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Thomas Cavendish begins circumnavigation

When
1586
Where
Plymouth
Episodes
1

In July 1586, English explorer Thomas Cavendish departed Plymouth with three ships and 123 men to emulate Francis Drake. This marked the start of the first deliberately planned circumnavigation of the globe, a voyage that would last until 1588.

Episodes

  1. 21 July 1586 · PlymouthDeparture from Plymouth

    Cavendish departed Plymouth on 21 July 1586 with three ships and 123 men to begin his planned circumnavigation.

Background and detail

Departure. On 21 July 1586, Cavendish set sail from Plymouth, England, commanding a fleet of three ships and a crew of 123 men. This departure initiated the first voyage that was explicitly planned as a circumnavigation, distinguishing it from earlier accidental or partial global crossings by other explorers.

People involved

Sources

  1. Thomas Cavendish Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.