Midtown Blogger/Manhattan Valley Follies: In Drake's Wake- The Exploration Society

The life of Sir Francis Drake

Michael Turner - school teacher

Sir Francis Drake was probably born in 1540 near Tavistock, Devon. When Francis was 9 years old, the family left Devon at the time of the Catholic revolt against a new Protestant Prayer Book and due to his father being charged with robbing a man of his horse and purse, for which he was later pardoned. The Drakes lived on a disused old boat on the River Medway in Kent. Drake's father Edmund preached to sailors and later became vicar at nearby Upchurch. Therefore young Francis was anti-Catholic. As a teenager, Francis was experiencing life in the North Sea upon a trading bark.

Sir Francis Drake
(National Portrait Gallery, London)

In his early twenties Drake returned to Plymouth to work for his second cousin, John Hawkins, on a slave-trading expedition under the command of Captain John Lovell. In 1568 Drake sailed on his second voyage, but this time with John Hawkins in command. After raiding and trading for slaves in West Africa, the fleet roamed the struggling settlements in the Caribbean Sea. These included Margarita Island and Borburata in Venezuela, Rio Hacha and Santa Marta in Colombia. After selling nearly all their slaves, the fleet had to enter Veracruz in México and shelter in front of the San Juan de Ulua fortifications to repair their storm-battered ships. King Philip II of Spain had forbidden the Protestant countries to be granted port facilities. However the colonists did not always obey because they needed to trade to survive. The settlers at San Juan de Ulua were embarrassed when the incoming Viceroy of México, Don Enrique Martínez arrived with a powerful fleet. Hawkins only allowed Martínez port facilities after a pledge of peace and an exchange of hostages. Martínez, offended by this English intruder, who had virtually forced his way into the port, broke his word and massacred most the English. Only the ships commanded by Drake and Hawkins returned home.
In 1569 Drake married Mary Newman who was to be a lonely wife. In 1570, 1571 and 1572, Drake was sailing to the Caribbean determined to reap revenge. He captured Nombre de Dios and in 1573 seized thousands of pounds worth of treasure when he ambushed the mule trains that carried the treasure across the Panamanian isthmus for shipment to Spain. Drake's adventures had been amongst the most daring in our history and made him into a living legend.
Between 1577-80, Drake became even richer by sailing around the world. Since Drake was so well known to the Spaniards, the destination and purpose of the voyage were kept secret. The official story was that it was a trading expedition to collect currants from Egypt. When the fleet of three ships and smaller vessels was west of Africa, the crews realised that Drake had other ideas. As the ships sailed south-west across the Atlantic, Thomas Doughty, a gentleman, and a close friend of Drake, began encouraging mutiny. Drake felt threatened, especially since superstition was common, since all the crew knew they were going where no English ship had sailed before. Doughty was beheaded at Port St. Julián in Argentina. The smaller vessels were abandoned so that the fewer ships could keep closer together. The crew was unhappy and there were arguments between the gentlemen and the common seamen. Drake needed to show brilliant qualities of leadership. In a speech, he changed life on board Tudor ships. From now on, both groups of people had to share the same work.

Praia Baixo, Cape Verde Islands

To strengthen his position, just before entering the dreaded Strait of Magellan, Drake's ship the Pelican was renamed the Golden Hind in honour of his friend at court, Sir Christopher Hatton, on whose coat of arms appeared a golden hind, which is a female deer. This proved to the crew that the expedition had royal support, since during the voyage, Drake had never shown anyone written royal approval, the absence of which, had questioned his total authority.
By September 1578, Drake had sailed through the Strait of Magellan in sixteen days, half the time it had taken Magellan fifty years earlier. When in the Pacific, a month of storms separated the fleet, driving the Golden Hind hundreds of miles to the south. Drake had discovered that no continent called Tierra Australis existed immediately south of South America. Hence on world maps, one can read Drake Passage. Evidence proves that Drake discovered Cape Horn. The Golden Hind sailed alone, northwards along the coast of Chile, because one ship had sunk and the other had deserted and returned to England.

Mr Turner and the only friendly penguin
in the Magellan Strait, Chile

The Spaniards had not protected their new towns and ships, for no European had ever posed a threat. Therefore Drake found it easy to plunder his way along the coast. At Lima harbour in Perú, Drake could only plunder ships and cast them adrift, because with just one ship and eighty men, he could not land and seize such a major city as he had done in the smaller ports. However Drake had learnt that a treasure galleon had left Lima two weeks earlier. Eight hundred miles northwards, Drake captured the Cacafuego off Cape San Francisco, Ecuador. Her holds contained enough treasure to finance Queen Elizabeth's government for one year!

Drake captures the Cacafuego off Ecuador

Drake's last port of call in Latin America was Guatulco in México. He robbed this poorly defended settlement and then arrived in California, where he again careened his ship. Drake claimed the territory for his queen and was the first Englishman to lay the colonial foundation stones. The Pacific crossing was peaceful but important because Drake had made a trading treaty with the Sultan of Ternate, which eventually encouraged the formation of the British East India Company.

The Golden Hind on the careen, California

On 26 September 1580 Drake anchored in Plymouth Sound, away from the town where there was a plague. Also he feared that the queen might have died and been replaced by a Catholic. However the queen invited him to Richmond Palace to examine some of the treasure. The queen hid the true value of the treasure since some of it was stored in minor Crown properties en route from Plymouth to London. The remainder of the treasure was stored in the Tower of London where its value was officially registered. After this the Golden Hind was sailed to Deptford, where Drake was knighted on board in April 1581. Drake was now famous and with his official £10,000 worth of treasure, extremely rich. He was the first English commander to sail around the world and had encouraged other sailors to conquer the high seas. Drake bought and was given several large houses. He became Mayor of Plymouth and MP for Bossiney in Cornwall.
In 1583 his wife died. In 1585 Drake married the young and rich Elizabeth Sydenham of Coombe Sydenham Hall in Somerset. However within months Drake was sailing for the West Indies, leading the largest English fleet ever assembled. He captured Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Cartagena in Colombia. Drake had now brought England into open war with Spain. Therefore King Philip was planning to invade England with an armada. In 1587 Drake lead a huge squadron through the broad channel leading into the inner harbour at Cádiz, Spain, destroying scores of ships that were being prepared for the invasion. He then captured Sagres fortress in Portugal, which guarded the entrance to the Mediterranean. Drake commited these actions because believed that attack was the best form of defence. So far the navy had only been used to defend England in home waters.

Cape Sagres, Portugal

Drake played a leading part in defeating the Spanish Armada of 150 ships in 1588. The English fleet with their fire-ships prevented the Armada from joining Duke Parma at Calais in France. Parma wanted his soldiers to capture London. Later that day, the battle off Gravelines scattered the armada which was left to the mercy of the weather. Only half the ships were able to reach Spain. Many were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. The following year, Drake hit back with an English armada by attacking Spain and Portugal. In some ways it failed, as the expedition did not find treasure. Drake only captured the lower town of La Coruña, Peniche and Vigo.
The queen was disappointed and Sir Francis was not given the chance to go to sea. Between 1589 and 1594 Drake spent his energy around Plymouth, where he fortified the town and built a leat, which carried water from Dartmoor to Plymouth.

Drake's Leat, Dartmoor, England

In 1595 he was given joint command of an expedition to the West Indies with Sir John Hawkins. Drake did not like sharing command. The two commanders argued and the squadron made slow progress. As a result, Spain had warned its Caribbean colonies and the treasure had been hidden inland. Also some cities were heavily fortified, because lessons had been learnt from Drake's earlier raids. Sir John Hawkins died off San Juan de Puerto Rico, which the fleet were powerless to capture. Although Rio Hacha in Colombia was destroyed, the amount of treasure found could have been captured by just one ship. Drake knew that if the voyage did not produce profit, his future would be ruined. Just before arriving at Portobelo in Panamá, Drake died of dysentery aboard his flagship, the Defiance. His condition had been worsened by his sadness at not having captured any riches. He lies buried off Portobelo in a lead coffin, but his outstanding adventurous life will always live in our nation's history.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Questions

Feel free to leave out the harder questions and return to them later. Answer the questions in full sentences by using the key words in the question to introduce your answers. For example, question 1. Drake spent his childhood in Kent because...

Why did Drake spend his childhood in Kent?
Why did Drake return to Plymouth?
Name the towns which Drake visited during the 1568 voyage?
What was the reason for this voyage?
In about 100 words, describe "your" experience at San Juan de Ulua.
Was Don Enrique Martínez right to break his word in these circumstances?
What were the two main purposes of Drake's 1572 voyage to Panama?
Why was the world voyage of 1578-80 prepared in secret?
What two acts did Drake carry out to make his crew happier just before entering the Magellan Strait?
What evidence is there on a world map that suggests Drake sailed around Cape Horn in southern South America?
Give the reason for Drake's success in being able to attack the whole coastline of South America.
What main event made this voyage so profitable?
Give two reasons why Drake did not sail into Plymouth harbour upon his return.
Drake's raid on Cadiz harbour is referred as to "singeing the King's beard". Why do you think this was so?
In what ways did Drake's 1589 Armada fail?
List two positive effects this voyage achieved.
Give 4 reasons why Drake's last voyage was a disaster.
About how old was Drake when he died?
Unsuccessful efforts have been made to find Drake's lead coffin.
1. Do you think that the contents should be examined?
2. Should Drake be buried in Westminster Abbey?
3. Should he be found and not disturbed?
Give reasons for your answers.
From the story can you describe Drake's personality?