By, Surabhi Ashok
Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer under the crown of France’s King Francis I, made his way up the east coast of North America in 1524. He particularly explored New Jersey aboard the ship Delfina.
Verrazzano first ventured into exploration when he traveled to Egypt and Syria. Soon after, he got into contact with King Francis and some members of the French navy, which opened him up to the possibility of partaking in a maritime career for France.
At the same time, other countries like Spain and Portugal were making their name in New World exploration and, afraid of being left in the dust, King Francis started to plan his own expedition overseas. The goal was to find a new passage in the Americas’ East Coast that would link to Asia.
When Verrazzano was finally chosen to take the voyage, he prepped four ships, Delfina, Normanda, Santa Maria, and Vittoria, all with ammunition, lifeboats, equipment, and rations of food. The journey across the Atlantic was tough, with two ships getting lost at sea and the others engaging in naval conflict with Spanish ships, but in the end Delfina made its way to the New World.
Once sighting land, somewhere around what would be Cape Fear, North Carolina, Verrazzano sailed northward along the coast. He sailed all the way to Rhode Island, mapping the geography and making countless observations as he went. He also was the first European to name places he saw after Old World sites and figures.
Now, there are two bridges in his name, in both New York Bay as well as Rhode Island.
Other than his first voyage to the New World and a second one to Brazil later on, Verrazzano returned on what would be his final trip in 1528. He, along with his brother Girolamo, sailed along Florida and eventually drifted into the Caribbean.
Supposedly, after anchoring at a seemingly unpopulated island, which now is considered Guadalupe, Verrazzano and some of his men were taken ashore, killed, and eaten by a group of cannibals. His brother Giralamo and his crew could only helplessly watch from shore.
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