He was master of the first English ship to reach the White Sea in 1553 and open trade with Russia on behalf of the Muscovy Company.
After some basic education at the local parish school, he was apprenticed to his uncle, John Borough,[2] an accomplished mariner who sailed regularly to Sicily, Crete, and the Levant.
In addition to learning navigational and pilotage skills from his uncle, Borough gained some ability with Spanish and Portuguese languages.
[3] With some help from his uncle's connections in London, Borough was selected to take part in an expedition that was chartered by the Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands to look for a north-eastern passage to Cathay.
Chancellor traveled overland to Moscow where he negotiated a trade treaty with Ivan the Terrible while Borough and most of the crew spent the winter with their ship.
[7] Upon his return to England in 1557, Borough learned that Chancellor had been killed in a shipwreck on the Scottish coast and he was promoted to chief navigator for the Muscovy Company.
[8] In 1558 he visited the navigational school in Seville where he shared his knowledge of the Arctic in exchange for insights into the training of Spanish pilots.
He also brought back to England a copy of Martín Cortés de Albacar's Breve Compendio, a handbook on navigation.