By RICnARD WALSER
In March 1524. thirty-two years
after Columbus' discovery of the New-
World. the first white man visited the
shores of what is now- North Carolina.
Though a native of Florence. Italy,
he was a navigator at the time in the
employ of the King of France.
Giovanni da Verrazzano. had been
commissioned by Francis I to investi¬
gate those lands which lay north of
the Spanish territories and to claim
them for France. He was also to be
on the lookout for gold and pearls
and. if he could, find a northwest
passage to the Orient.
Verrazzano was just the sort to carry
out this mission for King Francis. Early
in life, he had resided in Egypt and
Syria, where he had been engaged in
the silk and spice trade. In 1521, when
he was about forty years old, he had
already entered the French service and
had appeared as a French pirate off
the coast of Spain. At that time he
used the name of Juan Florcniin.
Wins Favor
The following year, he delighted
French hearts by capturing some Span¬
ish shipping loaded with treasures
sent out from Mexico by Cortes. These
treasures he turned over to Francis,
who immediately fitted him out with
a stronger fleet.
When Francis decided to halt Span¬
ish expansion by claiming land to
the north, he chose Verrazzano as his
captain. The Florentine set sail with
four ships, but ran into storms and
left two of them behind. Soon thereaf¬
ter, he captured a prize vessel off
the coast of Spain, then decided to con¬
tinue with only one ship, the “Dol¬
phin," to the island of Madeira.
Lands in Brunswick
On January 17. 1524, he departed
Madeira. In two months he had reached
land in latitude 34 degrees, which in
the geography of today passes fif¬
teen miles below Wilmington through
New Hanover. Brunswick, and Co¬
lumbus counties. There Verrazzano
went ashore with his men. Here are
portions of the descriptions he later
wrote of the first meeting of Euro¬
peans with the friendly Tar Heel
aborigines:
"Many people who were seen com¬
ing to the seaside fled at our ap¬
proach; but occasionally stopping, they
looked back upon us with astonish¬
ment, and some were at length in¬
duced by various friendly signs to
come to us. These showed the great¬
est delight on beholding us. wondering
at our dress, countenances, and com¬
plexion. They then showed us by signs
where we could more conveniently
secure our boat, and offered us some
of their provisions. . . . They go entirely
naked except that about the loins they
r- —
wear skins of small animals, like mar¬
tens, fastened by a girdle of plaited
grass, to which they tie, all round the
body, the tails of other animals, hang¬
ing down to the knees. All other parts
of the body and the head are naked.
Some wear garlands similar to birds’
feathers . . . Their hair is black, and
thick, and not very long; it is worn
tied back upon the head, in the form
of a little tail . . . They arc not very-
strong in body, but acute in mind, ac¬
tive and swift of foot, as far as we
could judge by observation . . .
"The whole shore is covered with
fine sand, about fifteen feet thick,
rising in the form of little hills, about
fifty paces broad. Ascending farther,
we found several arms of the sea,
which make in through inlets, wash¬
ing the shores on both sides as the
coast runs. An outstretched country
appears at a little distance, rising some-
The First White Man
To Visit Our Shores
Giovanni do Verrazzano is unknown to
North Carolinians but honored by New
I York; he wrote the first description off
North Carolina in 1524.
THE STATE. Vol. XXI; No. 39. Entered a* ircond-clavs matter. June I. 1933. a« the Poatofllcr at Raleigh. North Carolina, under «he act of
March 3. IS79. Published by Sharpe Publishing Co., Inc.. Lawyers Bid*.. Raleigh. N. C. Copyright. l»l, by the Sharpe Publishing Co.. Inc.
THE STATE. FCBRUARV 27. 1954 3
