The voyage of 1602
Follow the sequence in the written accounts. Exact routes and modern identifications of some landing places remain questions.
- March 26, 1602
Falmouth, England
The Concord departs. John Brereton’s account counts 32 people aboard. The goal is trade and a settlement, not a holiday.
- May 1602
New England coast
The travelers reach the coast, meet Native people, and sail south. Descriptions of landfalls do not always match modern place names neatly.
- May 15, in Archer’s account
Cape Cod
The crew catches many codfish. Archer connects this catch with the English name Cape Cod.
- Later in May
Islands south of Cape Cod
The accounts describe shore visits, berries, grapevines, fishing, and exchanges with Native people. The name Martha’s Vineyard appears.
- Late May–June
Cuttyhunk / Elizabeth’s Island
The party builds a small fortified post on an islet in a pond on Cuttyhunk. They gather cargo and consider leaving a group behind.
- June 18, 1602
Leaving the islands
The plan to remain is abandoned. The expedition sails back toward England. A settlement lasting weeks is different from a permanent colony.
- July 1602
Back in England
Gosnold’s letter describes scarce remaining food and drink at the end of the return voyage. Accounts and cargo encourage further interest in colonization.
Why sail west?
English promoters hoped a transatlantic voyage could bring goods to sell and lead to a trading settlement. Fish, timber, furs, and sassafras attracted attention. Sassafras was valued in Europe as a supposed medicine; that historical belief is not proof that it worked.
Calling a place rich in resources described what the visitors hoped to obtain. It did not mean the land or its resources had no owners, caretakers, or existing uses.
Meeting people with their own knowledge
Archer describes Native people who already had experience with European visitors and goods. His account includes information about the coast being communicated through drawings. Such details challenge the idea that the English were the only knowledgeable travelers.
The accounts describe trading and hospitality, but also anxiety and conflict. They were written by English participants. We must distinguish the writer’s description of an encounter from what Native participants might have said about it.
Why did everyone leave?
The expedition did not leave the planned group at its post. The accounts point to worries over supplies and the small number of people willing to stay. Gosnold’s letter describes how little food and drink remained when the ship returned.
Brereton’s printed account still presented the region as attractive for future settlement. Ask how a report meant to interest supporters might describe a voyage whose settlement plan had ended.
For older readers: dates, distances, and uncertain routes
These dates follow the historical accounts rather than silently converting their calendars. Early writers used different spellings and measures, including fathoms and leagues. A fathom measures about six feet of water depth; the length intended by a league can vary. Match a description with coastlines, distances, and another source before claiming an exact landing spot.
The 1706 map above was published more than a century after the voyage. It is evidence of how the journey was later represented, not a chart we know Gosnold carried aboard the Concord.