United States History Commons^™

Researching North America: Sir Humphrey Gilbert’S 1583 Expedition And A Reexamination Of Early Modern English Colonization In The North Atlantic World, Nathan Probasco

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s 1583 expedition to North America was the first attempt by an Englishman to colonize beyond the British Isles, and yet it has not been subject to thorough scholarly analysis for more than seventy years. Although it is often overlooked or misinterpreted by scholars, an exhaustive examination of the voyage reveals the complexity and preparedness of this and similar early modern English expeditions. Gilbert recruited several specialists who expended considerable time and resources while researching and otherwise working in support of the voyage. Their efforts secured much needed capital, a necessary component of expensive private voyages, and they …