CHamoru educator in Micronesia. Few CHamorus of Guam’s Spanish Era (1668-1898) are mentioned by name in the annals of Pacific history. However, there is one woman who stands out as an enigmatic presence among a long list of priests, colonial administrators, travelers, missionaries and traders who journeyed to Micronesia for God, wealth and adventure.
Ferdinand Magellan (1480 – 1521), born in Portugal and killed in Cebu, Philippines, was a Portuguese seafarer and navigator who worked most of his life for Castille, the Spanish throne. In 1520-1521, Magellan commanded an expedition of five ships whose mission was to find a passage around the American continent to the Spice Islands (Moluku, Indonesia).
Ferdinand Magellan Read Post »
Just after three frigates under his command had captured the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Encarnacion (which he renamed Bachelor), British privateer Woodes Rogers arrived at Guam on 11 March 1710, asking that Governor Juan Antonio Pimentel enable him to replenish his ships – otherwise he would bombard the island.
Adventurer: Woodes Rogers Read Post »
William Dampier was an English buccaneer, sea captain, chronicler (he kept a detailed journal of his travels), and scientific observer in the 17th century. Considered by his contemporaries to be an erudite sea tactician and well-read writer — a Renaissance man of the high seas — Dampier’s early career, however, involved piracy; the 28-year-old was a product of nationalist sentiment.
Adventurer: William Dampier Read Post »
William “Bully” Hayes was a blackbirder (slave trader) and criminal who in the 19th century terrorized the inhabitants of Micronesia for many years. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio sometime around 1829 and died in the Marshall Islands in 1877.
Adventurer: William “Bully” Hayes Read Post »
The next recorded visitor to the Mariana Islands after explorer Ferdinand Magellan, was British adventurer Thomas Cavendish in 1588 aboard The Desire. He traded briefly, and as he left he ordered his men to open fire from the rear of the ship to discourage the islanders from following.
Adventurer: Thomas Cavendish Read Post »
John Eaton and William Ambrosia Cowley, English pirates, visited Guam in March 1685. Jesuit Father Juan Tilpe wrote in a letter that the ship was first thought to be a Spanish ship from Manila with supplies for the Spanish garrison on Guam. It was then believed to be a French warship since its captain communicated in French.
Adventurers: John Eaton and William Cowley Read Post »
Although the word “pirate” is used in early documents, secondary literature on Guam’s history has also referred to these pirates as “adventurers,” “buccaneers” and “privateers,” all of which refer to the same profession of, among other things, preying upon and stealing from ships, with the primary objective being Spanish galleons carrying gold and silver.
Adventurers: Pirates on Guam Read Post »
In 1597 the Dutch began raiding into the Pacific, hoping that by attacking the Spanish colonies and ships they could force the Spanish to grant them independence. In 1598 the Dutch launched an expedition to the Pacific under Admiral Oliver van Noort, who was acclaimed a hero for striking at the Spanish and completing the fourth expedition (after Magellan, Hawkins, and Cavendish) to circumnavigate the globe.
Adventurer: Oliver van Noort Read Post »
John Clipperton, a British pirate who was made captain of one of the Spanish ships taken by William Dampier in 1704, came to the Marianas on his second voyage. He led a mutiny against Dampier on his first voyage and was later taken captive by the Spanish nobleman Marquis de Villa Roche in Panama for four years.
Adventurers: John Clipperton and George Shelvocke Read Post »
