Thomas Cavendish - Second Voyage

Second Voyage

Cavendish sailed on a second expedition in August 1591, accompanied by the navigator John Davis. They went further south to the Strait of Magellan and then returned to Brazil, where they lost most of the crew in a battle against the Portuguese at the Village of Vitória. One abandoned sailor, Anthony Knivet, later wrote about his adventures in Brazil. Cavendish set off across the Atlantic towards Saint Helena with the remainder of the crew, but died of unknown causes at age 32, possibly off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic in 1592. The last letter of Cavendish, written to his executor a few days before his death, accuses John Davis of being a "villain" who caused the "decay of the whole action". John Davis continued on with Cavendish's crew and ships and discovered the Falkland Islands, before returning to England with most of his crew lost to starvation and illness.