Sir Anthony Knyvett, (also spelt Knevett and Knivet), was the first Briton to leave written impressions of Rio de Janeiro, and to describe his stay in the city, where he lived between 1592 and 1601. He came to Brazil on one of the privateers led by Thomas Cavendish, defeated off the coast of São Paulo. He was taken prisoner, brought to Rio de Janeiro and put into slavery, working for the Governor, Salvador Correia de Sá.
Here he was involved in escapades worthy of an adventure novel. There were deals, escapes, fights, troubles with the Indians, all culminating in an extraordinary and pioneer experience. On the promise of freedom and ten thousand crowns, Anthony was placed into what must have been the first diving bell ever invented. The contraption was made of leather, coated in grease and pitch, and weighted down with a large rock to take it to the seabed. The objective was to recover cannons that had fallen into the sea when the walls of the recently constructed Santa Cruz fort had been destroyed in a storm. The guns were not recovered, he nearly died, and the only record we have of this extraordinary event is his own amazing story,
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