While many freelance operators abounded with the Age of Exploration, national interests were also paying attention and quickly organized their own expeditions. The individuals on these ships were also frequently also explorers, but their main mission was to deliver the Rule of Law -- for each's respective country -- on the High Seas.
an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence. During the final years of the latter conflict he served as First Lord of the Admiralty. During the Seven Years' War he saw constant service. He served as Commander-in-Chief, North American Station from 1751 to 1755 He was on the coast of France in 1756 and was deta...
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an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence. During the final years of the latter conflict he served as First Lord of the Admiralty. During the Seven Years' War he saw constant service. He served as Commander-in-Chief, North American Station from 1751 to 1755 He was on the coast of France in 1756 and was detached on an expedition to conquer Gorée, a French island off the west coast of Africa in 1758. His ship, Torbay, was the first to get into action in the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759.
a French explorer and naval officer. He was born in Landudal, Brittany. During the Seven Years' War, Kerguelen-Trémarec was a privateer, but without much success. In 1767 he sailed near Rockall, or Rokol. Although he may not have approached within sight of it, or even within 150 miles, he appears to have had good information regarding it. His charted positi...
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a French explorer and naval officer. He was born in Landudal, Brittany. During the Seven Years' War, Kerguelen-Trémarec was a privateer, but without much success. In 1767 he sailed near Rockall, or Rokol. Although he may not have approached within sight of it, or even within 150 miles, he appears to have had good information regarding it. His charted position for it was only 16 miles north of its actual position and he accurately described its appearance and the nearby Helen's Reef: "East of Rokol, ¼ league away, there is a submerged rock over which the water breaks". In 1771, he published a map of the area.
an English Royal Navy officer and Member of Parliament. He was the son of the playwright Henry Killigrew. He was active in the Royal Navy during 1670s and 1680s, and was promoted to vice-admiral in 1689, but was suspected of Jacobite sympathies and not given a sea command after 1693. He was however appointed a Lord of the Admiralty in that year.
a Chinese military leader who was born in Hirado, Japan to the Chinese merchant/pirate Zheng Zhilong and his Japanese wife Tagawa Matsu, and who died on Formosa. A Ming loyalist and the chief commander of the Ming troops on the maritime front for the later empero...
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a Chinese military leader who was born in Hirado, Japan to the Chinese merchant/pirate Zheng Zhilong and his Japanese wife Tagawa Matsu, and who died on Formosa. A Ming loyalist and the chief commander of the Ming troops on the maritime front for the later emperors of the withering dynasty, Koxinga devoted the last 16 years of his life to resisting the conquest of China by the Manchus. Upon defeating the forces of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) on Formosa in his last campaign in 1661–1662, Koxinga took over the island in order to support his grand campaign against the Manchu-ruled Qing dynasty.
a Baltic German admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe. After publishing a paper pointing out the advantages of direct communication by sea between Russia and China by passing Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America and the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of South Africa, he was appointed by Czar Alexander I to make...
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a Baltic German admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe. After publishing a paper pointing out the advantages of direct communication by sea between Russia and China by passing Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America and the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of South Africa, he was appointed by Czar Alexander I to make a voyage to the Far East coast of Asia to endeavour to carry out the project.
