During Elizabeth I’s reign, English sailors made voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and into other parts of the world. These journeys are known as the Voyages of Discovery. Explorers searched for new sea routes, valuable goods and places where England could establish colonies. They hoped to gain wealth and fame for themselves and increase England’s power.
The Americas, often called the New World by Europeans, became a major focus of English exploration. Spain had already established a large overseas empire there, and English sailors wanted to compete for trade, wealth and territory. Their voyages increased English geographical knowledge, but also led to conflict, colonisation and greater English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade.
Why did Elizabethan explorers make these voyages?
There were several reasons why explorers sailed across the oceans:
- Wealth: explorers hoped to find gold, silver and other valuable goods. Merchants wanted access to profitable trade.
- New trade routes: English merchants wanted to reach Asian markets and obtain goods such as spices by finding alternative routes.
- Competition with Spain: Spain had built a powerful overseas empire in the Americas. English leaders and sailors wanted to challenge Spanish influence.
- Colonies: some explorers hoped to establish English settlements overseas. These could provide trading bases and strengthen England’s position.
- Fame and adventure: successful voyages could bring explorers royal favour, rewards and lasting reputations.
Voyages were expensive and dangerous. Ships could be wrecked by storms, crews could suffer from disease and hunger, and sailors could become lost at sea. Investors risked losing their money, while explorers faced capture or death.
Exploring the New World
European voyages to the Americas began before Elizabeth became queen. In 1497, John Cabot, an Italian sailor working for Henry VII, reached the coast of North America. His voyage helped provide a basis for later English claims, although it did not lead immediately to a permanent English colony.
Spain had already conquered large territories in the Americas and established colonies. Spanish ships carried valuable goods, including silver, across the Atlantic. England wanted to compete with Spain and gain access to the wealth and opportunities that overseas expansion appeared to offer.
During Elizabeth’s reign, English voyages to the Americas increased. Some sailors explored coastlines, others attacked Spanish ships, and some attempted to establish settlements. These activities brought England into greater conflict with Spain and encouraged plans for an overseas empire.
Martin Frobisher and the search for a route to Asia
Martin Frobisher made three voyages to the Arctic region between 1576 and 1578. He hoped to find a sea route through the north of North America to Asia. This was known as the Northwest Passage.
Frobisher reached the area now known as the Canadian Arctic. He believed that he had found material containing gold, and further expeditions were organised to obtain more. The material proved to be of little value, and the voyages did not discover a passage to Asia.
Although Frobisher failed to find the route he wanted, his expeditions increased English knowledge of parts of the Arctic and showed the difficulties of exploring unfamiliar waters.
John Davis and the search for the Northwest Passage
John Davis continued the search for a Northwest Passage during voyages made between 1585 and 1587. He explored waters around Greenland and the eastern coast of what is now Canada.
Davis gathered information about coastlines, winds and sea conditions. Like Frobisher, he did not find a route through to Asia. However, his voyages added to English geographical knowledge and helped later sailors understand the region.
Francis Drake sails around the world
Sir Francis Drake was one of the best-known English sailors of Elizabeth’s reign. In 1577, he set out on a voyage that took him across the Atlantic, around the southern tip of South America and across the Pacific Ocean.
Drake attacked Spanish settlements and captured valuable goods from Spanish ships. Spain regarded these actions as piracy, while English supporters saw them as a way to weaken a rival power and gain wealth.
Drake returned to England in 1580, becoming the first English commander to complete a voyage around the world. His expedition brought him wealth and fame. It also increased tension between England and Spain.
Drake later played an important role in the conflict with Spain, including the events surrounding the Spanish Armada of 1588.
John Hawkins and the Atlantic slave trade
John Hawkins was a sailor and merchant who became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1562, he led an English expedition that captured African people and transported them across the Atlantic to be sold into slavery in the Americas. This was an early stage in England’s involvement in the trade, which later developed into the system described in triangular trade.
Hawkins did not begin the Atlantic slave trade. Portuguese and Spanish traders were already transporting enslaved Africans across the ocean. However, his voyages helped establish English involvement in this brutal trade.
Enslaved people were forced from their homes, transported in terrible conditions and sold against their will. The profits made by traders formed part of the wider commercial competition between European powers. Hawkins later became involved in England’s naval preparations, but his participation in slave trading remains an important part of the history of Elizabethan voyages.
Humphrey Gilbert and England’s colonial ambitions
Sir Humphrey Gilbert believed that England should establish colonies in North America. In 1583, he led an expedition to Newfoundland, claiming territory for Elizabeth I.
The expedition did not establish a lasting settlement. Gilbert’s ship was lost during the return voyage, and he died at sea. His attempt nevertheless formed part of England’s growing interest in establishing colonies across the Atlantic.
Walter Raleigh and the Roanoke colony
Sir Walter Raleigh supported plans to establish an English colony in North America. In 1585, English settlers travelled to Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina.
The settlement faced serious difficulties. The colonists struggled to obtain enough supplies and depended on relationships with Indigenous communities. Tensions and conflict made survival harder. In 1586, many of the settlers returned to England with Francis Drake.
A second group arrived in 1587. Their governor, John White, returned to England to obtain supplies. His return to Roanoke was delayed, partly because of the conflict with Spain. When he eventually reached the settlement in 1590, the colonists had disappeared. The word “CROATOAN” had been carved into a post, but no clear explanation of the settlers’ fate was found.
The settlement became known as the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Its disappearance remains unexplained. The failed colony showed how difficult it was to maintain a settlement thousands of miles from England.
Read more about Walter Raleigh, Roanoke and the Virginia colony.
Trade and rivalry with Spain
Exploration was closely linked to trade and international rivalry. Spanish ships carried valuable goods between the Americas and Europe. English sailors hoped to share in these profits, and some attacked Spanish shipping to capture its cargo.
These attacks increased hostility between England and Spain. Religious differences, English support for Dutch rebels fighting Spanish rule and overseas competition all added to the tension. The rivalry contributed to the Spanish Armada campaign of 1588.
Not all voyages involved attacks or attempts to establish colonies. English merchants also developed trade with northern Europe and Russia. In 1555, the Muscovy Company was established to organise English trade with Russia. These trading voyages formed part of the wider growth of English overseas activity.
For more on the growing conflict between the two countries, see Anglo-Spanish relations under Elizabeth I.
Richard Hakluyt and the promotion of exploration
Richard Hakluyt was a writer and supporter of overseas exploration. He collected accounts of voyages and argued that England should expand its trade and establish colonies. In 1589, he published an important collection of voyage accounts known as The Principall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation.
Hakluyt’s work helped spread information about exploration and encouraged further interest in overseas expansion. His writing also shows that voyages depended on more than sailors alone: investors, merchants, writers and political leaders all helped promote them.
Why were the Voyages of Discovery important?
The Voyages of Discovery increased English knowledge of distant regions and helped develop longer-distance trade. They encouraged attempts to establish colonies in North America and brought English sailors into greater competition with Spain and other European powers.
However, these voyages also had serious consequences. English attacks damaged Spanish settlements and shipping, while attempts at colonisation affected Indigenous peoples who already lived in the Americas. English participation in the Atlantic slave trade contributed to the forced transportation and enslavement of African people.
Elizabethan voyages did not create a large English overseas empire immediately. Many expeditions failed, and Roanoke did not become a lasting settlement. Nevertheless, these voyages helped prepare the way for later English colonies and a much larger overseas presence.
Key facts to remember
- 1497: John Cabot reached the coast of North America while sailing for England.
- 1555: the Muscovy Company was established to develop English trade with Russia.
- 1562: John Hawkins led an early English expedition involved in the Atlantic slave trade.
- 1576–1578: Martin Frobisher searched for a Northwest Passage.
- 1577–1580: Francis Drake completed a voyage around the world.
- 1583: Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for England.
- 1585: the first Raleigh-backed Roanoke colony was established.
- 1587: a second group of settlers arrived at Roanoke.
- 1589: Richard Hakluyt published his collection of English voyage accounts.
Further Reading
- British Library, Exploration and Trade in Elizabethan England.