. Better to go further than go back. Davis' assistant Randolph Koten approved of the captain's arguments and suggested going to the Pacific Ocean. On October 2, the ships entered the ocean, but in the evening a hurricane force storm began. In the coming night, the pinas perished with the entire crew. On October 11, the Designer, having lost most of her sails, found herself close to the rocky coast on the brink of death and only miraculously survived thanks to the art of Davis and Koten.
Having rounded the cape, the ship entered a calm bay, where it was moored to the coastal trees (all anchors were lost). The crew took rest and putting the ship in order until October 20. On the 21st we reached the strait, where they were suddenly overtaken by a hurricane from the northwest. Once again, Davis's skill and determination saved the Designer from death in a narrow strait. On the 27th he took the ship out to the Atlantic Ocean, and on the 30th they approached Port Designer.
11 miles to the southeast was an island they called Penguin. On October 31, the Designer crossed into the bay and on November 3 moored at a high bank at the mouth of the river. Three days later, a group of sailors went on a boat to Penguin Island to procure poultry meat and eggs. 9 people went ashore, and the boat with the rest proceeded along the coast. None of the disembarkers was ever seen again. A few days later, the Indians appeared, set fire to the bushes and, under cover of fire, moved towards the ship. There was no doubt about unfriendly intentions, and the remaining sailors opened fire from cannons. The attackers fled in panic and left the bay. Apparently, 9 people who landed on Penguin Island were killed by them.
Leaving Port Design, the ship headed for Brazil and reached its shores off the island of Plasensia on January 20, 1593. After a skirmish with the Portuguese and Indians, which killed 13 people, Davis hastily sailed from Plasensia. However, new disasters followed. When passing the equatorial strip, withered penguins began to deteriorate, worms appeared in large numbers, which multiplied literally by leaps and bounds. After passing the equator, scurvy appeared on the ship, 11 people died from poisoning with poor-quality meat.
The disease affected everyone except Davis and cabin boy. In addition to them, 3 more patients could somehow work with the sails. Davis and the ailing Koten took turns keeping watch at the helm. When the Designer approached the shores of Ireland at Birhaven on June 11, the population hostile to the British refused to help. Only 5 days later, Davis persuaded the crew of an English fishing vessel that had entered to transport the dying sailors to England. Leaving an assistant and a few sailors on the Designer, he himself accompanied the sick to Padstow (Cornwell). Here he learned of the death of Cavendish.
After that, there was a break in Davis's distant sea voyages. Apparently, it was at this time that he completed the creation of his instrument for measuring the heights of the stars and determining the latitude of a place. In this device, for the first time, the idea of bringing the image of two objects (the luminary and the horizon), between which the angle was measured to the same direction, was practically realized. The principle of reducing two objects to one image is still the basis of the idea of constructing modern navigation and measuring sextants. Called Davis, or the “English Quadrant,” this tool required skill to use, especially in times of excitement. The blinding sun forced to measure his heights, becoming his back to him. And, nevertheless, the device has become widespread. The quadrant was also used in the Russian navy and was finally supplanted by the sextant of Hadley and Godfrey only by the middle of the 19th century.
In 1594, Davis's book "Secrets of Sailors" was published, in which he collected and outlined the main issues of navigation and maritime practice. In 1595 his new work was published - "Hydrographic Description of the World". In it, Davis summarized his knowledge of the Earth, expressed some interesting considerations based on his voyages: about the presence of northern passages from Europe to China and India, about reaching them directly across the North Pole, about the presence of a large number of islands off the northern shores of the American continent, now called the Canadian Arctic archipelago.
In 1596, Davis took part in an Anglo-Dutch military expedition to the main base of the Spanish navy, Cadiz, as navigator of Walter Raleigh's squadron of ships and, possibly, concurrently commander of his flagship, the Worspite. This expedition finally buried the hopes of the Spanish king Philip II for revenge for the defeat of the "Invincible Armada" and new plans for landing in England. Having enlisted in the Dutch service, Davis as navigator in 1598 took part in an expedition to the shores of India and Indonesia. In 1600, Davis joined the newly formed English East India Company and became the chief navigator of the expedition under the command of John Lancaster.
But the thought of the Northwest Passage did not leave him all his life. Returning to England in 1603, he agreed to go on a new expedition under the command of Edward Michelborn, and in the position of chief navigator sailed from England on the ship "Tiger". In December 1604, he safely led the expedition ships to the Malacca Peninsula. At the end of December 1605, the Tiger, following the coast of Bintan Island (east of Singapore), found a junk with people dying on the reefs. The British sailors took them off and took them aboard. For two days the crew of the Tiger and the rescued Japanese sailors spent their time in rest and amusement. On December 29 or 30, the Japanese, who turned out to be pirates, who were caught by a storm and crashed after a robber raid on the northern coast of Kalimantan (Borneo), attacked the Tiger's crew. Thanks to surprise, they took possession of part of the ship, but the ship's gunner was able to quickly deploy small cannons on the quarterdeck and turn the pirates into a stampede with well-aimed fire. Most of the Tiger's crew were killed in the skirmish, with John Davis among the first to be killed. The events on the "Tiger", the death of the chief navigator forced the head of the expedition Michelborn to stop sailing and return to England.
History has not preserved a lifetime portrait of Davis, nor the exact place of his burial. The best epitaph for this outstanding sailor and explorer is the statement of the American historian of the last century D. Winsor: "Navigation owes its development to Davis more than to any other Englishman …"
