Sir Francis Drake
February-March 1540 – January 27, 1595
A 16th century oil on canvas portrait of Sir Francis Drake in Buckland Abbey, painting by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger. Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. Buckland Abbey is a 700-year-old house in Buckland Monachorum, near Yelverton, Devon, England, noted for its connection with Sir Francis Marcus Gheeraerts (also written as Gerards or Geerards) was an Artist of the Tudor court, born in Bruges in 1561 or 1562 and was brought to
Nickname:	El Draque ("The Dragon")
Type:	Privateer
Place of birth:	Tavistock, Devon, England
Place of death:	Portobelo, Colón, Panama
Allegiance:	England
Years of service:	1563 – 1595
Rank:	Vice Admiral
Base of Operations:	Caribbean Sea
Commands:	Golden Hind (previously known as Pelican)
Battles/wars:	Anglo–Spanish War (1585) Battle of Gravelines

Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping Tavistock is a Market town within West Devon, England on the River Tavy, from which its name derives and has a Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Portobelo (formerly Puerto Bello, also Porto Belo) is a port city in Colón Province, Panama. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Vice Admiral is a naval rank equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority The great era of Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1560s and died out in the 1720s as the Nation-states of Western Europe with colonies in The Anglo–Spanish War (1585–1604 was an intermittent conflict between the kingdoms of Spain and England, which was never formally declared Vice Admiral is a naval rank equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority 1540 – January 27, 1595) was an English privateer, navigator, slave trader, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping Navigation is the process of reading and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another The history of slavery uncovers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Romance and reality The Victorian era and the early twentieth century idealised the Elizabethan era Drake was knighted in 1581 by Queen Elizabeth I. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588, subordinate only to Charles Howard and the Queen herself. The Spanish Armada ( Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or Armada Invencible, "Invincible Charles Howard may refer to Earls Charles Howard 1st Earl of Nottingham (1536&ndash1624 English statesman and admiral Charles He died of dysentery after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1595. Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is an infection of the digestive system that results in severe Diarrhea containing mucus and blood San Juan (saŋ hwaŋ (from the Spanish San Juan Bautista, " Saint John the Baptist " is the Capital and largest municipality in

His exploits were semi-legendary, making him a hero to the English but a simple pirate to the Spaniards. The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering He was known as "El Draque" (from the old Spanish meaning "the Dragon" derived from the Latin draco, meaning 'serpent', an obvious play on his family name which in archaic English has the same etymological root) for his actions. King Philip II was claimed to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats^[1] (about £4m or $8m by modern standards) for his life. Philip II (Felipe II de España Filipe I ( May 21, 1527 &ndash September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598 The ducat (ˈdʌkət is a Gold coin that was used as a trade currency throughout Europe before World War I.

Birth and early years

Miniature of Drake, age 42 by Nicholas Hilliard in 1581

Francis Drake was born in the parish of Crowndale, a mile south of Tavistock, Devon, in February or March 1540. Tavistock is a Market town within West Devon, England on the River Tavy, from which its name derives and has a Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name ^[2] He was the eldest of the twelve sons^[3] of Edmund Drake (1518–1585), a Protestant farmer who later became a preacher, and his wife Mary Mylwaye. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Preacher is a term the for someone who preaches Sermons or gives homilies The elder Drake is sometimes confused with his nephew John Drake (1573–1634), who was the son of Edmund's older brother, Richard Drake. (cf. John White, note 2). John White (c 1540 &ndash c 1606 was an English artist and one of several early "Virginian" settlers who sailed with Richard Grenville in 1585 to the modern Francis Drake's maternal grandfather was Richard Mylwaye. Francis Drake married 1: Mary Newman; married 2: Elizabeth Sydenham(m. 2 Sir William Courtenay of Powderham)1585. ^[4]

Francis was reportedly named after his godfather Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford,^[5] and throughout his cousins' lineages are direct connections to royalty and famous personages, such as Sir Richard Grenville, Ivor Callely, Amy Grenville and Geoffrey Chaucer. A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's Baptism. Francis Russell 2nd Earl of Bedford KG (c 1527 &ndash July 28 1585 was an English nobleman soldier and politician Throughout the Commonwealth realms The Crown is an abstract metonymic concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government Sir Richard Grenville ( June 6, 1542 &ndash September 10, 1591) (sp Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1343 – 25 October 1400? was an English author poet Philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and Diplomat. However, James Froude states, "He told Camden that he was of mean extraction. James Anthony Froude (Froude rhymes with rood) (23 April 1818 &ndash 20 October 1894 was a controversial English Historian, Novelist, William Camden ( 2 May 1551 &ndash 9 November 1623) was an English Antiquarian and historian He meant merely that he was proud of his parents and made no idle pretensions to noble birth. His father was a tenant of the Earl of Bedford, and must have stood well with him, for Francis Russell, the heir of the earldom, was the boy's godfather. John Russell 1st Earl of Bedford, KG, PC, JP (c 1485 &ndash 14 March 1554 /1555 was an English royal minister in the later " ^[6]

As with many of Drake's contemporaries, the exact date of his birth is unknown and could be as early as 1535, the 1540 date being extrapolated from two portraits: one a miniature painted by Nicholas Hilliard in 1581 when he was allegedly 42, the other painted in 1594 when he was alleged to be 53. A portrait miniature is a miniature Portrait painting usually executed in Gouache or watercolor. Nicholas Hilliard (c 1547&ndash January 7, 1619) was an English Goldsmith and limner best known for his Portrait miniatures ^[7]

During the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549, the family was forced to flee to Kent. The Prayer Book Rebellion, Western Rising or Western Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in 1549 KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format At about the age of thirteen, Francis took to the sea on a cargo barque, becoming master of the ship at the age of twenty. A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel History of the term The word barc appears to have come from Celtic languages He spent his early career honing his sailing skills on the difficult waters of the North Sea, and after the death of the captain he became master of his own barque (A ship with more than three masts). Sailing is the art of controlling a Sailing vessel. By changing the Rigging, Rudder and dagger or centre board a Sailor manages the force The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. At age twenty-three, Drake made his first voyage to the New World under the sails of the Hawkins family of Plymouth, in company with his second cousin, Sir John Hawkins. The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London. Admiral Sir John Hawkins (also spelled as John Hawkyns) ( Plymouth 1532 &ndash November 12 1595) was an English shipbuilder

In 1569 he was with the Hawkins fleet when it was trapped by the Spaniards in the Mexican port of San Juan de Ulua. San Juan de Ulúa, also known as Castle of San Juan de Ulúa is a large complex of Fortresses, prisions and one former palace on an island overlooking the He escaped along with Hawkins but the experience is said to have led him to his lifelong revenge against the Spanish.

Circumnavigating the world

Entering the Pacific

Statue of Drake in Plymouth, England where he returned to on September 26, 1580 after circumnavigating the world. Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London.

In 1577 Queen Elizabeth sent Drake to start an expedition against the Spanish along the Pacific coast of the Americas. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions He set out from Plymouth on the November 15, 1577, but bad weather threatened him and his fleet, who were forced to take refuge in Falmouth, Cornwall, from where they returned to Plymouth for repair. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Falmouth (Aberfal is a town Civil parish and Port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London. After this major setback, he set sail once again on December 13, aboard the Pelican, with four other ships and 164 men. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life He soon added a sixth ship, the Mary (formerly Santa Maria) which had been captured off the coast of Africa from the Spaniards. More importantly, he added its captain, Nuno de Silva, a man with considerable experience navigating in South American waters.

Drake's fleet suffered great attrition; he scuttled both the Christopher and the flyboat Swan due to loss of men on the Atlantic crossing. The flyboat was a European light Warship of between 70 to 200 tons used in the late 16th and early 17th century the name was subsequently applied to a number of disparate vessels At San Julian, Argentina, the Mary was found to be rotten and was burned. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. After the trial and execution of Thomas Doughty, Drake decided to remain the winter in San Julian before attempting the Straits of Magellan. Thomas Doughty (?&ndash July 2 1578) was an English nobleman, soldier scholar and personal secretary of Christopher Hatton. The Straits of Magellan (rarely referred to as the Magellanic Straits) comprise a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland Chile and north of Isla Grande

The three remaining ships of his convoy departed for the Magellan Strait, at the southern tip of South America. The Straits of Magellan (rarely referred to as the Magellanic Straits) comprise a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland Chile and north of Isla Grande The strait is named after the Portuguese navigator who first circumnavigated the world in 1521. This course established "Drake's Passage" but the route south of Tierra del Fuego around Cape Horn was not discovered until 1616. The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces -Sea of " Hoces "- is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Tierra del Fuego ( Spanish for " Land of Fire " in English tiˈɛərə dɛl ˈfweɪgoʊ] Spanish ˈtjerað̞elˈfweɰo is an Archipelago Cabo de Hornos redirects here for the Chilean commune see Cabo de Hornos Chile. Drake crossed from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Magellan Strait. After this passage a storm blew his ship so far south that he realised Tierra del Fuego was not part of a southern continent, as was believed. This voyage established Drake as the first Antarctic explorer, because the southernmost point of his voyage was at least 56 degrees according to astronomical data quoted in Hakluyt's "The Principall Navigators" of 1589. Until James Cook's voyage of 1773, this was the furthest south any seafaring explorer had ventured. Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and

A few weeks later Drake made it to the Pacific, but violent storms destroyed one of the ships and caused another to return to England. He pushed onwards in his lone flagship, now renamed the Golden Hind in honour of Sir Christopher Hatton (after his coat of arms). Sir Christopher Hatton (1540 &ndash November 20, 1591) was an English politician the lord chancellor of England and according to speculation A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people The Golden Hind sailed north along the Pacific coast of South America, attacking Spanish ports and rifling towns. Some Spanish ships were captured, and Drake used their more accurate charts.

In one of his most notable actions, Drake captured a Spanish ship, laden with riches from Peru, which held 25,000 pesos of pure gold, amounting in value to 37,000 ducats of Spanish money (about £7m by modern standards). The word peso (meaning weight in Spanish was the name of a coin that originated in Spain and became of immense importance internationally The ducat (ˈdʌkət is a Gold coin that was used as a trade currency throughout Europe before World War I. Near Lima, they also discovered news of a ship, the Cacafuego, sailing towards Panama. Lima is the Capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers on a coast overlooking Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. They gave chase and eventually captured her, which was their most profitable capture. They found 80 lb (36 kg) of gold, a golden crucifix, jewels, 13 chests full of royals of plate and 26 tons of silver. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 A crucifix (from Latin cruci fixus meaning "(one fixed to a cross" is a cross with a representation of Jesus ' body or corpus A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive Mineral, which &mdash when cut and polished &mdash Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen

Nova Albion

Main article: Nova Albion

On June 17, 1579, Drake landed somewhere north of Spain's northern-most claim at Point Loma. This article is about the area claimed by Francis Drake For the region named by Sir Edmund Plowden, see New Albion (colony, and for the town in western New Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Point Loma is a seaside neighborhood of San Diego, California. He found a good port, landed, repaired and restocked his vessels, then stayed for a time, keeping friendly relations with the natives. He claimed the land in the name of the Holy Trinity for the English Crown as called Nova Albion - Latin for "New Britain. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных This article is about the area claimed by Francis Drake For the region named by Sir Edmund Plowden, see New Albion (colony, and for the town in western New Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. " Assertions that he left some of his men behind as an embryo "colony" are founded merely on the reduced number who were with him in the Moluccas. ^[8]

The precise location of the port was carefully guarded to keep it secret from the Spaniards, and several of Drake's maps may even have been altered to this end. All first-hand records from the voyage, including logs, paintings and charts were lost when Whitehall Palace burned in 1698. The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones 's 1622 A bronze plaque inscribed with Drake's claim to the new lands, fitting the description in Drake's own account, was discovered in Marin County, California, but was later declared a hoax. The so-called Drake's Plate of Brass is a Forgery that purports to be the Brass plaque that Francis Drake posted upon landing in Northern California March 11, 1889 | California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Another location often claimed to be Nova Albion is Whale Cove (Oregon), although to date there is no evidence to suggest this, other than a general resemblance to a single map penned a decade after the landing. Further reading Samuel Bawlf The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, Penguin Books ISBN 0-14-200459-6

Samuel Bawlf^[9] marshalled indications that "Nova Albion" was established at Comox on Vancouver Island, during an undocumented "secret voyage" north. Comox is a town located on the eastern side of Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the Comox Valley. Vancouver Island is a large Island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British It is known that Drake and his men sailed north from Nova Albion in search of a western opening to the Northwest Passage, a potentially valuable asset to the English at the time. The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago During this venture the sailors accurately mapped the westward trend of the north-western corner of the North American continent, present-day British Columbia and Alaska. British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent They had a rough voyage among the islands of the Alaskan panhandle, and were forced to turn back due to freezing weather.

Bawlf argues that Drake's ship reached 56°N, much farther north than was recorded. The reason for this false record, Bawlf writes, was for political reasons: competition with the Spanish in the Americas. Queen Elizabeth wanted to keep any information on the Northwest Passage secret, with the result that the location of Nova Albion and the highest latitude the expedition reached is still a source of controversy today.

Drake's brother endured a long period of torture in South America at the hands of Spaniards, who sought intelligence from him about Francis Drake's voyage. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a

His voyage to the west coast of North America is important for a number of reasons. When he landed, his chaplain held Holy Communion; this was one of the first Protestant church services in the New World (though French Huguenots had founded an ill-fated colony in Florida in the 1560s). The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth Drake was seen to be gaining prestige at the expense of the Papacy. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and

What is certain of the extent of Drake's claim and territorial challenge to the Papacy and the Spanish crown is that his port was founded somewhere north of Point Loma; that all contemporary maps label all lands above the Kingdoms of New Spain and New Mexico as "Nova Albion", and that all colonial claims made from the East Coast in the 1600s were "From Sea to Sea". The colonial claims were established with full knowledge of Drake's claims, which they reinforced, and remained valid in the minds of the English colonists on the Atlantic coast when those colonies became free states. Maps made soon after would have "Nova Albion" written above the entire northern frontier of New Spain. These territorial claims became important during the negotiations that ended the Mexican-American War between the United States and Mexico.

Continuing the journey

A modern replica of Drake's Golden Hind

Drake now headed westward across the Pacific, and a few months later reached the Moluccas, a group of islands in the south west Pacific, in eastern modern-day Indonesia. The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands, the Spice Islands or simply Maluku) are an Archipelago The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. While there, the Golden Hind became caught on a reef and was almost lost. After three days of waiting for expedient tides and dumping cargo, the barque was miraculously freed. Drake and his men befriended a sultan king of the Moluccas and involved themselves in some intrigues with the Portuguese there.

He made multiple stops on his way toward the tip of Africa, eventually rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and reached Sierra Leone by July 22, 1580. The Cape of Good Hope ( Afrikaans: Kaap die Goeie Hoop, Kaap de Goede Hoop Cabo da Boa Esperança Persian Language: دماغه امید نیک Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of On September 26 the Golden Hind sailed into Plymouth with Drake and 59 remaining crew aboard, along with a rich cargo of spices and captured Spanish treasures. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a The Queen's half-share of the cargo surpassed the rest of the crown's income for that entire year. Hailed as the first Englishman to circumnavigate the Earth (and the second such voyage arriving with at least one ship intact, after Elcano's in 1520), Drake was awarded knighthood by Queen Elizabeth aboard the Golden Hind on April 4, 1581,^[10] and, in September 1581, became the Mayor of Plymouth. Juan Sebastián del Cano, then Elcano ( Getaria, in the Basque province of Guipúzcoa, former Kingdom of Castile, Spain Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. ^[3] He was also a Member of Parliament in 1581, for an unknown constituency, and again in 1584 for Bossiney. Bossiney was a Parliamentary constituency in Cornwall, one of a number of Cornish rotten boroughs, and returned two Members of Parliament to ^[3]

The Queen ordered all written accounts of Drake's voyage to be considered classified information, and its participants sworn to silence on pain of death; her aim was to keep Drake's activities away from the eyes of rival Spain. Also considering the friction with Spain, on the occasion of the knighting, Elizabeth 1 handed the sword to the Marquis de Marchaumont, ambassador from France, and asked him to dub Drake as the knight. During the Victorian era, in a spirit of nationalism, the story was promoted that Elizabeth 1 had done the actual knighting. ^[10][11]

"The "Drake Jewel Portrait, by Marcus Gheeraerts, 1591 (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)

On his return Drake presented the Queen with a jewel token commemorating the circumnavigation. Marcus Gheeraerts may refer to Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder (c It bore a ship with an ebony hull, enameled gold taken from a prize off the Pacific coast of Mexico, and an African diamond. For her part, the Queen gave Drake a jewel with her portrait, an uncommon gift to bestow upon a commoner, and one that Drake sported proudly in his portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts, 1591. Marcus Gheeraerts may refer to Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder (c On one side is a state portrait of Elizabeth by the miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard, on the other a sardonyx cameo of double portrait busts, a regal woman and an African male. Nicholas Hilliard (c 1547&ndash January 7, 1619) was an English Goldsmith and limner best known for his Portrait miniatures Onyx is a Cryptocrystalline form of Quartz. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color (save some shades such as purple or blue The "Drake Jewel", as it is known today, is a rare documented survivor among sixteen-century jewels; it is conserved at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. The National Maritime Museum (NMM in Greenwich, England is the leading Maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum ^[12]

Spanish Armada

Main article: Spanish Armada

War broke out between Spain and England in 1585. The Spanish Armada ( Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or Armada Invencible, "Invincible Drake sailed to the New World and sacked the ports of Santo Domingo and Cartagena. Santo Domingo de Guzmán (known as Santo Domingo population 2084852 (Metro (2003 estimated 2253437 (Metro in 2006 is the Capital and largest city in the Cartagena de Indias (kaɾtaˈhena ð̞e ˈin̪d̪jas in Spanish; the usual English pronunciation is ˌkɑrtəˈheɪnə deɪ ˈɪndiəs is a large city On the return leg of the voyage, he captured the Spanish fort of San Augustín in Spanish Florida. St Augustine is the County seat of St Johns County, Florida, in the United States. Spanish Florida ( Spanish: La Florida) refers to the Spanish Colony of Florida. These exploits encouraged Philip II of Spain to order the planning for an invasion of England. Philip II (Felipe II de España Filipe I ( May 21, 1527 &ndash September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598

Cadiz Raid

In a pre-emptive strike, Drake "singed the beard of the King of Spain" by sailing a fleet into Cádiz and also La Coruña, two of Spain's main ports, and occupied the harbours, destroying the thirty-seven naval and merchant ships. Cádiz ( Spanish:) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the province of the same name, a province which is one of eight A Coruña ( Spanish: La Coruña; Galician: A Coruña; also Corunna in English, and archaically The Groyne) is The attack delayed the Spanish invasion by a year. ^[13] Over the next month, Drake patrolled the Iberian Coasts between Lisbon and Cape St. Vincent intercepting and destroying Spanish supply lines. The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra Lisbon (Lisboa liʒˈboɐ is the Capital and largest city of Portugal. Cape St Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente 'kabu dɨ sɐ̃ũ vi'sẽtɨ next to the Sagres Point, on the so-called Costa Vicentina (Vincentine Coast is Drake estimated that he captured around 1600-1700 tons of barrel staves, enough to make 25,000 to 30,000 barrels (4,800 m³) for containing provisions. ^[14]

The Spanish Armada

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

Drake was vice admiral in command of the English fleet (under Lord Howard of Effingham) when it overcame the Spanish Armada that was attempting to invade England in 1588. The Spanish Armada ( Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or Armada Invencible, "Invincible Vice Admiral is a naval rank equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority Charles Howard 1st Earl of Nottingham (1536 &ndash 14 December 1624) was an English statesman and admiral The Spanish Armada ( Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or Armada Invencible, "Invincible As the English fleet pursued the Armada up the English Channel in closing darkness, Drake put duty second and captured the Spanish galleon Rosario, along with Admiral Pedro de Valdés and all his crew. The Spanish ship was known to be carrying substantial funds to pay the Spanish Army in the Low Countries. Drake's ship had been leading the English pursuit of the Armada by means of a lantern. By extinguishing this for the capture, Drake put the fleet into disarray overnight. This exemplified Drake's ability as a privateer, suspending strategic purpose if a tactical profit were offered.

On the night of July 29, along with Howard, Drake organised fire-ships, causing the majority of the Spanish captains to break formation and sail out of Calais into the open sea. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Calais (kaˈlɛ in English often kæˈleɪ traditional English pronunciation /ˈkælɨs/ Kales is a town in northern France. The next day, Drake was present at the Battle of Gravelines. The Spanish Armada ( Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or Armada Invencible, "Invincible

The most famous (but probably apocryphal) anecdote about Drake relates that, prior to the battle, he was playing a game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year Bowls (also known as Lawn Bowls or Lawn Bowling) is a precision Sport in which the goal is to roll slightly radially asymmetrical Balls Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large south facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth. On being warned of the approach of the Spanish fleet, Drake is said to have remarked that there was plenty of time to finish the game and still beat the Spaniards. There is no known eyewitness account of this incident and the earliest retelling of it was printed 37 years later. ^[16] Adverse winds and currents caused some delay in the launching of the English fleet as the Spanish drew nearer ^[16] so it is easy to see how a popular myth of Drake's cavalier attitude to the Spanish threat may have originated.

Drake-Norris Expedition

Main article: English Armada

In 1589, the year after defeating the Armada, Drake and Sir John Norreys were given three tasks. The English Armada (also known as the Counter Armada, or the Drake-Norris Expedition) was a fleet of warships sent to the Iberian coast by Queen Elizabeth Sir John Norreys frequently referred to as John Norris (1547? &ndash July 3 1597) was an English soldier of a Berkshire family of court gentry son of They were ordered to first seek out and destroy the remaining ships, second they were to support the rebels in Lisbon, Portugal against King Philip II (king of Spain and Portugal then), and third they were to take the Azores if possible. Lisbon (Lisboa liʒˈboɐ is the Capital and largest city of Portugal. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Philip II (Felipe II de España Filipe I ( May 21, 1527 &ndash September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598 The Azores ( Açores ɐˈsoɾɨʃ or) is a Portuguese Archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1500 km (950  mi) from Drake and Norreys destroyed a few ships in the harbour of La Coruña in Spain but lost more than 12,000 lives and 20 ships. A Coruña ( Spanish: La Coruña; Galician: A Coruña; also Corunna in English, and archaically The Groyne) is This delayed Drake, and he was forced to forego hunting the rest of the surviving ships and head on to Lisbon. ^[14]

Final years

Drake's seafaring career continued into his mid-fifties. In 1595, following a disastrous campaign against Spanish America, where he suffered several defeats in a row, he unsuccessfully attacked San Juan, Puerto Rico. San Juan (saŋ hwaŋ (from the Spanish San Juan Bautista, " Saint John the Baptist " is the Capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} The Spanish gunners from El Morro Castle shot a cannonball through the cabin of Drake's flagship, but he survived. Fort San Felipe del Morro —or El Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Spanish — is a sixteenth-century Citadel which lies on the northwestern-most point In 1596, he died of dysentery, at age 56 while anchored off the coast of Puerto Bello, Panama where some Spanish treasure ships had sought shelter. Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is an infection of the digestive system that results in severe Diarrhea containing mucus and blood Portobelo (formerly Puerto Bello, also Porto Belo) is a port city in Colón Province, Panama. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. He was buried at sea in a lead coffin, near Portobelo.

Cultural impact

Sir Francis Drake, circa 1581. This portrait may have been copied from Hilliard's miniature—note that the shirt is the same — and the somewhat oddly proportioned body added by an artist who did not have access to Drake. Nicholas Hilliard (c 1547&ndash January 7, 1619) was an English Goldsmith and limner best known for his Portrait miniatures National Portrait Gallery, London.

Drake's exploits as an explorer have become an enduring part of the world's consciousness, particularly in Europe. Numerous stories and fictional adaptations of his adventures exist to this day. Considered a hero in England, it is said that if England is ever in peril, beating Drake's Drum will cause Drake to return to save the country. This is a variation of the sleeping hero folktale. A king in the mountain, king under the mountain or sleeping hero is a prominent motif in Folklore and Mythology, that is found in many Folktales

Drake's adventures, though less known in the United States, still have some effect. For instance, a major east-west road in Marin County, California is named Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. March 11, 1889 | Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is an east-west Arterial road in Marin County California, running from just west of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (where it It connects Point San Quentin on San Francisco Bay with Point Reyes and Drakes Bay. San Francisco Bay is a shallow productive Estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. Drakes Bay is a small bay on the coast of northern California in the United States, approximately 30 miles (48 km northwest of San Francisco Each end is near a site considered by some to be Drake's landing place. Along that road, in San Anselmo, is Sir Francis Drake High School, the only high school in the United States named after him. Sir Francis Drake High School is a Secondary school located in San Anselmo California. A large hotel in Union Square, San Francisco bears his name. Union Square is a Plaza bordered by Geary, Powell Post and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California.

Drake's will was the focus of a vast confidence scheme which Oscar Hartzell perpetrated in the 1920s and 1930s. A confidence trick or confidence game (also known as a bunko, con, flim flam, gaffle, grift, scam, scheme Oscar Hartzell (1876&ndash1943 was an American con man who convinced many people in North America to join him in a fraudulent lawsuit against the British government He convinced thousands of people, mostly in the American Midwest, that Drake's fortune was being held by the British government, and had compounded to a huge amount. If their last name was Drake they might be eligible for a share if they paid Hartzell to be their agent. The swindle continued until a copy of Drake's will was brought to Hartzell's mail fraud trial and he was convicted and imprisoned. ^[17]

In 1960 the television series Sir Francis Drake debuted on ITV, starring Terence Morgan in the title role. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sir Francis Drake (aka The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake) was a British adventure Television series starring Terence Morgan as Sir Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent Terence Ivan Grant Morgan ( 8 December 1921 - 25 August 2005) was an English Actor in Theatre, cinema

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, a video game for the PlayStation 3 console, features the character Nathan Drake, a fictional descendant of Francis Drake in search of his ancestor's lost treasures of El Dorado. Uncharted Drake's Fortune, also known in Japan as, is a action-adventure Video game developed by Naughty Dog, and published by Sony The storyline follows clues supposedly left behind, and examines what mysteries lie within the history of Drake, and his death.

Drake appears as something of a deus ex machina in The Adventures & Brave Deeds Of The Ship's Cat On The Spanish Maine: Together With The Most Lamentable Losse Of The Alcestis & Triumphant Firing Of The Port Of Chagres, a children's book by Richard Adams. A deus ex machina ( lat. ˈdeːus eks ˈmaːkʰina literally "god from a/the machine" is an improbable The Adventures & Brave Deeds Of The Ship's Cat On The Spanish Maine Together With The Most Lamentable Losse Of The Alcestis & Triumphant Firing Of The Port Of Chagres is the full title Richard George Adams (born May 9, 1920) is an English Novelist who is best known as the writer of three novels featuring animal characters

Drake lends his name to the alternative rock band Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada of Berwyn, Pennsylvania. Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern

Controversies

Slave Trading

Drake accompanied his second cousin Sir John Hawkins in making the third English slave-trading expeditions, making fortunes through the abduction and transportation of West African people, and then exchanging them for high-value goods. Admiral Sir John Hawkins (also spelled as John Hawkyns) ( Plymouth 1532 &ndash November 12 1595) was an English shipbuilder The Atlantic Slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trade of African people supplied to the Colonies of the New World The first Englishman recorded to have taken slaves from Africa was John Lok, a London trader who, in 1555, brought to England five slaves from Guinea. A second London trader taking slaves at that time was William Towerson whose fleet sailed into Plymouth following his 1556 voyage to Africa and from Plymouth on his 1557 voyage. Despite the exploits of Lok and Towerson, John Hawkins of Plymouth is widely acknowledged to be the pioneer of the English slave trade.

Around 1563 Drake first sailed west to the Spanish Main, on a ship owned and commanded by his uncle John Hawkins, with a cargo of people forcibly removed from the coast of West Africa. The Spanish Main was the mainland coast of the Spanish Empire around the Caribbean. Admiral Sir John Hawkins (also spelled as John Hawkyns) ( Plymouth 1532 &ndash November 12 1595) was an English shipbuilder The Englishmen sold their African captives into slavery in Spanish plantations. Fundamentally a plantation is usually a large Farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country on which Cotton, Tobacco These profitable activities (which he continued) undermine the tendency to view Drake as simply an untarnished English hero. Although slavery was legal throughout the world at the time, its expansion by Hawkins and Drake is now widely seen as a great blot upon their records. In general, the kidnapping and forced transportation of people was considered to be a criminal offence under English law at the time, although legal protection did not necessarily extend to slaves, non-Protestants or criminals. Hawkins' own account of his actions (in which Drake took part) cites two sources for their victims. One was military attacks on African towns and villages (with the assistance of rival African warlords). The other was privateer actions against Portuguese slave ships. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping Britain's slave trade later came to be regarded as a terrible stain on the moral history of the nation, and Drake's role in laying the technical, legal and political foundations for the slave trade cannot be overlooked. The Atlantic Slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trade of African people supplied to the Colonies of the New World

Conflict in the Caribbean

During his early days as a slave-trader, Drake took an immediate dislike to the Spanish, at least in part due to their Catholicism and inherent mistrust of non-Spaniards. His hostility is said to have increased over an incident at San Juan de Ulua in 1568, when, while delivering his African victims, a Spanish fleet took him by surprise. Although he was in an enemy port, it was conventional for the Spanish to 'surrender' for a few hours in order to purchase control of the kidnap victims. Thus it was unusual for a fleet of enemy warships to appear out of the blue. Drake survived the attack largely because of his ability to swim. From then on, he devoted his life to working against the Spanish Empire; the Spanish considered him an outlaw pirate (see also Piracy in the Caribbean), but to England he was simply a sailor and privateer. The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering The great era of Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1560s and died out in the 1720s as the Nation-states of Western Europe with colonies in On his second such voyage, he fought a battle against Spanish forces that cost many English lives but earned him the favour of Queen Elizabeth

The most celebrated of Drake's adventures along the Spanish Main was his capture of the Spanish Silver Train at Nombre de Dios in March 1573. The Spanish Main was the mainland coast of the Spanish Empire around the Caribbean. Nombre de Dios ("Name of God " is a city on the Atlantic coast of Panama in the Colon Province. With a crew including many French privateers and Maroons — African slaves who had escaped the Spanish — Drake raided the waters around Darien (in modern Panama) and tracked the Silver Train to the nearby port of Nombre de Dios. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Maroons redirects here and may refer to Queensland state rugby league team. Santa María la Antigua del Darién was a settlement established in 1510 by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa on the Caribbean coast of Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. He made off with a fortune in gold, but had to leave behind another fortune in silver, because it was too heavy to carry back to England. It was during this expedition that he climbed a high tree in the central mountains of the Isthmus of Panama and thus became the first Englishman to see the Pacific Ocean. The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific He remarked as he saw it that he hoped one day an Englishman would be able to sail it -- which he would do years later as part of his circumnavigation of the world.

When Drake returned to Plymouth on August 9, 1573, a mere thirty Englishmen returned with him, every one of them rich for life. Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus However, Queen Elizabeth, who had up to this point sponsored and encouraged Drake's raids, signed a temporary truce with King Philip II of Spain and so was unable to acknowledge Drake's accomplishment officially. Philip II (Felipe II de España Filipe I ( May 21, 1527 &ndash September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598

Though considered a hero in England in his own time and regarded as a significant historical figure; Spanish history perceives him as a mere pirate who mercilessly plundered Spanish New World shipping and harbours. Drake, "el Draque", as he was referred to by the Spanish, was used as a bogeyman for centuries after his "vicious" raids. The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, boogieman, boogey monster, or boogeyman, is a Folkloric or legendary Ghostlike ^[18]

Atrocities in Ireland

In 1575 Drake was present at Rathlin Island, part of the English plantation effort in Ulster when 600 men, women, and children were massacred after surrendering. Rathlin Island ( Irish and Scottish Gaelic: Reachlainn, also Reachra in Scottish Gaelic is an Island off the Coast of Ulster ( Ulaidh ˈkwɪɟɪ ˈʌlˠu / ˈʌlˠi is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster Plantations in 16th and 17th century Ireland were established throughout the country by the confiscation of lands occupied by Gaelic clans and Hiberno-Norman dynasties ^[19]

Francis Drake was in charge of the ships which transported John Norreys' Troops to Rathlin Island, commanding a small frigate called "Falcon", with a total complement of 25. Sir John Norreys frequently referred to as John Norris (1547? &ndash July 3 1597) was an English soldier of a Berkshire family of court gentry son of At the time of the massacre, he was charged with the task of keeping Scottish vessels from bringing reinforcements to Rathlin Island. The people who were massacred were, in fact, the families of Sorley Boy MacDonnell's followers. Somhairle Buidh Mac Domhnaill (Somhairle of the yellow hair son of Donnell Anglicised Sorley Boy MacDonnell (in Scotland MacDonald) (c ^[20]

Execution of Thomas Doughty

Main article: Thomas Doughty (explorer)

In 1578, Drake accused his co-commander Thomas Doughty of witchcraft in a shipboard trial. Thomas Doughty (?&ndash July 2 1578) was an English nobleman, soldier scholar and personal secretary of Christopher Hatton. ^[11] Doughty was charged with mutiny and treason. Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the Military; or the Crew of any ship even In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Drake then denied his requests to see Drake's commission from the Queen to carry out such acts and was denied a trial in England. The two main pieces of evidence against Doughty were the testimony of the ship's carpenter, Edward Bright and also that Doughty admitted to telling Lord William Burghley of the voyage. Lord Burghley redirects here For other holders of the title see Baron Burghley William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 1520 &ndash Drake consented to his request of Communion and dined with him. The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those Thomas Doughty was beheaded on July 2nd 1578.

See also

• Bobby Drake fictional nephew in Marvel 1602
• Buckland Abbey, home of Sir Francis Drake. Iceman ( Robert Louis "Bobby" Drake) is a fictional Marvel Comics Superhero, a member of the X-Men. Buckland Abbey is a 700-year-old house in Buckland Monachorum, near Yelverton, Devon, England, noted for its connection with Sir Francis
• Drake in California
• Drake's Leat, a water supply for Plymouth, promoted by Drake. In 1579 Francis Drake sailed out in the Pacific then turned east seeking the Strait of Anián (a water passage from the Pacific tothe Atlantic known in the reverse direction Drake's Leat, also known as Plymouth Leat, was a watercourse constructed in the late 16th century to tap the River Meavy on Dartmoor, England
• Drake's Plate of Brass, a forgery of a plate purported to have be posted by Drake in California. The so-called Drake's Plate of Brass is a Forgery that purports to be the Brass plaque that Francis Drake posted upon landing in Northern California
• Francis William Drake, descendant of Sir Francis Drake. Francis William Drake (baptized August 22, 1724 &ndash December 18, 1788) born in Buckland Monachorum, Devon the third
• Giovanni Battista Boazio Drake's mapmaker
• Golden Hind Drake's flagship
• Thomas Doughty Drake's co-captain whose death is surrounded by controversy
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, a game by Naughty Dog about Nathan Drake, the descendant of Sir Francis Drake. Giovanni Battista Boazio was an Italian draftsman and cartographer Thomas Doughty (?&ndash July 2 1578) was an English nobleman, soldier scholar and personal secretary of Christopher Hatton. Uncharted Drake's Fortune, also known in Japan as, is a action-adventure Video game developed by Naughty Dog, and published by Sony Naughty Dog is an American Video game company founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 and based in Santa Monica, California

References

Bibliography

• Bawlf, Samuel (2003). The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, 1577-1580. Walker & Company. ISBN 0802714056.
• Hughes-Hallett, Lucy (2004). Heroes: A History of Hero Worship. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York. ISBN 1-4000-4399-9.
• Kelsey, Harry (1998). Sir Francis Drake, the Queen's Pirate. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300071825.
• Mattingly, Garett (1959). Garrett Mattingly ( May 6 1900 &ndash December 18 1962) was a professor of European history at Columbia University who The Defeat of the Spanish Armada. ISBN 0-395-08366-4. – a detailed account of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, it received a special citation from the Pulitzer Prize committee in 1960.
• Merideth, Mrs. Charles, Notes and Sketches of New South Wales, during a residence in that colony from 1839 to 1844; Bound With: "Life of Drake" by John Barrow (1st ed, 1844) [xi, 164; and xii, 187 pp. Sir John Barrow 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS, LLD ( June 19, 1764 &ndash November 23, 1848) was an English respectfully]
• Rodger, N.A.M. The Safeguard of the Sea; A Naval History of Britain 660-1649. Professor Nicholas Andrew Martin Rodger (born 12 November 1949) is professor of Naval history at the University of Exeter, England. (London, 1997).
• Wilson, Derek (1977). The World Encompassed: Drake’s Great Voyage, 1577–80. Harper & Row. ISBN 0060146796.

External links

• The Circumnavigation
  • Google Earth Tour of Drake's Circumnavigation
  • Lesson plans for classroom use

• General Sites
  • Francis Drake
  • Hand-colored map depicting Sir Francis Drake's attack on Saint Augustine from the State Archives of Florida
  • In Drake's Wake - "The world's best Drake resource"
  • Kraus Collection of Sir Francis Drake at the Library of Congress
  • Mission to rescue Drake's body
  • Oliver Seeler's website "Sir Francis Drake"