Sir Francis Drake

Drake, Sir Francis,

1540?–1596, English navigator and admiral, first Englishman to circumnavigate the world (1577–80).

Early Career

He was born in Devonshire, the son of a yeoman, and was at an early age apprenticed to a ship captain. He made voyages to Guinea and the West Indies and in 1567 commanded a ship in a slave-trading expedition of his kinsman, John HawkinsHawkins or Hawkyns, Sir John,
1532–95, English admiral. In 1562–63 and in 1564–65 he led extremely profitable expeditions that captured slaves on the W African coast, shipped them across the Atlantic,
..... Click the link for more information. . On the voyage the Spanish attacked and destroyed all but three of the English vessels. In 1572, with two ships and 73 men, Drake set out on the first of his famous marauding expeditions. He took the town of Nombre de Dios on the Isthmus of Panama, captured a ship in the harbor of Cartagena, burned Portobelo, crossed and recrossed the isthmus, and captured three mule trains bearing 30 tons of silver. The voyage brought Drake wealth and fame. For the next few years he commanded the sea forces against rebellious Ireland.

Circumnavigation of the World

In Dec., 1577, he set out with five ships to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World. He abandoned two ships in the Río de la Plata in South America, and, with the remaining three, navigated the Straits of Magellan, the first Englishman to make the passage. A storm drove them far southward; one ship and its crew were destroyed, and another, separated from Drake's vessel, returned to England.

Drake continued alone in the Golden Hind up the coast of South America, plundered Valparaiso and smaller settlements, cut loose the shipping at Callao, and captured a rich Spanish treasure ship. Armed now with Spanish charts, he continued north along the coast, looking for a possible passage to the Atlantic, feeling it would be unsafe to retrace his course. Sailing possibly as far north as the present state of Washington with no success, he determined to cross the Pacific.

He returned to San Francisco Bay to repair and provision his ship. He named the region New Albion and took possession of it in the name of Queen Elizabeth I. Then, crossing the Pacific, he visited the Moluccas, Sulawesi, and Java, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Plymouth on Sept. 26, 1580, bearing treasure of extremely high value. Elizabeth endeavored for a time to justify Drake's conduct to Spain, but, failing to satisfy the Spanish, she finally abandoned all pretense and openly recognized Drake's exploits by knighting him aboard the Golden Hind.

Hostilities with Spain

In 1585, Drake commanded a fleet that sacked Vigo in Spain and burned São Tiago in the Cape Verde Islands. Proceeding across the Atlantic, he took Santo Domingo and Cartagena (which were subsequently ransomed), plundered the Florida coast, including the settlement of St. Augustine, and rescued Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke colony under Ralph Lane on the Carolina coast.

Meanwhile, Spain had begun to prepare for open war. In 1587, Drake entered the harbor of Cádiz with 26 ships and destroyed about 30 of the ships the Spanish were assembling. He had, he said, merely singed the king of Spain's beard and wished to carry out further expeditions against the Spanish ports, but Elizabeth would not sanction his plans. He was a vice admiral in the fleet that defeated the ArmadaArmada, Spanish
, 1588, fleet launched by Philip II of Spain for the invasion of England, to overthrow the Protestant Elizabeth I and establish Philip on the English throne; also called the Invincible Armada.
..... Click the link for more information. in 1588. He was in joint command of an attempted invasion of Portugal in 1589 but failed to take Lisbon.

Drake's last expedition, in 1595, undertaken jointly with HawkinsHawkins or Hawkyns, Sir John,
1532–95, English admiral. In 1562–63 and in 1564–65 he led extremely profitable expeditions that captured slaves on the W African coast, shipped them across the Atlantic,
..... Click the link for more information. , was directed against the West Indies. This time the Spanish were prepared, and the venture was a complete failure. Hawkins died off Puerto Rico, and Drake shortly afterward, of dysentery, off Portobelo, where he was buried at sea.

Bibliography

See biographies by Sir Julien Corbett (1890, repr. 1969) and G. M. Thomson (1972); see also Sir Julien Corbett, Drake and the Tudor Navy (2 vol., 1899, repr. 1970); G. Mattingly, The Armada (1959); K. R. Andrews, Drake's Voyages (1967); K. R. Andrews, ed., The Last Voyage of Drake and Hawkins (1972).

Drake, Sir Francis (1543-1596)

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

Francis Drake was the most famous of the Elizabethan sailors. The exact date of his birth is uncertain, although it is known that Drake's father was a Protestant preacher at Chatham Docks, England. Drake performed the first circumnavigation of the globe by an Englishman, with his voyage between 1577 and 1580. The profits of the sailing amounted to about 500,000 English pounds. He was knighted by the queen and with his share of the money purchased Buckland Abbey, in south Devonshire.

Drake was perhaps best known for his defeat of the Spanish Armada, when it attempted to invade England. The death of Mary had given Philip of Spain an immediate claim on the English throne. He did not want it for himself, but for his daughter, Isabella. In July 1588, the Spanish fleet of 132 vessels reached the English Channel. It is said that Drake was playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe at the time the Armada was spotted, and he reportedly said that there was time both to finish the game and to beat the Spaniards. However, the game was first reported in 1624 and there is no mention of the comment until 1736.

There may be more truth to the rumor that Drake was a follower of the Old Religion, despite his Protestant background. In his native Devon, many years after his death, he became associated with the Wild Hunt, with stories of his ghost leading the hunt across the Devonshire countryside, much as the old god Herne does in Windsor Great Park.

Within Wicca there is also the story that sixteenth-century Witches gathered to work magic to defeat the Spanish Armada. The same sort of thing was done when Napoleon was contemplating invading England, and it is also well documented that a coven of elders did the same to repel Hitler during World War II. But of that early magical working, it is said that Drake was one of the coven members who did the work.

Drake, Sir Francis (1540–1596) British

navigator and admiral; famed for marauding expeditions against Spanish. [Br. Hist.: NCE, 793]See: Piracy

Sir Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake

Drake, Sir Francis,

Early Career

Circumnavigation of the World

Hostilities with Spain

Bibliography

Drake, Sir Francis (1543-1596)

Drake, Sir Francis (1540–1596) British

Sir Francis Drake

Synonyms for Sir Francis Drake

noun English explorer and admiral who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada (1540-1596)

Synonyms