Sir Gilbert Humphrey was a famous seafarer of the 16th Century. Having received his education in Eton and Oxford, he joined the military and proved himself as a most dedicated defender of the interests of England. Gilbert was eager to find the North-Western passage and had unsuccessfully pleaded Queen Elizabeth for the organizing of an expedition since 1566. His famous petition “Discourse of a Discovery for a New Passage to Cataia” later came in handy for the English seafarer Martin Frobisher, who also tried to find the passage, as well as other explorers of the Arctic.

Gilbert had shown his valor during the suppression of the Irish revolts and thus earned the title of a knight, which was handed down to him by Queen Elisabeth I. In 1577 Gilbert presented his plan, which was dubbed “How Her Majesty can spite the King of Spain” to the Queen, which included an expedition to the island of Newfoundland and the conquering of the Spanish fishing fleet there. Persuaded by Gilbert’s impetuosity, the Queen ordered Gilbert to establish a colony in the New World. However, the first attempt proved to be unsuccessful, since due to storms the ships had to turn back without even reaching the coast of the Americas.

To find the funding for his new expedition, Gilbert began to sell the lands of the yet non-existent colony with the help of his younger brother. The five ships, that hat 260 people on board, set sail from Plymouth and reached Newfoundland on August 5th 1583, where the small colony of Saint-Johns was founded. This colony had been the first official British colony in the New World.