Bartholomew Gosnold: Cuttyhunk to Jamestown, 1602-1607
Bartholomew Gosnold (1572-1607) was an English lawyer, explorer and privateer. In 1602, he led the first English expedition to the “North Part of Virginia” to establish a fort and trading post. He named Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard and erected his fort on Elizabeth’s Isle, now Cuttyhunk and Nashawena. He returned to England to become the prime mover of the voyage resulting in the colonization of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. After having been chosen to head the new colony, he died of scurvy and dysentery only three months after arriving. Gosnold set in motion the impulse for colonization that played out in the founding of an English-speaking nation on the shores of the New World.Explore and experience English Captain Gosnold’s voyages to New England and Virginia. Discover who he was, why he made the journeys, who he met and what he learned. The exhibit compares how the New England voyage shaped his experience for the later voyage to Jamestown, Virginia, which led to the first successful English colony in 1607. As an adventurer and explorer in two historic voyages, many questions are raised - Why did Gosnold come to the New World? Who were his supporters and financiers? Who came with him? What were the challenges of the voyages? Who did he meet? What have we learned through journals, archeologists, artists, scientists and nature? Step into Gosnold’s boots. This exhibit is an experience for all ages to get a sense of what it was like to be a passenger on board a sailing ship bound for the New World, navigate waters with primitive charts and tools, and meet the native people who had inhabited their fertile ground for thousands of years, but were just “discovered” in the early 17th century. The legacy of discovery is that all is forever changed. The coming together of the English and native Wampanoag and Powhatan was a meeting of distinctly different cultures with a different understanding of prosperity. Edward Wingfield, Jamestown’s first council president, lamented the untimely death of “the worthy and religious gentleman, Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, upon whose life stood a great part of the good success and fortune of our government and colony.” A man who is, finally, being better understood and appreciated for his contributions to the English colonization of America. Kathryn Balistrieri, Museum Director Shelly Merriam, Assoc. Curator-Exhibits |
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Bartholomew Gosnold - Cuttyhunk to Jamestown, 1602-1607 |
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Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold (1572-1607) the "prime mover of the colonization of Virginia" and namesake for the Town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, on Cuttyhunk Island. |
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Enter here and learn more about the journeys to the New World of English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, in 1602 and 1607. |
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Learn about the many explorers who traveled the coastal waters of the New World, mapping, documenting and meeting the natives, long before England joined the race to colonize. |
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Experience the cramped and crowded conditions of sleeping on a straw mattress in the ships cargo hold, on barrels loaded with supplies of dried meat, rice and biscuits. |
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Learn more about shipboard living for the captain, crew
and passengers.
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Ship comparisons tell a story of challenge and hardship. |
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The traverse board - the computer of the times used to record ship direction and speed, eight times during a four hour watch. |
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Upon Gosnold's arrival at Cuttyhunk (1602) and Jamestown (1607) the area waters were explored surveying the surroundings and meeting the native Wampanoag and Powhatan. |
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Gosnold meets the Wampanoag Indians in 1602 and learns about their culture, as he travels the waters off Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. |
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A copy of the Dutch translation of Gabriel Archer's journal of the voyage of 1602. |
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Children's discovery drawings and a shipboard game of draughts. |
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Kids imagine being an explorer through their drawings. |
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Archaeologist Dr. Jeffrey Brain and his team are continuing studies on Cuttyhunk to try and locate the 1602 fort and encampment of Bartholomew Gosnold. Visitors use the "Decision Board" to second guess how Gosnold made his landing decision 400 years ago. |
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Kids archaeology table - Dig, discover and document. |
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Archaeology Table - A few early 17th century replica artifacts unearthed by a young archaeologist. |
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The Legacy of Discovery - Learn more about how all is forever changed by "discovery", with varying effect on different people and their environment. |
For additional information on Bartholomew Gosnold...
Also, please see the CHS Monograph on Bartholomew Gosnold:
Bartholomew Gosnold (1571-1607): New World Adventurer
(Spring, 2007; Louise Garfield and Allison Thurston)