George Best (1555–1584) was a member of the second and third Martin Frobisher voyages in positions of importance; as Frobisher's lieutenant on the second and as captain of the ''Anne Francis'' on the third. In 1578 he published ''A True Discourse of the Late Voyages of Discoverie''.

Life

He was the son of Robert Best, an interpreter for the

Muscovy Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint s ...

, and Anne Bowman, and the brother of the sea captain Thomas Best, and Henry who may have been involved in works based on the ''True Discourse''. Sir

Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton KG (1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early years Sir ...

as backer nominated Best to take part in one of the Frobisher voyages. Best was killed in a duel with Oliver St. John, later Lord Deputy of Ireland, around March 1584. The precise motive for the duel is unclear, but it was most likely provoked by the bad-tempered St. John, who called himself "the child of wrath".

Works

The ''True Discourse'' discussed the First Frobisher Voyage, in which Best did not participate, as well as the other two (1577 and 1578) where he was an eye-witness. It appeared in the exploration collection of Richard Hakluyt. Later, in reprinting the material, Hakluyt removed some passages, in particular one suggesting that the aim of the exploration was prospecting for minerals, rather than the

North-West Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Best, George 1584 deaths Canadian explorers 16th-century Canadian people English explorers English chroniclers 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers Duelling fatalities English duellists 1555 births