The Extraordinary Journey of David Ingram: An Elizabethan Sailor in Native North America

Dean Snow's book "The Extraordinary Journey of David Ingram" challenges the narrative that shipwrecked sailor David Ingram was a deceitful storyteller, revealing that he was actually a trustworthy source on the peoples of West Africa, the Caribbean, and eastern North America in the middle sixteenth century.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 05 May 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

In the captivating tale of David Ingram, author Dean Snow sets the record straight on a shipwrecked sailor who traversed the vast expanse of North America, only to be labeled a deceitful storyteller. In the autumn of 1569, a French ship came to the rescue of David Ingram and two other English sailors, who had been marooned near Tampico, Mexico. Their remarkable journey took them over 3000 miles in less than a year, making them the sole survivors among a hundred men who were left ashore at the conclusion of John Hawkins' disastrous third slaving expedition. A dozen years later, Ingram found himself under scrutiny by Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's esteemed spymaster. In 1589, historian Richard Hakluyt published his account of Ingram's story, relying on the records of that interrogation. For centuries, historians have regarded this publication as evidence of Ingram's fraudulent travels, casting doubt on his reliability as an early source of information about the people of interior eastern North America before the devastating historic epidemics struck.

However, in his groundbreaking work, The Extraordinary Journey of David Ingram, author and renowned archaeologist Dean Snow challenges the long-held narrative and reveals the truth behind Ingram's story. Snow's meticulous examination of three long-neglected surviving records of Ingram's interrogation unveils the confusion that occurred in the 1589 publication. It was the result of disorganization by court recorders and poor editing by Richard Hakluyt. Through the restoration of Ingram's testimony, Snow reinstates him as a trustworthy source on the peoples of West Africa, the Caribbean, and eastern North America during the middle sixteenth century.

Ingram's life story, with its epic traverse through North America at its core, can now be fully understood and appreciated for its historical significance. Snow's meticulous research and compelling storytelling shed light on a previously overlooked chapter in history, challenging the notion of Ingram as a fraud and restoring his rightful place as a valuable contributor to our understanding of the past. This captivating tale reminds us of the power of historical inquiry and the importance of correcting misrepresentations to rewrite our collective narrative.

Weight: 594g
Dimension: 166 x 244 x 37 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197648001