Sam Reder
Tenderfoot
- Jan 22, 2021
- 7
- 8
- Detector(s) used
- Study, deduction, intuition.
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Analyzing the story behind Cavendish The Navigator, theories, bits of spoken word and deductions of mine, I have tried to bring Thomas's story to an end. I have theories about the location of his tomb and possible treasure.
Sir Francis Drake's shadow is long, and has inspired many men and nobles to become privateers and pirates, Cavendish was one such noble. Thomas Cavendish (1650-1592) mortgaged his entire inheritance and fortune in a single move. With his ship "Desire" built and with 123 men he left Plymouth in search of his fortune beyond the Strait of Magellan. He made several stops, at one of which he came across survivors from the Colonies of Sarmiento. Sick women and men Cavendish saved only one man and used him as his translator (this first act reflected Cavendish's cruelty that would show itself more often until the day of his last voyage).
After suffering several losses and frustrated battles along the way, Cavendish and his men sighted the ship "Santa Anna" loaded with gold and jewels, in the cape of "San Julian". A ship without cannons and without weapons, with only mercenaries was a perfect prey. Thomas after losing a few men, dominated the ship. Thomas offered a deal, if the Spaniards surrendered he would not kill them. Cavendish had taken the treasure estimated at 700,000 pesos and other relics from Mayan civilizations. His malevolence showed itself once more as he tortured the ship's mens. He freed some but took Asians to be his translators.
On his way back to England Thomas Cavendish only made one stop at St Helena Island (keep that in mind). He stayed only 12 days, stocked up on food and wrote about the island. He arrived in England in 1588 as a hero, wanting to squander his riches, all the crew dressed in linen and the sails were replaced by a golden colored fabric. According to reports Cavendish brought so much gold that it ended up devaluing it for months in England. Even after so much glory, Thomas did not receive the title of Knight, which made him more bitter because he wanted to be like Drake.
Wanting to prove he was better and earn the title of Knight, he was on his way to another trip. This time he did not receive any support and it was only with his investments, as Cavendish was very accelerated and had not planned this second trip correctly. He sailed with 5 ships, one of them the iconic Leicester.
Karma had hit Cavendish. He was stuck for 26 days in Ecuador because of the lack of wind. Diseases claimed a portion of his sailors and others were killed by Cavendish himself. December 16 Cavendish arrived in the Brazilian city of Santos, attacking and looting. Even though they were "prepared" to reach the Strait of Magellan, a storm dissolved Cavendish's fleet, and the captain of the ship "Desire" deserted. They reached the Straits, but about 30 men became sick and another 70 died. After a council of captains, Cavendish decided to return to Santos in Brazil.
Anthony Knivet: Cavendish's writer said that he had stolen a beautiful treasure from Santos and that he had buried it on the beaches of "Ilhabela" in a region called "Saco do Sombrio". Cavendish returns to this region after his failure in the south, tries to make more attacks, but is boarded by a Portuguese Galleon that almost destroys the rest of his crew.
Thomas Cavendish was forced to flee and headed straight for the Atlantic Ocean and was never seen again. (End of the history)
TREASURE THEORIES: Cavendish's first treasure would be the one stolen from Santa Anna. As a privateer, Cavendish was obliged to share with the crown and its investors. He was no fool and had the audacity to hide part of the fortune. If there is such a piece of treasure, I believe he hid it on St Helena Island, as that was his only stop after the theft.
Searching the island for gold would be impossible, the place is huge and only Cavendish knew where he buried it himself. The only chance of knowing the location of the gold would be to look for Cavendish's own body in search of some confession, since he intended to kill himself.
The 2nd treasure stolen in Santos wasn't big compared to his first loot, but it was worth something. Knivet says that Cavendish stole it and hid it on the island of "ilhabela" in "Saco do Sombrio". There are two logical possibilities for the location of this treasure. 1st some Cavendish men deserted and stayed on the Brazilian coast and became farmers. Some of them, if they knew the location of the treasure, would dig it up and use it to restart their lives. But I believe that locals would notice their riches being used by foreigners in the area, so this theory is weak. 2nd, Cavendish himself recovered Santos' treasure when he returned to Ilhabela. Taking it with himself and disappearing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Tomb of Sir Thomas Cavendish: Analyzing the escape route in a straight line to the Atlantic, it can be said that Thomas was trying to reach the Island of Saint Helena to recover, and perhaps according to my theory recover the treasures of his 1st voyage. Apparently Thomas Cavendish did not manage to reach the island of Saint Helena, but according to historians he reached Ascension Island and committed suicide leaving a confession: "The failures of this unfortunate action weigh heavily on me... of bad that happened in this trip the last of them is my death".
Ascension Island is a navigators' graveyard from early times to the great voyages. There are over a thousand uncatalogued tombs along the coast of the island. Cavendish's own men could have buried him on the island.
There are two main cemeteries on Ascension Island. The Bonneta Cemetery in Comfortless Cove and the War Cemetery both with all registered tombstones. The oldest tombs on the island are found in the northwest quadrant. No categorization of the tombs was ever made as it is currently a military island, there is no need, it is up to curious tourists to deduce what types of people visited and died on this island.
Thomas was a bad man and his crew was about to take his ship before they even returned to Santos. Due to the lack of men and Cavendish's lack of sanity, they ended up in Ascension unintentionally. This must have been the climax, Cavendish gives up and gives a last order to his men to bury him after his suicide in 1592. Cavendish's will was delivered by Tristram Gorges in 1596. The two were great friends and trusted each other with the last words from Cavendish went to salute this friendship. If there was any treasure Tristram could have known the location and could have picked it up, it would explain the huge time lag of 4 years to return to England.
Tristam would pay homage to his friend and leave some apparent sign on his tombstone to differentiate it from others in Ascension (signs that I have hunches to look for) There are two possibilities to find the supposed treasures: Investigate Tristram's life when returning to England or find the Cavendish's body.
Tristram died in 1608. He was from a noble family but even if he appeared with a huge fortune it would be noticed and his heirs would be the richest noble family in England at that time.
Locating the tomb of Sir Thomas Cavendish (he received the title after his death) is credit enough. The treasures if they exist would be a bonus lol. The only option is to travel to Ascension and locate the tomb.
Now for the search comes the best part: Metal detector and a drink.
Ask questions!
Sir Francis Drake's shadow is long, and has inspired many men and nobles to become privateers and pirates, Cavendish was one such noble. Thomas Cavendish (1650-1592) mortgaged his entire inheritance and fortune in a single move. With his ship "Desire" built and with 123 men he left Plymouth in search of his fortune beyond the Strait of Magellan. He made several stops, at one of which he came across survivors from the Colonies of Sarmiento. Sick women and men Cavendish saved only one man and used him as his translator (this first act reflected Cavendish's cruelty that would show itself more often until the day of his last voyage).
After suffering several losses and frustrated battles along the way, Cavendish and his men sighted the ship "Santa Anna" loaded with gold and jewels, in the cape of "San Julian". A ship without cannons and without weapons, with only mercenaries was a perfect prey. Thomas after losing a few men, dominated the ship. Thomas offered a deal, if the Spaniards surrendered he would not kill them. Cavendish had taken the treasure estimated at 700,000 pesos and other relics from Mayan civilizations. His malevolence showed itself once more as he tortured the ship's mens. He freed some but took Asians to be his translators.
On his way back to England Thomas Cavendish only made one stop at St Helena Island (keep that in mind). He stayed only 12 days, stocked up on food and wrote about the island. He arrived in England in 1588 as a hero, wanting to squander his riches, all the crew dressed in linen and the sails were replaced by a golden colored fabric. According to reports Cavendish brought so much gold that it ended up devaluing it for months in England. Even after so much glory, Thomas did not receive the title of Knight, which made him more bitter because he wanted to be like Drake.
Wanting to prove he was better and earn the title of Knight, he was on his way to another trip. This time he did not receive any support and it was only with his investments, as Cavendish was very accelerated and had not planned this second trip correctly. He sailed with 5 ships, one of them the iconic Leicester.
Karma had hit Cavendish. He was stuck for 26 days in Ecuador because of the lack of wind. Diseases claimed a portion of his sailors and others were killed by Cavendish himself. December 16 Cavendish arrived in the Brazilian city of Santos, attacking and looting. Even though they were "prepared" to reach the Strait of Magellan, a storm dissolved Cavendish's fleet, and the captain of the ship "Desire" deserted. They reached the Straits, but about 30 men became sick and another 70 died. After a council of captains, Cavendish decided to return to Santos in Brazil.
Anthony Knivet: Cavendish's writer said that he had stolen a beautiful treasure from Santos and that he had buried it on the beaches of "Ilhabela" in a region called "Saco do Sombrio". Cavendish returns to this region after his failure in the south, tries to make more attacks, but is boarded by a Portuguese Galleon that almost destroys the rest of his crew.
Thomas Cavendish was forced to flee and headed straight for the Atlantic Ocean and was never seen again. (End of the history)
TREASURE THEORIES: Cavendish's first treasure would be the one stolen from Santa Anna. As a privateer, Cavendish was obliged to share with the crown and its investors. He was no fool and had the audacity to hide part of the fortune. If there is such a piece of treasure, I believe he hid it on St Helena Island, as that was his only stop after the theft.
Searching the island for gold would be impossible, the place is huge and only Cavendish knew where he buried it himself. The only chance of knowing the location of the gold would be to look for Cavendish's own body in search of some confession, since he intended to kill himself.
The 2nd treasure stolen in Santos wasn't big compared to his first loot, but it was worth something. Knivet says that Cavendish stole it and hid it on the island of "ilhabela" in "Saco do Sombrio". There are two logical possibilities for the location of this treasure. 1st some Cavendish men deserted and stayed on the Brazilian coast and became farmers. Some of them, if they knew the location of the treasure, would dig it up and use it to restart their lives. But I believe that locals would notice their riches being used by foreigners in the area, so this theory is weak. 2nd, Cavendish himself recovered Santos' treasure when he returned to Ilhabela. Taking it with himself and disappearing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Tomb of Sir Thomas Cavendish: Analyzing the escape route in a straight line to the Atlantic, it can be said that Thomas was trying to reach the Island of Saint Helena to recover, and perhaps according to my theory recover the treasures of his 1st voyage. Apparently Thomas Cavendish did not manage to reach the island of Saint Helena, but according to historians he reached Ascension Island and committed suicide leaving a confession: "The failures of this unfortunate action weigh heavily on me... of bad that happened in this trip the last of them is my death".
Ascension Island is a navigators' graveyard from early times to the great voyages. There are over a thousand uncatalogued tombs along the coast of the island. Cavendish's own men could have buried him on the island.
There are two main cemeteries on Ascension Island. The Bonneta Cemetery in Comfortless Cove and the War Cemetery both with all registered tombstones. The oldest tombs on the island are found in the northwest quadrant. No categorization of the tombs was ever made as it is currently a military island, there is no need, it is up to curious tourists to deduce what types of people visited and died on this island.
Thomas was a bad man and his crew was about to take his ship before they even returned to Santos. Due to the lack of men and Cavendish's lack of sanity, they ended up in Ascension unintentionally. This must have been the climax, Cavendish gives up and gives a last order to his men to bury him after his suicide in 1592. Cavendish's will was delivered by Tristram Gorges in 1596. The two were great friends and trusted each other with the last words from Cavendish went to salute this friendship. If there was any treasure Tristram could have known the location and could have picked it up, it would explain the huge time lag of 4 years to return to England.
Tristam would pay homage to his friend and leave some apparent sign on his tombstone to differentiate it from others in Ascension (signs that I have hunches to look for) There are two possibilities to find the supposed treasures: Investigate Tristram's life when returning to England or find the Cavendish's body.
Tristram died in 1608. He was from a noble family but even if he appeared with a huge fortune it would be noticed and his heirs would be the richest noble family in England at that time.
Locating the tomb of Sir Thomas Cavendish (he received the title after his death) is credit enough. The treasures if they exist would be a bonus lol. The only option is to travel to Ascension and locate the tomb.
Now for the search comes the best part: Metal detector and a drink.
Ask questions!
