Charles Leigh (died 1605) was an English merchant and voyager.

Life

He was younger son of John Leigh (died 31 March 1576) and of Joan, daughter and heir of Sir John Oliph of Foxgrave,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, an alderman of London. His eldest brother was Sir Oliph Leigh (1560-1612).

Canada voyage

Charles Leigh fitted out, in partnership with Abraham van Harwick, two ships, the ''Hopewell'' of 120 and the ''Chancewell'' of 70 tons burden, for a voyage to

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

; and sailed from Gravesend on 8 April 1597. Leigh and Stephen van Harwick, brother of Abraham, went as chief commanders. The purpose of the voyage was partly fishing and trade, but partly also to plunder Spanish ships. They left Falmouth on 28 April, and after touching at

Cape Race Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mean ...

, and sighting Cape Breton Island, on 11 June the ''Hopewell'' anchored off the island of Menego–apparently St. Paul's–to the north of Cape Breton. They had lost sight of the Chancewell off the bay of Placentia. On the 14th they came to the Bird Rocks and on the 16th to Brian's Island. On the 18th they came to Ramea, today's

Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...

. There in a harbour called Halabolina they found four ships, two French from St. Halo, the others from St. Jean de Luz. Leigh insisted that these must be Spaniards, and seized their powder as a measure of security. But next day the French gathered in force, to the number of 200, from other ships and residents in different parts of the island, retook the powder, claimed Leigh's largest boat, and drove the English out of the harbour. Coming again to Menego and Cape Breton on the 27th they met a boat with eight of the ''Chancewell'''s men, from whom they learnt that the ''Chancewell'' had been wrecked on the coast of Cape Breton. After rescuing all the ''Chancewells men, they crossed over to Newfoundland. On 25 July they took, after a sharp action in the harbour of St. Mary, a large Breton ship. Leigh moved to this ship, dividing the men between her and the ''Hopewell'', and put to sea on 2 August. They left the coast of Newfoundland on 3 August to make directly for England. The ''Hopewell'' parted company shortly afterwards, on an independent cruise off the Azores; but Leigh landed on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

on 5 September. A few days later his ship arrived in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, where she was made a prize.

South America voyage

After this, Leigh made other voyages, not well documented, with a view to establishing a colony to look for gold in Guiana. Leigh sailed from

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

on 21 March 1604 in the ''Olive Plant'', a barque of 50 tons, with a crew of 46. Master was Martin Prinx, identified as

Martin Pring Martin Pring (1580–1626) was an English explorer from Bristol, England who in 1603 at the age of 23 was captain of an expedition to North America to assess commercial potential; he explored areas of present-day Maine, New Hampshire, and Cape Co ...

. He later led a mutiny against Leigh's settlement plans. Touching at

Mogador Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...

, sighting the

Cape Verde Islands , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

and some of the West Indies, they arrived on 11 May in the fresh water of the Amazon River. After some trading they left the Amazon; and on 22 May arrived in a river which Leigh calls the Wiapogo ( Oyapoc). The local

Amerindians The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

, who were oppressed by the

Carib people “Carib” may refer to: People and languages *Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of South America **Carib language, also known as Kalina, the language of the South American Caribs *Kalinago people, or Island Caribs, an indigenous pe ...

, were anxious that the English should settle there; they gave them huts and clearings, supplied them with food, and expressed a desire to learn the Christian religion. One of them had been in England, and could speak a little English. Leigh went on an exploring expedition ninety miles up the river Aracawa, trading and making vain inquiries for gold. When he returned almost every one in the little colony was sick. On 2 July 1604 Leigh wrote to his brother giving an account of his proceedings, and desiring him to send out further supplies (letter dated from Principium or Mount Howard). At the same time he wrote to the council, asking for the king's protection for emigrants to the colony, and that preachers might be sent. Supplies sent out by Sir Oliph Leigh arrived in January; they found everybody ill. Leigh himself was very weak and much changed. He resolved to go home, promising the men that he would come back to them as soon as possible. He was ready to go, but fell ill and died aboard his ship. He was buried on shore 20 March 1605.

Family

A son, Oliph, was baptised at Addington, Surrey, on 16 January 1596/7. Possible daughter Marie in 1599, daughters Milach c. 1602 and Guyana 25-11-1604

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Charles Year of birth missing 1605 deaths English merchants