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Explorers

Explorers and conquerors, the grants and fortunes they claimed, and what their heirs kept.

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What do the explorers estate cases show?

If debts can exceed assets, the family home and the widow's income need to be held outside the explorer's own estate. A child left out of a father's acknowledged family can still be documented and recognised decades later.

Stories
27
Years
1011 to 1986
Main regions
Europe, North America, Latin America
Legal traditions
Civil law, Common law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in explorers, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Ernest Shackleton: Ernest Shackleton before 19091922 · aboard Quest, Grytviken, South GeorgiaShackleton died about £40,000 in debt, his widow chose his grave on South Georgia, and his brother went to prison for fraudErnest Shackleton's younger brother Frank was Dublin Herald in the Office of Arms.sgmuseum.gs and 7 moreRobert Peary: Robert Peary self-portrait, 19091955 · New York; Washington, D.C.Peary and Henson each fathered a son in Greenland, and Henson was moved beside Peary at Arlington in 1988Robert Peary began a relationship with Aleqasina, an Inughuit girl of about 14, and they had at least two children, including a son, Kali. His assistant Matthew Henson had a son, Anaukaq, born in 1906 to Akatingwah.arlingtoncemetery.mil and 3 moreSacagawea: Detail Lewis & Clark at Three Forks1812 · Manuel Lisa's fort, upper Missouri RiverWilliam Clark became court guardian of Sacagawea's two children in 1813 and freed York only years after the expeditionOn 20 August 1806 William Clark wrote to Toussaint Charbonneau offering to raise his son with Sacagawea, Jean Baptiste ("Pomp"), and "treat him as my own child." Charbonneau was paid $500.33 and a horse for the expedition.US National Park Service and 5 moreWestminster Abbey, where the story took place1904 · LondonStanley was refused burial beside Livingstone in Westminster Abbey, and his papers were sold to Belgium in four partsHenry Morton Stanley was baptised John Rowlands at Denbigh in 1841, the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Parry, then 18.africamuseum.be and 6 moreMeriwether Lewis: Meriwether Lewis-Charles Willson Peale1809 · Grinder's Stand, Natchez Trace, TennesseeMeriwether Lewis died insolvent with his drafts refused by the War Department, and 198 relatives have not been allowed to exhume his bodyThree years after the expedition, Meriwether Lewis was governor of Upper Louisiana and owed money. On 16 June 1809 he drew an $81 bill on the Secretary of War, William Eustis.US National Park Service and 7 moreJames Cook: Captain James Cook, 1728-79 title QS:P1476,en:"Captain James Cook, 1728-79 "label QS:Len,"Captain James Cook, 1728-79 "1779 · Kealakekua Bay, HawaiiCaptain Cook's body was returned in pieces, and his widow outlived all six children and destroyed his letters before she died in 1835James Cook married Elizabeth Batts on 21 December 1762. In 17 years of marriage they lived together about four years. Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay on 14 February 1779.register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk and 6 moreAI illustration: A police cordon on a Madrid street at dawn, 19861986 · Madrid, SpainETA killed the 17th Duke of Veragua, a descendant of Columbus and a Spanish vice admiral, in Madrid in 1986Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal y Maroto was born in Madrid on 29 January 1925.diariodecuyo.com.ar and 3 moreMutiny on the Bounty: The Mutineers turning Lt Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty, 28 April 1781817 · Bond Street, LondonBounty mutineers' descendants argued in 2004 that burning the ship in 1790 put Pitcairn outside British law, and the Privy Council rejected it in 2006On 28 April 1789 Fletcher Christian took HMAV Bounty and set William Bligh adrift in the ship's launch with 18 loyalists. Bligh sailed 3,618 nautical miles to Timor. The mutineers settled on Pitcairn and burned the ship in 1790.search.sl.nsw.gov.au and 4 moreWalter Raleigh: Walter Ralegh title QS:P1476,en:"Walter Ralegh "label QS:Len,"Walter Ralegh "1618 · Old Palace Yard, WestminsterJames I gave Walter Raleigh's Sherborne estate to his favourite over a missing phrase in a trust deed, and Raleigh's widow kept his embalmed head for 29 yearsElizabeth I gave Walter Raleigh the lease of Sherborne in Dorset in 1592 and the freehold in 1599. Raleigh put the estate in trust so it would pass to his eldest son, Wat.Smithsonian Magazine and 5 moreFrancis Drake: Sir Francis Drake wearing the Drake Jewel or Drake Pendant at his waist1596 · at sea off Portobelo, PanamaFrancis Drake promised his estates to his wife, then signed them to his brother 2 days before dying at sea, and the brother won the lawsuitsFrancis Drake bought Buckland Abbey in Devon in 1581 after his voyage around the world.beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk and 7 moreMarco Polo: Frontispice édition de Nuremberg 1477 (cropped)1324 · VeniceMarco Polo's son-in-law kept his daughter's third of the Polo estate, and she won it back in court 42 years laterMarco Polo went to law over money in life as well. In 1311 he sued Paulo Girardo, an agent who was selling his musk for half the profits.historywalksvenice.com and 7 moreFrancisco Pizarro: French: François Pizarre, conquistador (1475-1541) Francisco Pizarro, conqueror (1475–1541)title QS:P1476,fr:"François P1541 · Lima, PeruPizarro's daughter and heir married her imprisoned uncle, his skull was found in a lead box in 1977, and Spain reissued his marquisate in 2019Charles V made Francisco Pizarro a marquis on 10 October 1537. In 1538 his brother Hernando executed Pizarro's former partner, Diego de Almagro, at Cuzco.Boletín Oficial del Estado and 5 moreFerdinand Magellan1521 · Mactan, PhilippinesMagellan left a hereditary governorship to his son, but his wife and sons died, and his brother-in-law was still claiming the estate in 1540On 24 August 1519, in the Royal Alcázar of Seville, Magellan signed his will.sevilla.2019-2022.org and 3 moreVasco da Gama: Ignoto portoghese, ritratto di un cavaliere dell'ordine di cristo, 1525-50 ca. 021524 · Cochin, IndiaVasco da Gama was ordered out of his home town of Sines in 1507 and asked to leave Portugal before the King made him a count in 1519Vasco da Gama was born at Sines, where his father was the alcaide. The town belonged to the military Order of Santiago.Project Gutenberg and 4 moreSamuel de Champlain: Samchamprifle1635 · QuebecChamplain named the Virgin Mary as his heir in 1635; his cousin sued in Paris and the will was annulled in 1639Samuel de Champlain was paralysed when his will was drafted at Quebec on 17 November 1635 by the clerk De La Ville.Dictionary of Canadian Biography and 4 moreHernando de Soto: De Soto by Telfer & Sartain1542 · Guachoya, on the Mississippi RiverDe Soto's body was sunk in the Mississippi, and his widow governed Cuba and fought his business partner over the estate until 1546 to 1550Hernando de Soto returned from Peru in 1536 with about 18,000 ounces of gold. Charles V made him Adelantado of Florida and Governor of Cuba.revistascientificas.us.es and 3 morePedro Arias Dávila: Pedro Arias de Avila1519 · Acla, Darién, PanamaPedrarias Dávila had Balboa, his son-in-law by proxy, beheaded at Acla in 1519 for treasonVasco Núñez de Balboa reached the Pacific in 1513, and in early 1514 he sent the Crown its fifth of the loot. The Crown then sent Pedro Arias Dávila (Pedrarias) to govern the colony over him.eldebate.com and 4 moreTerra Nova Expedition: Scott's party at the South Pole1912 · Ross Ice Shelf, AntarcticaScott's last plea raised £76,000: widows were paid by their husbands' rank, and £10,000 founded the Scott Polar Research InstituteRobert Falcon Scott's last "Message to the Public" ended: "For God's sake look after our people." The news reached London in February 1913, and a Mansion House appeal raised £76,000.spri.cam.ac.uk and 5 moreChristopher Columbus: Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus dead title QS:P1476,en:"Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Col1506 · Valladolid, CastileColumbus's 1502 will disappeared while his descendants fought over the Veragua estate from 1578 to a final ruling in 1793Columbus put his titles and revenues into a mayorazgo, an entail. His will said a woman should not inherit "unless no man is found." His grandson Luis Colón, 1st Duke of Veragua, married three times.revistas.ucm.es and 4 moreHernán Cortés1547 · Castilleja de la Cuesta, SevilleCortés's heir was tried for treason, Mexico seized and sold the estate, and Lucas Alamán hid his bones from 1823 to 1946A royal cédula of 6 July 1529 made Hernán Cortés Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca. The grant gave him civil and criminal jurisdiction over about 23,000 vassals and was entailed as a mayorazgo in 1535.Boletín Oficial del Estado and 8 moreChristopher Columbus: Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus dead title QS:P1476,en:"Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Col1506 · Valladolid; MontalbánColumbus's heirs sued the Spanish Crown for 28 years over his promised tenth and viceroyalty, and settled for a dukedom and 10,000 ducats a yearAt Santa Fe in April 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella made Columbus Admiral, Viceroy and Governor of any lands he found. They also gave him a tenth of the gold, silver, pearls, spices and other goods obtained there.Encyclopaedia Britannica and 4 moreChristopher Columbus: Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus dead title QS:P1476,en:"Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Col1506 · Valladolid, CastileSpain and the Dominican Republic both claim Columbus's body; a 2006 DNA test matched the Seville bones, and Santo Domingo refused testingColumbus was buried in Valladolid. In 1509 his remains were moved to the monastery of La Cartuja near Seville. In 1537 the widow of his son Diego sent the bones of Columbus and Diego to the cathedral of Santo Domingo.historynewsnetwork.org and 4 moreJuan Sebastián Elcano: Juan Sebastián Elcano, anonymous 19th century painting1526 · Pacific Ocean, aboard the Santa María de la VictoriaElcano was granted 500 ducats a year for the first circumnavigation, was never paid, and left church bequests payable only from what the King owed himJuan Sebastián Elcano of Getaria brought the Victoria back to Spain in September 1522 with 18 men, completing the first circumnavigation. On 23 January 1523 Charles I granted him a pension of 500 ducats a year for life.aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus and 3 moreDavid Livingstone: David Livingstone by Thomas Annan1873 · Chitambo's village, Ilala (now Zambia)Livingstone's heart was buried in Zambia, his body was carried 1,000 miles to Westminster Abbey, and his son died in a Confederate prison under a false nameDavid Livingstone's 1857 book Missionary Travels earned him over £8,500, his first wealth. The government gave £5,000 for his Zambezi expedition and £500 for his last journey, and the industrialist James Young added £1,000.westminster-abbey.org and 8 moreAI illustration: Rebels led by Pedrarias's grandsons land on the shore at Panama, 15501550 · near PanamaPedrarias's grandsons killed the bishop of Nicaragua and raided Panama in 1550 to recover their father's lost wealthMaría de Peñalosa was Pedrarias's daughter and Balboa's proxy bride. In 1524 she married Rodrigo de Contreras, and Pedrarias died in León, Nicaragua, on 6 March 1531. Contreras governed Nicaragua from 1535 to 1544.Project Gutenberg and 3 moreAI illustration: A mudflow from the Volcán de Agua sweeps over Santiago de los Caballeros, Guatemala, September 15411541 · Santiago de los Caballeros (Almolonga valley), GuatemalaPedro de Alvarado's widow took over his governorship of Guatemala and died in a mudflow two days laterPedro de Alvarado, conqueror and governor of Guatemala, was a widower of Francisca de la Cueva. In 1538, with a papal dispensation, he married her sister Beatriz in Spain.prensalibre.com and 3 moreNorwegian Bokmål: Leiv Eirikson oppdager Amerika Leiv Eirikson discovering Americatitle QS:P1476,nb:"Leiv Eirikson oppda: Norwegian Bokmål: Leiv Eirikson oppdager Amerika Leiv EiriLegend · 1011 · Vinland (Newfoundland, Canada, is the only confirmed Norse sThe saga says Freydís Eiríksdóttir had her partners killed in Vinland, axed their five women herself and sailed home in their larger shipThe Saga of the Greenlanders says Freydís, daughter of Erik the Red and sister of Leif, made a partnership with two Icelandic brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi.canadianmysteries.ca and 2 more