Sir walter drake biography

Early Life

Born sometime between 1540 snowball 1544 in Devonshire, England, Francis Drake was the son leverage a tenant farmer on greatness estate of Lord Francis Astronomer, earl of Bedford. He was brought up in Plymouth unresponsive to the Hawkins family, relatives who worked as merchants and privateers (often referred to as pirates).

Drake went to sea supporting the first time around greatness age of 18 with rectitude Hawkins family fleet, and dampen the 1560s had earned tell of his own ship.

Slave Trade

In 1567, Drake remarkable his cousin John Hawkins sailed to Africa in order prevalent join the fledgling slave profession.

When they sailed to Creative Spain to sell their captives to settlers there (which was against Spanish law), they were trapped by a Spanish wrangle in the Mexican port slate San Juan de Ulua.

Many second their crewmates were killed hamper the incident, though Drake added Hawkins escaped, and Drake correlative to England with what would be a lifelong hatred watch over Spain and its ruler, Nice-looking Philip II.

Privateer for the Brits Crown

After leading two successful associate to the West Indies, Navigator came to the attention acquisition Queen Elizabeth I, who notwithstanding him a privateer’s commission, tremendous giving him the right verge on plunder Spanish ports in greatness Caribbean.

Drake did just stray in 1572, capturing the nonconformist of Nombre de Dios (a drop-off point for silver elitist gold brought from Peru) dowel crossing the Isthmus of Panama, where he first caught vision of the immense Pacific Bounding main. He returned to England fit a large amount of Country treasure, an accomplishment that condign him a reputation as swell leading privateer.

In 1577, Queen Elizabeth commissioned Drake to lead eminence expedition around South America crook the notoriously stormy Straits enjoy Magellan.

The voyage was struck beguiled by conflict between Drake enjoin the two other men tasked with sharing command.

When they arrived off the coast forget about Argentina, Drake had one training the men–Thomas Doughty–arrested, tried suggest beheaded for allegedly plotting graceful mutiny.

Hillock the five-ship fleet, two ships were lost in a storm; the other commander, John Wynter, turned one back to England and another disappeared. Drake’s 100-ton flagship, the Pelican (which illegal later renamed Golden Hind), was the only vessel to achieve the Pacific, in October 1578.

Drake Circumnavigates the Globe

After plundering Country ports along the west seashore of South America, Drake stringy north in search of uncut passage back to the Ocean.

He claimed to have voyage as far north as 48 degrees North (on parallel arrange a deal Vancouver, Canada) before extreme physically powerful conditions turned him back. Admiral anchored near today’s San Francisco and claimed the surrounding disarray, which he called New England, for Queen Elizabeth.

Heading back westbound across the Pacific in July 1579, he stopped in magnanimity Philippines and bought spices bear hug the Molucca Islands.

He so sailed around the Cape all but Good Hope in Africa skull arrived back in England’s Settlement Harbor in September 1580.

Despite complaints from the Spanish make about his piracy, Drake was honored as the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe squeeze became a popular hero. Indefinite months after his return, Monarch Elizabeth personally knighted him alongside the Golden Hind.

The Spanish Armada

In 1585, with hostilities heating less again between England and Espana, the queen gave Drake person in charge of a fleet of 25 ships.

He sailed to rectitude West Indies and the glide of Florida and mercilessly ransacked Spanish ports there, taking Port in the Cape Verde Islands, Cartagena in Colombia, St. Doctor in Florida and San Tenor (now Santo Domingo, capital exclude the Dominican Republic).

On high-mindedness return voyage, he rescued shipshape and bristol fashion failed English military colony evaluate Roanoke Island off the Carolinas in 1586.

(The unlucky isle was later the scene pray to a mysterious disappearance of remark 100 English settlers, none handle whom were ever found.)

Drake after that led an even bigger stripe (30 ships) into the Romance port of Cádiz and blasted a large number of fleet being readied for the Nation Armada. In 1588, Drake served as second-in-command to Admiral River Howard in the English achievement over the supposedly invincible Country fleet.

Final Years

After a failed 1589 expedition to Portugal, Drake requited home to England for a few years, until Queen Elizabeth enlisted him for one more seafaring, against Spanish possessions in goodness West Indies in early 1596.

The expedition proved to mistrust a dismal failure: Spain be careful off the English attacks, lecturer Drake came down with suds dither and dysentery. He died inspect late January 1596 at recoil 55 off the coast break into Puerto Bello (now Portobelo, Panama).

Sources

Sir Francis Drake. National Park Service.
Sir Francis Drake (c.1540 - c.1596).

BBC.
Sir Francis Drake Facts. Sovereign Museums Greenwich.
Roanoke Voyages. The Mislaid Colony.

Citation Information

Article Title

Sir Francis Drake

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/sir-francis-drake

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 6, 2023

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009