John Narborough
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
naval
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of the 17th century. He served with distinction during the Anglo-Dutch Wars
Anglo-Dutch Wars
The Anglo–Dutch Wars were a series of wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes. The first war took place during the English Interregnum, and was fought between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic...
and against the Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
pirates.
Early life
He was descended from an old NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
family and married Elizabeth Hill, with whom he had two surviving sons. Her father was John Hill, a Commissioner of the Navy. After her husband's death, Lady Narbrough married Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...
.
Career
He received his commission in 1664, and in 1666 was promoted lieutenant for gallantry in the action with the Dutch fleet off the Downs in June of that year. After the peace he was chosen to conduct a voyage of exploration in the South SeasPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. He set sail from Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
on 26 November 1669, and entered the Straits of Magellan in October of the following year. In 1670 he visited Port Desire
Puerto Deseado
Puerto Deseado, originally called Port Desire, is a city of about 15,000 inhabitants and a fishing port in Patagonia in Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, on the estuary of the Deseado River....
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and claimed the territory for the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, but returned home in June 1671 without accomplishing his original purpose. A narrative of the expedition was published at London in 1694 under the title An Account of several late Voyages and Discoveries to the South and North.
During the Third Anglo-Dutch War
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo–Dutch War or Third Dutch War was a military conflict between England and the Dutch Republic lasting from 1672 to 1674. It was part of the larger Franco-Dutch War...
Narbrough was second captain of the Lord High Admiral
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
's ship the HMS Prince
HMS Prince (1670)
HMS Prince was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett II at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1670. A contemporary shipyard model and a drawing by Willem van de Velde the Elder give a good impression how she looked...
, and conducted himself with such conspicuous valour at the Battle of Sole Bay in May 1672 that he won special approbation, and shortly afterwards was made rear-admiral and knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
. In 1675 he was sent to suppress the Barbary piracies
Barbary corsairs
The Barbary Corsairs, sometimes called Ottoman Corsairs or Barbary Pirates, were pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Tunis, Tripoli and Algiers. This area was known in Europe as the Barbary Coast, a term derived from the name of its Berber...
, and by the bold expedient of despatching gun-boats into the harbour of Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
at midnight and burning the ships he induced the dey to agree to a treaty. There is an eye-witness account of the raid in the diary of the naval chaplain Henry Teonge
Henry Teonge
Henry Teonge was an English cleric and Royal Navy chaplain who kept informative diaries of voyages he made in 1675–76 and 1678–79.-Life:...
.
Shortly after his return he undertook a similar expedition against the Algerines. In 1680 he was appointed commissioner of the Navy, an office he held until his death in 1688. During these years he was a patron of a treasure hunter from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Narborough invested in an expedition by William Phips
William Phips
Sir William Phips was a shipwright, ship's captain, treasure hunter, military leader, and the first royally-appointed governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay....
to find wrecked Spanish treasure ships in the Caribbean, and worked to enlist the support of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and others in the venture. Phips' first expedition, made in 1682 and funded by New England investors, was only marginally successful. His second expedition, lasting from 1683 to 1685, was less successful, but he gained valuable leads, and Narborough was able to help him raise funds for a third expedition. Departing in September 1786, Phips located a valuable wreck in February 1787, and returned to England with treasure valued over £200,000, which gained him approbation and a knighthood. After this success, Narborough decided to lead a followup expedition the following year. Returning to the wreck, the English found that it had been discovered by others. They only recovered about £10,000 of treasure before Narborough fell ill and died aboard ship in May 1688.
He bought the Knowlton Court
Knowlton Court
Knowlton Court is a country estate in Kent, England, with a Grade I listed manor house that dates back to the Elizabethan period.-Early history:...
estate near Dover from the executors of Sir Thomas Peyton
Sir Thomas Peyton, 2nd Baronet
Sir Thomas Peyton, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1644 and from 1661 to 1679. He supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War....
and was buried in Knowlton church
St Clement's Church, Knowlton
St Clement's Church, Knowlton, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Knowlton, Kent, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in the grounds of Knowlton...
.
Narborough's eldest son, John, was created a Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in November 1688 (see Narborough Baronets
Narborough Baronets
The Narborough Baronetcy, of Knowlton in the County of Kent, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 15 November 1688 for the four-year-old John Narborough, with remainder to his younger brother, James Narborough. The title was in honour of their father, Admiral Sir John...
), in honour of his father. Sir John died with his brother James and their stepfather Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell aboard HMS Association
HMS Association
HMS Association was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1697. She served with distinction at the capture of Gibraltar, and was lost in 1707 by grounding on the Isles of Scilly in the greatest maritime disaster of the age.-Service:Association...
during the Scilly naval disaster of 1707
Scilly naval disaster of 1707
Scilly naval disaster of 1707 is an umbrella term for the events of 22 October 1707 that led to the sinking of a British naval fleet off the Isles of Scilly. With four large ships and more than 1,400 sailors lost in stormy weather, it was one of the greatest maritime disasters in the history of...
. Narborough's widow is buried in St Paulinius Church, Crayford
Crayford
Crayford is a town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bexley that was an important bridging point in Roman times across the River Cray, a tributary of the River Darent, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames.-History:...
, where there is a memorial to her and her second husband. Narborough's two sons were buried in Old Town
Old Town, Isles of Scilly
Old Town is a village on St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly located south of Hugh Town. It is thought to be the oldest settlement on the island. There is a church, an Inn 'The Old Town Inn', two cafes, a village store and a day nursery. It is a popular tourist area and is only a short distance from...
Church on St Mary's. Knowlton Court passed to his daughter Elizabeth, who married Sir Thomas D'Aeth in around 1714.
Memorials
Knowlton church has monuments to Sir John and to the memory of his sons. The latter depicts the grounding of the Association. The island of FernandinaFernandina Island
Fernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands. Like the others, the island was formed by the Galápagos hotspot...
, westernmost of the Galapagos archipelago, was originally named 'Narbrough Island' in his honour by the 17th century buccaneer William Ambrosia Cowley.