ABSTRACT
The leader of the outgoing colonists was a professional seaman from Somerset, Captain Roger Fry. In May 1631, advised by the mariners Samuel Lockram and William Smallbone who were both familiar with the problems of navigating the shoals of the north channel, Fry purchased a 160 tonner in Dunkirk. More interesting are Fry’s preparations to do scientific work while he was on the Amazon. Fry is not recorded as ever having attended Oxford as an undergraduate, but he had worked with John Bainbridge, the Professor of Astronomy. Fry had gone down river in the patache to look for a supply ship. He was captured on his return to Cumahu on the 14th of the same month. Carried off to Sao Luis in the Maranhao, Fry seems to have settled down to a relatively comfortable captivity. His captors doubtless found him a very talented and useful addition to their community.
