Meet the Boss Mystery surrounds the early life of the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano Later his adventures led him to the French court and on historic voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World of the Americas Did you know No one knows how Verrazzano spelled his name In Latin records it appears as Verazanus Most now spell it as Verrazzano but sometimes it only has one z as on the Verrazano Bridge in New York UNCERTAIN IDENTITY Lack of records There are no primary sources about Giovanni da Verrazzano’s early life There is not even a record of his birth so historians are not sure when and where Verrazzano was born Although Verrazzano spent much of his life in France he referred to himself as a Florentine meaning he came from Florence in what is now Italy Most scholars believe he was probably born around 1485 in Val di Greve near Florence CHILD OF THE RENAISSANCE Florentine childhood Growing up in a center of culture Verrazzano’s birthplace Florence right was a center of the Renaissance a time of great advances in art science and philosophy A new way of thinking began in Florence in the 1300s and spread across Europe People challenged old ways of thinking and put a new emphasis on education and exploration As the son of wealthy traders Verrazzano was educated in this new way 4 TRAVEL WITH THE GREAT EXPLORERS
My Explorer Journal Imagine you are a young Verrazzano and you hear about a new world in the Americas What reasons can you think of to explore the new land And what reasons are there to stay home EARLY TRAVELS Young Verrazzano leaves Florence Good at languages As a young man it seems likely that Verrazzano did some traveling He may have picked up some sailing skills on ships in the Mediterranean Sea Some circumstantial evidence suggests he visited Syria and Egypt and may have lived for a time in Cairo Verrazzano may have been working as a merchant during this time European traders regularly traveled for business Verrazzano’s early travels may have inspired him to explore farther THE NEW WORLD Sailing for France In the late 1400s explorers such as John Cabot and Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean Their tales of the New World excited European rulers eager to expand their territory and find new trade routes By 1506 Verrazzano was living in Dieppe France Two years later he took a place on La Pensée a ship captained by Thomas Aubert Aubert sailed to what is now Canada to fish and to explore For Verrazzano it was a first taste of real adventure REVEALING LETTER Report to the King The only record of Verrazzano’s voyages is a letter the explorer wrote to King Francis I in July 1524 The letter describes exploring the northeastern shore of North America above Early historians were not sure that Verrazzano wrote the letter but today most people believe he did write it It contains some clues about Verrazzano For example his use of language and math shows that he was well educated EXPLORE WITH GIOVANNI DA VERRAZZANO 5
Did you know Verrazzano traveled to Brazil in 1527 Some reports suggest that he sailed to the southern tip of South America Others say that he loaded his ship with cargo at Brazil and returned to France Where Are We Heading Verrazzano explored the eastern coast of North America He brought Europeans information about the land and people they had never known before A NEW LAND La Dauphine makes landfall Low-lying cape After crossing the Atlantic Ocean on La Dauphine Verrazzano spotted land in March 1524 He sailed south and then north again to find a place to land He anchored near present-day Cape Fear a headland in North Carolina right Cape Fear is a tidewater area where the Cape Fear River flows into the sea In his famous letter to the French king Verrazzano noted There appeared a new land which had never been seen before by any man ROUTE TO CHINA Verrazzano gazes on a new sea North of Cape Fear Verrazzano passed the Outer Banks a series of sand islands left Beyond the islands Verrazzano could see more water He concluded that he had found a sea that led to the Pacific Ocean noting This is doubtless the one which goes around the tip of India China and Cathay In fact he had found Pamlico Sound a huge coastal bay In 1585 the English founded their first American colony at Roanoke on the Outer Banks 6 TRAVEL WITH THE GREAT EXPLORERS
A GREAT LAKE Investigating inland Missed opportunity As the expedition headed north Verrazzano passed what is now Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay Farther north he discovered an opening between Staten Island and Long Island Today this passage is called the Verrazano Narrows Verrazzano took a small boat to explore and entered New York Bay He assumed it was a large lake If he had kept going Verrazzano may have found the Hudson River However strong winds forced him back to his ship JUST LIKE HOME Mediterranean scenery After leaving New York Bay La Dauphine turned north along the coast of Long Island As he passed Block Island right Verrazzano thought it looked like the island of Rhodes in Greece He noted the beauty of the land and named it Louisa for the mother of King Francis The weather was bad so Verrazzano kept heading north and landed in what is now Newport Harbor Rhode Island The crew spent 15 days exploring the area AN AMERICAN CAPE Sailing past In 1529 Verrazzano’s brother the mapmaker Girolamo Verrazzano drew a map of the world that included the American coast He charted the unusual shape of Cape Cod left France later founded its colonies to the north This area came under English control in the 1600s The Pilgrims from England arrived at Plymouth Rock Cape Cod in 1620 EXPLORE WITH GIOVANNI DA VERRAZZANO 7
