Frobisher copycat theory - an oldie but a goodie

[Armchair detective]

Following Martin Frobisher's initial 1576 voyage to the Canadian Arctic, the focus abruptly shifted from finding a Northwest Passage to a frantic rush for mineral wealth. This change was triggered by a single "black stone" he brought back, which the Italian alchemist Giovanni Agnelllo falsely claimed was rich in gold ore.

Believing they were on the verge of massive wealth, several high profile individuals and groups stepped in to find and equip Frobisher's subsequent gold mining expeditions of 1577 and 1578, as in Queen Elizabeth I and the English Crown, and others.

It is possible that rival Spanish or French saw this going on and sent their own expeditions before it was learned the "gold" was worthless, which ended up on oak island.

 

[Armchair detective]

Any "onlookers" must have the motivation, awareness and means to launch a rival clandestine expedition to Canada

Candidates are King Phillip II (Spain), who had worries about England finding a northern route that would rival Spain's southern wealth.

Spanish Spy Network - the Spanish ambassador bribed a member of Frobisher's crew to report and send samples back to Spain.

French Government considered becoming joint investors in Frobisher's Cathay Company to cash in on the "Canadian Gold Rush".

France had "deep" knowledge of the region due to Jacques Cartier's exploration of the Gulf of St Lawrence in the 1530's.

There are historical records that support everything up to this point.

 

[Armchair detective]

There is also a connection between Frobisher's journeys and the Freemason/Rosicrucian early activities in the form of Francis Russell and Thomas Gresham, who were both members of these societies and backers of Frobisher's voyages.

There are lesser possibilities in the form of French privateers, Huguenot factions or crown based explorers, lesser only because actual records have not been found to support these speculations.

Next - evidence.

 

[Armchair detective]

Besides the generic debris of any mining operation (shafts, timber shoring, water source tunnel, broken picks, shovels, lead buttons for fire assays, charcoal of same, slag piles, etc), there are some "tells" of period specific relics that would indicate activity during the "frobisher period".

Shaft cribbing of the "stockade" type, I.e. timbers supporting the walls of the shaft run vertically, not horizontally, and dendrochronology of same.

Barrels of iron pyrite would be left behind IF some were mined and it was detected as fake,
then space would be made to carry miners home.

Personal items (shoes, bone or pewter buttons, clothing material, human remains), ideally identified to specific individuals.

Ship construction remains underground, ironwork or timbers dated.

If military involved, iron cannonballs musketeers bandolier stuff, crossbow stuff, maybe early firearm parts.

Next up - why would such a mine been concealed

 

[Armchair detective]

In traveling the southwest US, I have seen many busted mines leftover from the Gold Rush days, and not a single one of them was filled back in.

So clearly IF this theory is correct, there must have been some compelling reason to do so.

This is speculation.
1. They didn't know it was worthless and they
were called away, or
2. They DID know and didn't want to
embarrass their patron, or
3. They DID leave a hole, and someone came
along later, put something down the hole
and concealed that, or
4. Your theory here.

And finally up, turning fiction into fact.

 

[Armchair detective]

Assuming that incontrovertible evidence at the site is found that a mine did indeed exist, the question becomes WHO, and the answers lie in Europe, specifically in ....
1. Archivo General de Indias (Seville, Spain) -
info for the Spanish Empire's new world
Exploits. Look under the indifferent General
or Estado sections for info detailing Terra
Nova or spy reports about Frobisher's
returns.
2. Archivo General de Simancas (Simancas,
Spain) - state papers and diplomatic
correspondence of King Phillip II, also
letters of Ambassador Bernardino de
Mendoza detailing English maritime
movements.
3. Archives Nationales (Pierrefitte-sur-
Seine, France) Look under Serie Marine
for records from the admiralities of
Normandy and Brittany, or
4. Bibliotheque Nationales de France
(Paris, France) for tracking secretive
contracts of French Privateers,
Huguenot merchants, and early
unauthorized fishing/mining combines
that operated without royal oversight.

For me the trail ends. I neither parley vous Frances or comprehendre Espanol.