Charles Sterling (explorer)

Charles Sterling (June 14, 1562 - November 18, 1593) was an English explorer known for leading the first European expedition to Tseng.

Early life
Not much is known about Sterling's early life, only that he was born to a wealthy family in London, England. When Sterling was 18, he studied in Italy.

Exploration
In 1583, Sterling was granted permission from the queen of England, Elizabeth I, to set up an expedition to the Pacific coast of North America. Sterling's goal was to establish a permanent settlement on the west coast. In 1585, with a crew of 30 men, Sterling left England on the Royalty.

Reaching Tseng
After 8 long years, in 1593, Sterling reached the northwest coast of Tseng. Sterling wasn't the first European to discover Tseng (the future city of Taihua was mentioned in a Spanish book in 1546), however he was the first European to set foot on it. Sterling had heard stories of the natives, how they brutally killed their enemies, so he and his crew were stocked with weapons. Sterling knew he hadn't reached North America (the land didn't match up with Francis Drake's (who arrived in California in 1579) description), so he used Tseng as a pit stop.

Fort Elizabeth
Sterling set up a camp called Fort Elizabeth on May 2, 1593. Sterling and his crew greeted the indigenous warmly, however the indigenous looked at Sterling and company with hesitation and unease. Now, Sterling had decided to explore Tseng Island instead, and abandoned his goal of reaching the Pacific coast. For the next 4 years the English and the natives lived side by side, the colonizers getting more invasive on the native's land each year.

Death
Eventually the natives had enough. On the night of November 18, 1597, they sacked and burned Fort Elizabeth. Sterling and 8 other men tried to escape but were ambushed and killed. Only 3 other crewmen escaped Tseng Island on the Royalty, which somehow wasn't destroyed in the burning.