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Master
Robert Tyndall
Historical marker for Gloucester Point, Virginia
Historical marker for Tyndall's Point, Virginia
Other namesRobarte Tindall (Latin), "Captain Tindol"[1] "Master Thomas Sedan"[2] (see Identity)
Occupation(s)Mariner, surveyor
Known forMapping environs of Jamestown, Virginia

Robert Tyndall or Tindall (fl. 1608) was a mariner (sea captain) and a surveyor in the Colony of Virginia. He is notable for sailing to Virginia several times, and exploring the Chesapeake Bay, coastlines, and rivers with Christopher Newport and John Smith.

Before Virginia

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Robert Tyndall was a mariner who traveled with the original colonists to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.[3][4]

Surveying Virginia

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"Draughte" map of Virginia Colony's James River and York River in 1608. This is a second map produced by Tyndall.

In 1607, Robert Tyndall accompanied Christopher Newport and John Smith, aboard the Discovery in surveying of the coastline and rivers.

Near Turkey Island, James River, an unnamed native drew the English a map of the James River which became the beginning of the "Tyndall draughte map".[5] Tyndall mapped the York River during a journey to Werowocomoco. This map is the first known by an Englishman of Virginia.[6] Samuel Purchas and others used this map as a source for future Virginia charts.[7]

Tyndall, called a "Gunner to Prince Henry",[8] wrote letters about Virginia to his sponsor, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. [9] about the colony, employed as a surveyor for the Virginia Company of London.[10] In 1608, he included a map:

"...draughte [map] of our River, hear inclosed, by us discovered..."[11]

Tyndall's Point (across the river from Yorktown, Virginia, now called Gloucester Point) was originally named in Robert's honour.[12] Tyndall's Point Park still bears his name and has historical markers.[citation needed] "Tindall's Shoals" (on the map) is Mulberry Island area.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Tyndall identifies the now-named York River as "Prince Henneri His River", and upriver is "Poetan" (Powhatan) near Purtan Bay, which is the village of Werowocomoco.[13]

Later adventures

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In 1609, Tyndall, back in England, captained the Mary and John with Samuel Argall for a faster, more direct route to Virginia colony.[14] Francisco Fernández de Écija, captain of the Spanish La Asunsión de Cristo (a small zabra, an inshore exploration vessel), was tasked with the "matter of Virginia", to gather information on the English colony's strength.[15] In Chesapeake Bay, the Mary and John intercepted the smaller ship and prevented it from entering the James River and discovering the status of Jamestown. The Mary and John returned to England by October, 1609.[16]

Robert Tyndall and Argall again sailed with the Jamestown supply missions flotilla of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr from England, arriving at Cape Henry at the end of Starving Time, intercepting colonists abandoning the settlement.[17][additional citation(s) needed] Tyndall was tasked with a fishing expedition on Virginia to help feed the starving English.[18][19]

John Smith mentions in Generall Historie of Virginia that Samuel Argall sailed with a "Master Thomas Sedan", which is likely Master Robert Tyndall. There is speculation that Smith didn't want to name a rival cartographer.[20]

[21]

Identity

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Francisco Maguel, an "Irishman" who returned from Virginia to England in 1608, attributed a "Captain Tindol" in a report as being a Catholic sympathizer,[1] but this moniker actually referred to either the deposed Councilor Edward Maria Wingfield[22] or the mutineer Councilor George Kendall[1] Both Kendall and Wingfield were suspected spies for the Spanish Empire--it is doubtful that Robert Tyndall (under the employ of the Prince of Wales and the Virginia Company) would be involved with Spain.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Barbour, Philip L. “Captain George Kendall: Mutineer or Intelligencer?” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 70, no. 3, 1962, pp. 297–313. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4246865. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024. Cite error: The named reference "barbour" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ https://www.she-philosopher.com/gallery/1608Tindall.html
  3. ^ Brown, Alexander. The First Republic in America: An Account of the Origin of this Nation, Written from the Records Then (1624) Concealed by the Council, Rather Than from the Histories Then Licensed by the Crown. United States, Houghton, 1898.
  4. ^ https://packrat-pro.com/ships/jamestown.htm
  5. ^ Brown, Alexander. The First Republic in America: An Account of the Origin of this Nation, Written from the Records Then (1624) Concealed by the Council, Rather Than from the Histories Then Licensed by the Crown. United States, Houghton, 1898.
  6. ^ https://archive.org/embed/TheGenesisOfTheUnitedStatesV1
  7. ^ Ford, Worthington Chauncey. “Captain John Smith’s Map of Virginia, 1612.” Geographical Review, vol. 14, no. 3, 1924, pp. 433–43. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/208424. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
  8. ^ https://archive.org/details/TheGenesisOfTheUnitedStatesV1/page/n177/mode/2up
  9. ^ https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_First_Republic_in_America/HXJ5AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tyndall&pg=PA33&printsec=frontcover
  10. ^ Verner, Coolie. “The First Maps of Virginia, 1590-1673.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 58, no. 1, 1950, pp. 3–15. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4245671. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
  11. ^ https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/letter-from-robert-tindall-to-prince-henry-june-22-1607/
  12. ^ http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/hiway_markers/images/3237_1.jpg
  13. ^ https://powhatan.wm.edu/history/historicMaps.htm
  14. ^ https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_First_Republic_in_America/HXJ5AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tyndall&pg=PA84&printsec=frontcover
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference horn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Connor, Seymour V. “Sir Samuel Argall: A Biographical Sketch.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 59, no. 2, 1951, pp. 162–75. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4245766. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
  17. ^ https://www.she-philosopher.com/gallery/1608Tindall.html
  18. ^ https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_First_Republic_in_America/HXJ5AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tyndall&pg=PA132&printsec=frontcover
  19. ^ https://www.she-philosopher.com/gallery/1608Tindall.html
  20. ^ https://www.she-philosopher.com/gallery/1608Tindall.html
  21. ^ https://vcris.dhr.virginia.gov/HistoricMarkers/
  22. ^ https://www.she-philosopher.com/gallery/1608Tindall.html