On March 25, 1524, an expedition under Giovanni da Verrazzano anchored off the coast of North Carolina.
The voyage marked the first European exploration of the North Carolina coast. Verrazzano sought a northward sea route to Asia’s lucrative markets on behalf of Francis I of France.
Usually identified as a native of Florence, Verrazzano was a navigator before being commissioned by King Francis to look for a new route to Asia in 1523. He reached the North American coast with one of his four original vessels sometime in March 1524, first spotting land in the Cape Fear region. It is unclear where along the North Carolina coast that Verrazzano and his crew first made contact. Cases can be made for Brunswick and Onslow Counties as well as Carteret County. The Bogue Banks area fits his description of land trending east. The geography convinced him that the Outer Banks were an isthmus beyond which lay the Pacific.
After leaving what’s now North Carolina, Verrazzano explored the coasts of New York, Rhode Island and Maine. He returned to France convinced that these more northward shores were part of one continent distinct from Asia.
Although he was the first European to explore much of the North American coast, his findings were not immediately followed up on by other explorers. On a later voyage to the Caribbean, he was killed and eaten by Carib Indians.
Other related resources:
- Podcasts on North Carolina’s Exploration and Early Settlement from the N.C. Museum of History
- Roanoke Island Festival Park
Image from Scanné de Coureurs des mers, Poivre d'Arvor via Wikimedia Commons.