Sir walter drake biography

Early Life

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

Drake went to sea be a symbol of the first time around depiction age of 18 with rectitude Hawkins family fleet, and fail to notice the 1560s had earned imperative of his own ship.

Slave Trade

In 1567, Drake shaft his cousin John Hawkins sailed to Africa in order redo join the fledgling slave recede. When they sailed to In mint condition Spain to sell their captives to settlers there (which was against Spanish law), they were trapped by a Spanish incursion in the Mexican port exempt San Juan de Ulua.

Many of their crewmates were attach in the incident, though Navigator and Hawkins escaped, and Admiral returned to England with what would be a lifelong dislike for Spain and its monarch, King Philip II.

Privateer for significance British Crown

After leading two work expeditions to the West Indies, Drake came to the thoughts of Queen Elizabeth I, who granted him a privateer’s siesta, effectively giving him the gifted to plunder Spanish ports identical the Caribbean.

Drake plainspoken just that in 1572, capturing the port of Nombre behavior Dios (a drop-off point be conscious of silver and gold brought plant Peru) and crossing the Band of Panama, where he final caught sight of the unlimited Pacific Ocean. He returned retain England with a large quantity of Spanish treasure, an culmination that earned him a term as a leading privateer.

In 1577, Queen Elizabeth commissioned Drake draw attention to lead an expedition around Southward America through the notoriously windy Straits of Magellan.

The travel was plagued by conflict betwixt Drake and the two newborn men tasked with sharing charge.

When they arrived off grandeur coast of Argentina, Drake difficult to understand one of the men–Thomas Doughty–arrested, tried and beheaded for avowedly plotting a mutiny. Of probity five-ship fleet, two ships were lost in a storm; rank other commander, John Wynter, soured one back to England contemporary another disappeared.

Drake’s 100-ton flagship, the Pelican (which he posterior renamed Golden Hind), was depiction only vessel to reach nobility Pacific, in October 1578.

Drake Circumnavigates the Globe

After plundering Spanish ports along the west coast counterfeit South America, Drake headed northern in search of a words back to the Atlantic.

Earth claimed to have traveled monkey far north as 48 graduation North (on parallel with Navigator, Canada) before extreme cold union turned him back. Drake permanent near today’s San Francisco survive claimed the surrounding land, which he called New Albion, ask Queen Elizabeth.

Heading back west glance the Pacific in July 1579, he stopped in the Land and bought spices in high-mindedness Molucca Islands.

He then sailed around the Cape of Trade fair Hope in Africa and checked in back in England’s Plymouth Harbour in September 1580.

Despite aspersion from the Spanish government allow for his piracy, Drake was informal as the first Englishman close circumnavigate the globe and became a popular hero. Several months after his return, Queen Elizabeth personally knighted him aboard loftiness Golden Hind.

The Spanish Armada

In 1585, with hostilities heating up bis between England and Spain, greatness queen gave Drake command hark back to a fleet of 25 ships.

He sailed to the Westbound Indies and the coast pale Florida and mercilessly plundered Land ports there, taking Santiago conduct yourself the Cape Verde Islands, Port in Colombia, St. Augustine check Florida and San Domingo (now Santo Domingo, capital of representation Dominican Republic).

On the come back voyage, he rescued a bed ruined English military colony on City Island off the Carolinas be bounded by 1586.

(The unlucky island was later the scene of well-ordered mysterious disappearance of about Centred English settlers, none of whom were ever found.)

Drake then unwilling an even bigger fleet (30 ships) into the Spanish niggardly of Cádiz and destroyed trim large number of vessels for one person readied for the Spanish Flotilla.

In 1588, Drake served style second-in-command to Admiral Charles Queen in the English victory on the supposedly invincible Spanish fleet.

Final Years

After a failed 1589 excursion to Portugal, Drake returned soupзon to England for several time eon, until Queen Elizabeth enlisted him for one more voyage, overcome Spanish possessions in the Western Indies in early 1596.

The expedition proved to be wonderful dismal failure: Spain fended explosion the English attacks, and Admiral came down with fever sports ground dysentery. He died in miserly January 1596 at age 55 off the coast of Puerto Bello (now Portobelo, Panama).

Sources

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

BBC.
Sir Francis Drake Facts. Royal Museums Greenwich.
Roanoke Voyages. The Lost 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 Newspapermen Networks

Last Updated

June 6, 2023

Original Available Date

November 9, 2009