Sir Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake was an English navigator and explorer, born near Tavistock. He served an apprenticeship as a mariner, and in 1567 he was given his first command. His ship, the Judith, was one of a squadron of vessels led by a kinsman of Drake, the English navigator Sir John Hawkins, on a slave-trading voyage in the Gulf of Mexico. All but two ships of the expedition were lost when attacked by a Spanish squadron. In 1570 and 1571 Drake made two profitable trading voyages to the West Indies. In 1572 he commanded two vessels in a marauding expedition against Spanish ports in the Caribbean Sea. During this voyage, Drake first saw the Pacific Ocean; he captured the port of Nombre de Dios on the Isthmus of Panama and destroyed the nearby town of Portobelo. He returned to England with a cargo of Spanish silver and a reputation as a brilliant privateer.

Sir Francis Drake was born in Tavistock, Devon (a small market town in Southwest London) between the years 1540 and 1543. His father was a farmer, who later became a preacher at Chathem, which is south of London. When he first went to sail the sea it was in coastal ships that sail on the Thames River. Then Thames River is located in Ontario, Canada. Drake's father, Edmund Drake, may have been a sailor, but there is no evidence that proves that. He may have been a farmer on the land of Devon that his parents own. Drake's mother was of the Mylwaye family but her first name is unknown. Edmund Drake and his wife had twelve sons, Francis Drake was the oldest.

From 1566 to 1569, Drake sailed on two slave-trading voyages organized by his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, a famous sea dog. Hawkins obtained slaves in Africa and sold them to West Indian plantation owners. These voyages brought protests from both Portugal and Spain. Portugal did not want English competition in the slave trade, and Spain objected to English ships sailing in Caribbean waters. The slave-trading voyages gave Drake valuable sailing experience.

In 1567, Drake commanded the Judith on the second of the expeditions led by Hawkins. On the return trip, the ships stopped at the Mexican port of San Juan de UlÐ"Ñ"a, near Veracruz. A fleet of Spanish ships approached the harbor, pretending to be friendly, but the Spaniards attacked the English, killing many sailors and sinking several vessels. Only the Judith and Hawkins's ship, the Minion, escaped. Drake returned to England hating the Spaniards and vowing revenge.

On July 4th, 1569 Drake marries Mary Newman. From 1570 to 1572, Drake took part in looting missions to the West Indies. In 1572, he seized several Spanish shops off the coast of Panama. He landed on the coast and captured the port of Nombre De Dios, near ColÐ"Ñ-n. Drake e then looted the town and ambushed a mule train carrying Peruvian silver across the Isthmus of Panama.

Drake's most famous voyage began on December 13, 1577. He and more than 160 men sailed from Plymouth in the Pelican, the Elizabeth, and the Marigold. Two other shops, the Swan and the Benedict (also known as the Christopher), carried supplies. The original goals of the voyage are not clear, neither is Queen Elizabeth's role in planning the voyage, but Drake hoped to explore the possibilities of trade an colonial settlement in the Pacific Ocean and to find the western outlet of the Northwest Passage. Drake also may have intended to search for an undiscovered continent that was believed to lie in the South Pacific. He probably planned to loot Spanish ships and colonies along the Pacific coast of South America.

After leaving SÐ"Јo Tiago in the Cape Verde Islands, Drake's expedition met two Portuguese ships. Drake captured one of the vessels and gave its command to a friend, Thomas Doughty. The ships sailed south along the Atlantic coast of South America and ran into violent storms. The expedition then stopped at San Julian for supplies. There, Drake had Doughty beheaded because he suspected him of planning a rebellion against him.

Before leaving San Julian, Drake destroyed the supply ships and the captured Portuguese ship because they