Martin Pring was an English explorer from
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
,
EnglandEngland 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...
. In 1603, under patronage of the mayor, alderman and merchants of Bristol, Pring sailed to discover the northern parts of the territory known as
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His
flagshipA flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
, the
SpeedwellThe Speedwell was a 60-ton ship, the smaller of the two ships intended to carry the Pilgrim Fathers to North America...
, of 60 tons and 30 men (a vessel of the same name and size was one of the ships boarded by the
Plymouth ColonyPlymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
17 years later for their 1620 trip to America), was escorted by a bark, the
Explorer, of 26 tons and 13 men. He would write of his adventure which was under licence by Sir
Walter RaleighSir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
.
The two boats first made landfall at the entrance of
Penobscot BayPenobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
in what is now the state of
MaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. Heading west, they visited the mouths of the
Saco RiverThe Saco River is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Saco Bay, from its source. It supplies drinking water to roughly 250,000...
,
Kennebunk RiverThe Kennebunk River is a river in southern Maine in the United States. It drains a settled rural area southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean....
and
York RiverThe York River is a stream in sout hiwest Maine, United States. It is tidal for over half of its length. It rises at York Pond in Eliot, and conjoined by brooks and creeks, feeds the tidal section...
, all of which Pring found "to pierce not far into the land." In June, they arrived at the
Piscataqua RiverThe Piscataqua River, in the northeastern United States, is a long tidal estuary formed by the confluence of the Salmon Falls and Cocheco rivers...
, a tidal estuary called by Pring the westernmost and best river. Pring would explore 10–12 miles into the interior by means of the Piscataqua, the center of which now forms part of the border between Maine and
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. He and his crew are the first known
EuropeanThe ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s to do so.
Anchoring the
Speedwell at the lower harbor, Pring boarded the smaller
Explorer and, aided by oarsmen, ascended the Piscataqua. They sounded its depth, which they found impressive, and explored its banks. Pring admired the area's "goodly groves and woods." They encountered the native Abenaki people, Martin proceeding to set dogs on them, and bring specimens back to Europe. At that time of year, the inhabitants would probably have been upriver at the Piscataqua's tributaries, where fish and game were plentiful around the falls.
The
Explorer sailed into
Great BayGreat Bay is a tidal estuary located in Strafford and Rockingham counties in eastern New Hampshire, United States. The bay occupies over , not including its several tidal river tributaries. Its outlet is at Hilton Point in Dover, New Hampshire, where waters from the bay flow into the Piscataqua...
, where the crew sought the
sassafrasSassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
(or "
agueAgue may refer to:* Fever* MalariaSee also:* Kan Ague, a residential area of Patikul, Sulu, Philippines...
tree"), then considered an elixir of life with great medicinal value. Finding none, they returned to meet the
Speedwell, together continuing down the coast.
The expedition then spent two months ashore at the mouth of the
Pamet RiverThe Pamet River is a river in Truro, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It is named for the Paomet tribe.The river is primarily salt marsh, flows west nearly all the way across Cape Cod from its eastern beaches, and empties into Cape Cod Bay. It lies a few miles south of the Little Pamet River.The upper...
on
Cape CodCape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
in what is now
Truro, MassachusettsTruro is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, comprising two villages: Truro and North Truro. Located two hours outside Boston, it is a summer vacation community just south of the northern tip of Cape Cod, in an area known as the "Outer Cape"...
. There the explorers erected a small stockade below Cornhill, which would be noted by the Pilgrims on their subsequent journey to the New World. Subsisting on a variety of fish and game, Captain Pring's men harvested sassafras trees for export to England. The natives had fled the land that the expedition was staying on, leaving nothing but a
birch barkBirch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus Betula.The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which made it a valuable building, crafting, and writing material, since pre-historic times...
canoeA canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
. Martin Pring brought the canoe back to England. The ships left for England near the end of July.
Pring lived to be 46 years old, embarking on future expeditions to Guiana, the
East IndiesEast Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
, and again to the coast of Maine. His tomb survives in
St Stephen's Church, BristolSt Stephen's Church in St Stephens Avenue, is the parish church for the city of Bristol, England.It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.- History :...
.