On April 17, 1524, Giovani da Verrazzano left the port of Le Havre in 1523 aboard the ship The Dauphinewith the aim of opening a shorter sea route to India, finally finding the bay of New York, after a long journey along the east coast of the United States, from Florida to New York, hoping to find a way to the west.
He was the first European to discover this unknown country – Newfoundland – baptized by Verrazzano: “New Angoulême”. Da Verrazzano, although born in Tuscany, also lived in Lyon and Rouen before his historic trip to America.
When New York was named Angoulême
Verrazzano’s voyage was sponsored and financed by the French King Francis I, Count of Angoulême, who was keen to expand France’s influence on the seas.
Edward Philippe: “This discovery is the work of a king, a town, a man.”
The current Mayor of Le Havre, Édouard Philippe, in a speech delivered almost entirely in English to the large audience present at the Consulate, first recalled the historical context in which François I took initiative this time, especially against English and Spanish. intentions.
The former Prime Minister also recalled that it was in 1517, with the initiative of the king’s mother, Louise de Savoie, that the construction of the port of Le Havre, at the time named Le Havre de Grace, was undertaken, and that all the work was to do the discovery of this bay of New York finally rested on a king, Francis I, a city, Le Havre, and a man, Giovani da Verrazzano.
He highlighted the difficulties that Verrazzano and his crew had to overcome, including poor food on board, the still very basic aspect of navigational equipment, such as the astrolabe or compass, as well as poor weather
The statue of Giovani da Verrazzano in New York
At the end of the trip, the ship The Dauphine he again set sail for France, arriving at the port of Dieppe in July 1524, thus completing Normandy’s first transatlantic voyage, as Édouard Philippe did not delay told, also proud that Le Havre was afterwards the starting point of the great lines across the Atlantic. like the Normandy and the France.
Edouard Philippe also drew a parallel between the construction of the Da Verrazzano suspension bridges in New York and Tancarville in Normandy, which were built around the same time.
For his part, the Mayor of Angoulême, Xavier Bonnefont, speaking in French, thanked the Consul General of France for his invitation and recalled the special ties between Angoulême and New York, especially cultural and economic. The international comics festival, which began more than 50 years ago, has made Angoulême the capital of the world for this artistic production. The strength of this cultural identity is recognized by UNESCO.
2024-04-20 14:31:42
#years #discovery #York #Bay #Giovani #Verrazzano
