Drake's circumnavigation route 1577 1580. Francis Drake, famous English pirate: biography, main discoveries

Francis Drake(Francis Drake) was born in 1540 in the town of Tavistock, Devonshire, in the family of a poor village priest, Edmund Drake. Some sources claim that in his youth his father was a sailor. Francis' grandfather was a farmer who owned 180 acres of land. Francis's mother was from the Milway family, but I could not find her name. In total, the Drake family had twelve children, Francis was the eldest.

Francis left early parents' house(presumably in 1550), joining a small merchant ship as a cabin boy, where he quickly mastered the art of navigation. Hardworking, persistent and calculating, he attracted the attention of the old captain, who had no family and who loved Francis as his own son and bequeathed his ship to Francis. As a merchant captain, Drake undertook several long voyages to the Bay of Biscay and Guinea, where he profitably engaged in the slave trade, supplying blacks to Haiti.

In 1567, Drake commanded a ship in the squadron of the then-famous John Hawkins, who plundered the coast of Mexico with the blessing of Queen Elizabeth I. The British were out of luck. When, after a terrible storm, they defended themselves in San Juan, they were attacked by a Spanish squadron. Only one ship out of six escaped the trap and, after a difficult voyage, reached its homeland. It was Drake's ship...

In 1569 he married a girl named Mary Newman, about whom I have been unable to find out anything. It is only known that the marriage turned out to be childless. Mary died twelve years later.

"Pelican" - the flagship of Francis Drake

Soon, among the far from good-natured pirates and slave traders, young Drake began to stand out as the most cruel and the luckiest. According to contemporaries, “he was a powerful and irritable man with a furious character,” greedy, vindictive and extremely superstitious. At the same time, many historians claim that he undertook risky voyages not only for the sake of gold and honors, but that he was attracted by the very opportunity to go where no Englishman had ever been. In any case, geographers and sailors of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries owe it to this man for many important clarifications of the world map.

After Drake had distinguished himself in suppressing the Irish rebellion, he was presented to Queen Elizabeth and outlined his plan for raid and devastation. western shores South America. Along with the rank of rear admiral, Drake received five ships with a crew of one hundred and sixty selected sailors. The Queen set one condition: that the names of all those noble gentlemen who, like her, gave money to equip the expedition, remain secret.

Drake managed to hide the true goals of the expedition from spanish spies, spreading the rumor that he was heading to Alexandria. As a result of this misinformation, the Spanish ambassador in London, Don Bernandino Mendoza, did not take measures to block the pirate's path to the Western Hemisphere.

On December 13, 1577, the flotilla - the flagship Pelican (Pelican) with a displacement of 100 tons, Elizabeth (80 tons), Sea Gold (30 tons), Swan (50 tons) and the galley Christopher - left Plymouth .

During the time of Queen Elizabeth I official rules There were no ship measurements, and therefore the dimensions of Drake's ship do not match in different sources. By comparing the information, R. Hockel provides the following data: length between stems - 20.2 meters, greatest width - 5.6 meters, hold depth - 3.03 meters, side height: amidships - 4.8 meters, aft - 9.22 meters, in the bow - 6.47 meters; draft - 2.2 meters, mainmast height 19.95 meters. Armament - 18 guns, of which seven guns on each side and two on the forecastle and stern. In terms of the shape of the hull, the Pelican was a transitional type from a carrack to a galleon and was well suited for long sea voyages.

Drake's cabin was decorated and furnished with great luxury. The utensils he used were made of pure silver. While eating, musicians delighted his ears with their playing, and a page stood behind Drake’s chair. The Queen sent him gifts of incense, sweets, an embroidered sea cap and a green silk scarf with the words embroidered in gold: “May God always protect and guide you.”

Drake's Assault on Cartagena (vintage engraving)

Reconstruction of the proposed appearance"Golden Lani"

As soon as the storm passed, Drake headed north and entered Valparaiso Harbor on December 5th. Having captured a ship in the harbor loaded with wines and gold bars worth 37 thousand ducats, the pirates landed on shore and plundered the city, taking a cargo of gold sand worth 25 thousand pesos.

In addition, they found secret spanish maps, and now Drake was not moving forward blindly. It must be said that before Drake’s pirate raid, the Spaniards felt completely safe on the west coast of America - after all, not a single English ship passed through the Strait of Magellan, and therefore the Spanish ships in this area had no guards, and the cities were not prepared to repel the pirates. Walking along the coast of America, Drake captured and plundered many Spanish cities and settlements, including Callao, Santo, Trujillo, and Manta. In Panamanian waters, he overtook the ship "Carafuego", on which a cargo of fabulous value was taken - gold and silver bars and coins worth 363 thousand pesos (about 1600 kg of gold). In the Mexican harbor of Acapulco, Drake captured a galleon loaded with spices and Chinese silk.

Then Drake, having deceived all the hopes of his enemies, did not turn back to the south, but crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the Mariana Islands. Having repaired the ship in the Celebes area, he headed for the cape Good Hope and on September 26, 1580, dropped anchor in Plymouth, completing the second circumnavigation of the world after Magellan.

It was the most profitable voyage ever undertaken, with a return of 4,700%, about £500,000! To imagine the enormity of this amount, it is enough to provide two figures for comparison: fighting The defeat of the Spanish "Invincible Armada" in 1588 cost England "only" 160 thousand pounds, and the annual income of the English treasury at that time was 300 thousand pounds. Queen Elizabeth visited Drake's ship and knighted him right on deck, which was a great reward - there were only 300 people in England who had this title!

Knighting of Francis Drake

In 1585 Drake remarried. This time it was a girl of quite rich and noble family- Elizabeth Sydenham. The couple moved to the Buckland Abbey estate, which Drake had recently purchased. Today there is a large monument there in honor of Drake. But, as in his first marriage, Drake had no children.

In 1585-1586, Sir Francis Drake again commanded an armed English fleet directed against the Spanish colonies of the West Indies, and, just like the last time, returned with rich booty. For the first time, Drake commanded such a large formation: he had 21 ships with 2,300 soldiers and sailors under his command.

It was thanks to Drake's energetic actions that the Invincible Armada's departure to sea was delayed for a year, which allowed England to better prepare for military action. Not bad for one person! And it happened like this: on April 19, 1587, Drake, commanding a squadron of 13 small ships, entered the harbor of Cadiz, where the Armada ships were preparing to sail. Of the 60 ships in the roadstead, he destroyed 30, and captured some of the remaining ones and took them with him, including a huge galleon with a displacement of 1,200 tons.

In 1588, Sir Francis had a heavy hand in the complete defeat of the Invincible Armada. Unfortunately, this was the zenith of his fame. An expedition to Lisbon in 1589 ended in failure and cost him the favor and favor of the queen. He was unable to take the city, and out of 16 thousand people only 6 thousand remained alive. Besides, royal treasury suffered losses, and the queen treated such issues very poorly. It seems that Drake's happiness has left him, and the next expedition to the shores of America for new treasures has already cost him his life.

Sir Francis Drake

Since Sir Francis Drake had no children to inherit his title, it was given to his nephew, also named Francis. At the time it seemed like a curiosity of fate, but later it became the cause of many incidents and misunderstandings.

Drake's famous ship - the galleon "Golden Hind"

If we briefly characterize this man, then his fate is very unusual. As a youth, he became a ship captain, and later a successful sea pirate. Then he became a navigator and made the second voyage around the world after Ferdinand Magellan. And after all this he was promoted to admiral and defeated the invincible Spanish Armada. It's about about the legendary Francis Drake - English navigator and vice admiral.

Admiral Francis Drake

Francis Drake was born in England in the village of Tavistock, Devonshire, into a farmer's family in 1540. Since childhood, the boy dreamed of long sea voyages and fame. Francis began the road to his dreams at the age of 13 when he hired a job as a cabin boy. The young man turned out to be a smart sailor and soon he became the captain's senior mate. Later, when Francis turned 18, he purchased a small barque, on which he began to transport various cargoes. But ordinary maritime transport did not bring much wealth, which cannot be said about piracy and the slave trade. They provided more profit, and therefore Francis Drake in 1567, as a ship commander in the flotilla of his distant relative John Hawkins, set off on a long voyage to Africa for slaves and from there to the West Indies, where sailors made a living by robbing and capturing Spanish ships. During this voyage, the young navigator gained extensive experience in robberies and attacks on merchant ships of the Spanish crown. Returning to England, they immediately started talking about him as a successful captain.

Soon, in November 1577, Francis Drake left the port of Plymouth on a ship and headed an expedition to the Pacific Ocean to the shores of America, the goal was to bring new lands under the English crown and also to take possession of Spanish ships and their valuable cargoes. This time there were already five ships under Drake's command. Drake's ship called "Pelican" was armed with 18 guns and had three masts. In terms of sailing, the hundred-ton ship was classified as a galleon. Despite its relatively small size, Drake's ship had good seaworthiness. Historians say that even Queen Elizabeth herself blessed these ships and presented memorable gifts.

The sea voyage began successfully. By the end of January 1578, Drake's ships arrived off the coast of Morocco, where the British captured the city of Mogadar. Having received as a reward a large number of various valuable goods, sea pirates headed to the shores of America, where they engaged in robbery. During this, a mutiny brewed on several of Drake's ships. Some sailors decided to take up piracy themselves. However, the rebellion was suppressed. Leaving the two most leaky ships and re-forming the teams, Francis Drake set off for the Strait of Magellan. Having successfully passed the strait, the sailboats entered open ocean, where they immediately fell into a strong storm. Drake's scattered ships were never able to form a squadron. One ship crashed against the rocks, another was dragged back into the strait by the current, and its captain decided to return to England on his own. And Drake's ship, which by that time had received a new name for its excellent seaworthiness, drifted far to the south.

Drake's ship "Golden Hind"

Galleons as a type of vessel originated in the 17th century in Spain, when clumsy carracks and small caravels were no longer suitable for long sea voyages. The English galleon, like Drake's ship, was more spacious and had more powerful weapons. The aft superstructures were high, but more elegant due to their shape being strongly tapered at the top. Often, exits to open galleries were made from the aft rooms. The transom, as a rule, was created straight. The stern of galleons often had luxurious decoration in the form of gilded ornaments. The stem also had its own decorations. Sailing weapons The galleon consisted of two rows of straight sails on the first two matches and a large lateen sail on the mizzen mast. As a rule, a straight sail called a blind was installed on the bowsprit. For the first time, ships like Drake's had gun decks located below the main deck. The hull of the ship was somewhat narrower than that of its predecessor, the karakka, and the contours of the ship were smoother, which contributed to improved maneuverability and increased speed.

Drake's ship"Pelican" was built at the Alburg shipyard, and both weapons (sail and gun) were installed in her hometown Plymouth. The sailing ship had a length of 21.3 m, a beam of 5.8 m, a draft of 2.5 m and a displacement of 150 tons. Before long sea voyages, Drake's ship adopted the livery of a Spanish galleon, consisting of an ornament of red and yellow diamonds. Initially, at the stern of the ship there was a drawing of a pelican, but after the renaming, a figure of a doe, cast entirely in gold, appeared on the bow.

But let's return to the great geographical discoveries of Francis Drake. So, having successfully passed the Strait of Magellan, Drake's ship moved south. Without realizing it, he did important discovery. It turned out that Tierra del Fuego is not at all a protrusion of the known Southern continent, but is just a large island behind which the open ocean continues. Subsequently, this strait between Antarctica and South America was named after his name.

Then Drake's ship headed north, robbing and capturing coastal cities along the way. A particularly successful “treasure” awaited the English corsairs in Valparaiso. In this port, robbers attacked a ship in the harbor loaded with gold and rare goods. But most importantly, there was an unknown person on the Spanish ship nautical chart with description west coast North America.

Drake not only plundered the Spanish colonies, he walked along the coast of America much further north than the Spaniards. In mid-June Drake's ship moored to the shore for repairs and replenishment of supplies. And in the meantime, he decided to explore the area where the city of San Francisco is now located, declaring it his possession Queen of England, and called it New Albion.

The journey along the west coast of America turned out to be very successful. When Drake's ship was overloaded big amount gold and jewelry, the captain thought about returning to his homeland. However, he did not dare to proceed through the Strait of Magellan, realizing the presence of Spanish ships there. Then Drake decided to set off on an unknown journey through South ocean and the weather was favorable to him in this. Soon Drake's ship reached the Mariana Islands. After standing for repairs for several days in the Indonesian Celebes, the captain continued sailing.

On September 26, 1580, Drake and his ship arrived safely at the port of Plymouth. Here he was greeted with honors. Even Queen Elizabeth herself came to the ship and right there knighted the fearless navigator. And this reward was well-deserved, because the corsair brought “booty” that was several times the annual income of the British treasury.

In addition to the title, Francis Drake was appointed mayor of Plymouth and became an inspector of the royal commission, which carried out regular inspections of the ships of the British navy. And in 1584 he was elected an honorary member of the House of Commons.

Between 1585 and 1586, Sir Francis Drake again commanded an armed British fleet against the Spanish colonies in the West Indies. It was thanks to Drake's prompt and skillful actions that the entry to sea of ​​the Spanish fleet of King Philip II was delayed for a year. And in 1588, he put his heavy hand to the final defeat of the invincible Spanish Armada. Unfortunately, this was the end of his fame.

Francis Drake attempted a raid on Lisbon in 1589, but it was not very successful - the corsairs limited themselves to the destruction of the surrounding area and merchant ships. It also cost Drake the queen's favor and favor. After all, the royal treasury was a little empty, and Elizabeth did not relate to such matters the best way. Most likely, Lady Fortune left Drake and the next sea ​​voyage on San Juan off the Canary Islands became fatal for him. The English corsairs failed to capture the city, but Drake's ships were able to sink only a few Spanish galleons, and were forced to leave. In addition, a disease spread among the team, which did not spare the admiral. Drake fell fatally ill with tropical fever. On the morning of January 28, 1996, Sir Francis Drake died. By maritime tradition his body was lowered into the sea (like a true sailor), and the remnants of the squadron led by Thomas Baskerville returned to Plymouth without their commander.

In England the name of Francis Drake is highly revered. A monument was erected in Plymouth in honor of the admiral. And in 1973, a group of enthusiasts built a replica of Drake’s ship “Golden Hind” and repeated the glorious route of the great navigator. The ship is now stationed in London and is used as a museum ship.

Drake ship replica

English galleon "Golden Hind"

Francis Drake monument in Plymouth

Francis Drake (Francis Drake) is one of the most famous English pirates. The second man after Magellan to circumnavigate the world.

The Early Years of Francis Drake

Francis was born around 1545 in the town of Tenwiston, Devonshire. The family was not rich and had many children, except for Francis. Edmund Drake Eleven more children were born. Francis's father was a former sailor.
Since Francis was the eldest child, he began to help his father early and at about 10 years old he got a job as a cabin boy on a small merchant ship. The inquisitive boy deftly coped with the work and grasped the basics of navigation on the fly, which greatly attracted the old captain. Since the captain was his relative and had no children, he bequeathed his ship to Francis.
At the age of 16, Francis Drake became the owner of a 50-ton barque Judith . Little is known about the first years of Drake's voyage, we only know that he took part in the slave trade during a pirate expedition John Lawwell.

Drake's first expeditions and first failures

At the end of 1567 Francis Drake took part in the expedition of another relative John Hawkins, a wealthy armorer who planned to plunder Spanish fortresses on the coast of Mexico.
But the expedition was extremely unsuccessful. For a very long time the British were unable to capture slaves or even rob any Portuguese slave trading ship. When they managed to download sufficient quantity slaves, they could not sell them to Spanish planters for a long time. The English ships were caught in a strong storm, and when they entered the harbor, the exit was blocked for repairs by the squadron accompanying the Silver Fleet. Of the six English ships, only Drake's ship managed to escape without loss. See a more detailed account of this expedition in the biography John Hawkins.
Returning to England, Drake married Mary Newman, after which he went on several ships to the Caribbean Sea for reconnaissance. But all the campaigns before the expedition of 1672 were of a reconnaissance nature, so no documents about these campaigns of Drake have been preserved.
In May 1672 Francis Drake sets off again across the ocean, for Silver caravan . The British set out on this expedition on two small ships, and on the way to America, the British robbed several Spanish ships. Having reached the Isthmus of Panama, the expedition together with pirates James Rense attacked the city of Nombre de Dios, but they failed to capture the city, and Drake was wounded in the leg. Despite this, Drake cruised along the coast for several months, robbing Spanish ships.
Finally, the British landed on the shore and tried to capture the caravan with the silver. By stupid chance, instead of a caravan with silver, Drake's detachment captured a caravan with food. Enraged, Drake plundered the colony of Venta Cruz. Going out to sea, the British met French pirates under the command of Guillaume Le Tetu, with which they attacked the silver caravan again, this time luck smiled on the pirates. The loot was so large that the pirates were unable to carry it all at once, so they were forced to hide some of the loot on the spot. While combing the forest, the Spaniards found Le Tete and shot her. After threatening one of the pirates with torture, the Spaniards found the hidden silver. Drake was luckier; he reached his ships safely. The captured booty was divided between the British and the French, and soon Drake met a Spanish ship with food. Now Drake had food and a strong ship, the British headed home.
The booty captured on the expedition was so great that Drake, after paying all the interest, was able to purchase an estate and three ships. But about 30 people did not return from the campaign, among them were two of Francis’s brothers.

Circumnavigation

Francis Drake led the suppression of the Irish uprising, for which he was introduced Queen Elizabeth I. He used this audience to present to the queen his plan for an attack on the Spanish colonies in the Pacific. The Queen approved the plan, but set one condition: to hide the names of the people who provided finance for this expedition. Drake used a trick, none of the team knew about true goal expedition until they reached the shores of South America.
Three ships set out on the voyage. When the pirates crossed the ocean, they stopped at San Julian Bay, in which Magellan dealt with the rebels. Drake had to execute his friend, captain, here. Thomas Doty on suspicion of preparing a rebellion. After which the flagship of the expedition was renamed here Golden Hind .
Coming out of Strait of Magellan, the ships were caught in a severe storm. One of the ships was killed, the second was thrown back to the strait, and after passing through it in the opposite direction, the ship returned to England. Golden Hind Drake was carried far to the south, here the privateer made the discovery that Tierra del Fuego is an island, and not part of the Southern continent as previously thought. The strait between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica was later named after Drake.
When the storm died down, Drake moved along the coast. Since until this time none of the European ships, except the Spanish ones, had ever been on the Pacific coast, the Spanish fortresses located on the coast were defenseless, and Drake's attacks were so sudden and unexpected that they almost always ended in success. The Spaniards expected that Drake would return to England through the Strait of Magellan and sent a squadron, but Drake deceived the enemies, crossed the Pacific and Indian Ocean s, walked around Africa and returned to England almost three years later.
It was the most profitable expedition in history. Drake brought gold and jewelry worth 500 thousand pounds from America; to imagine the size of this amount, it should be said that England’s costs in the fight against An invincible armada , cost 160 thousand pounds, and the annual income of the English treasury was 300 thousand pounds. The return on every pound invested was 4,700%.
The Queen arrived aboard Drake's ship and knighted him right on deck. Drake was elected mayor of Plymouth and was successful in that position as well. Residents of this port city remembered their mayor with gratitude for another 300 years when they used drinking water.

Victory over the Invincible Armada

After his return, Francis Drake made another successful expedition to the West Indies. He managed to rob the capital of Hispaniola, Santo Domingo, and one of the largest Spanish cities, Cartagena. 21 ships and more than two thousand soldiers took part in the expedition.
Philip II declared Drake the main enemy of Spain. Spain began to prepare a huge fleet to land the army on the English coast.
Drake managed to approach the Spanish port with a small squadron, where there were about 60 ships. Thanks to the use of fire ships, he managed to set fire to about 30 ships. Drake himself boarded a Spanish galleon with a displacement of 1200 tons. This outing delayed the release of the upcoming project for almost a whole year. Invincible Armada . In the victory over the armada, the main ally of the British was the wind, which scattered the Spanish ships and made it impossible to land troops.
Drake's attempt to capture Lisbon ended in failure. The treasury suffered huge losses, which brought Drake the queen's disfavor.

Last voyage

By the time of the last expedition, the Spaniards were able to learn from previous raids and were able to establish protection for fortresses and main mines. Diseases accompanied this expedition and decimated the soldiers and sailors. I myself did not escape this fate. Francis Drake. He fell ill with dysentery and died on January 28, 1596. His body was placed in a lead coffin and thrown into the sea.

(c. 1540-1596)

- the son of an English sailor from Croundal, Devonshire. Received a good education and devoted himself to trade. During a voyage with goods to Guinea, he was attacked by Spanish ships. Drake lost all his goods and was captured. After returning to England, he vowed revenge on the Spaniards.

In 1567, Francis Drake proposed to Queen Elizabeth that he organize an expedition to recapture Mexico from Spain and thus begin colonial empire. The Queen agreed, and soon a squadron of six ships under the command of Drake left Plymouth for America. Unfortunately, off the Mexican coast near Veracruz, the squadron encountered overwhelming Spanish forces, and the battle with them ended in Drake's defeat.

Francis Drake returned to his homeland and began to think about future plans struggle.

After trial voyages in 1570 and 1571, Drake again organized an expedition against Spanish possessions in America. He attacked trading ports, captured enemy warships and ships with goods, burned a huge store with goods in Veracruz, and destroyed Spanish settlements. He did all this on own responsibility: There was no state of war between England and Spain.

On August 9, 1573, Drake returned to Plymouth. Most He spent the rich trophies on arming and equipping three frigates, which he commanded while in the service of Lord Essex.

On December 18, 1577, Drake went to new trip. Under his command were 5 superbly equipped ships, whose crews consisted of experienced sailors. The purpose of the expedition was the exploration and conquest of South America by England. Drake crossed the Atlantic Ocean, went around Tierra del Fuego from the south and discovered Cape Horn along the way. From here he headed north along the coasts of Chile and Peru, capturing Spanish ships or requisitioning the goods they carried along the way. Sea routes along the coast of Chile and Peru were not well known to sailors, and Drake hoped that he would be able to find some new strait, leading to the Atlantic Ocean. So he reached northern California, which he declared the queen's possession, giving the peninsula the name New Albion. Of course, he was unable to find a passage to the Atlantic Ocean, so he headed west to the wide waters Pacific Ocean. Constantly pursued by Spanish ships, Drake reached the island of Ternate from the Moluccas archipelago on November 4, 1579, from where he headed to the island of Java. These were already Portuguese colonies, so the danger of attack was somewhat less. At the head of his squadron, Drake headed around the Cape of Good Hope and finally reached the shores of England on September 26, 1580.

During Drake's absence, the Spanish ambassador in London sent notes one after another complaining about his “pirate attacks.” Ignoring the complaints of the Spaniards, Queen Elizabeth herself went to Deptford on the banks of the Thames (now one of the urban areas of London) on April 4, 1581. , to award the title of nobility to the famous sailor anchored in Detpford. In 1582, Drake became mayor of the city of Plymouth. In 1584, war broke out with Spain, and Drake was appointed commander of a squadron of 20 ships. to the city of Santiago on the Cape Verde Islands, captured it and plundered it. From there he sailed to the Caribbean Sea. He captured Santo Domingo, Cartago (in present-day Colombia), destroyed the Spanish forts in Florida and returned on July 28, 1586 with rich trophies to Plymouth. He attacked the enemy directly in Spain. At the head of a squadron of 30 ships, he reached Cadiz and burned 22 ships anchored there in the port.
Standing at the heights of colonial and military power, Spain decided to put an end to the small island that dared to resist its power. King Philip II, a narrow-minded sadist, exiled in 1588 powerful fleet, named „ Invincible Armada"" with the task of punishing England. This force was opposed by a small fleet under the command of Admiral Howard Essingame and his deputy, Vice Admiral Francis Drake. In the battle near Plymouth, the British completely defeated the Invincible Armada, sinking half of the ships - the rest were dispersed by a storm.
The English victory was huge political significance: from now on spanish empire began to gradually decline, and England turned into a world power. In 1589, Drake, at the head of an English fleet, sailed to the Iberian Peninsula with the intention of liberating Portugal from Spanish occupation and returning the throne to King John, who had found refuge in England. Due to the lack of concerted action between Drake and the commander of the ground forces, the enterprise ended in failure.

An attempt to capture Puerto Rico in 1595 was also unsuccessful. Instead, Drake burned the ports of Lache and Nombre de Dios (in what is now Mexico). A few days later, Drake headed to Panama, but this expedition also did not bring results.

And just at this time, Drake fell ill with a fever, which caused his death (in Portobello, near the northern end of the present Panama Canal), which followed on January 28, 1596.

Drake is the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world. He discovered Cape Horn and thereby proved that Tierra del Fuego is an island and not a peninsula of the “unknown” southern land"With this, Drake opened up a more convenient path for sailors than the narrow and rocky Strait of Magellan.

In the process of creating the British maritime and colonial empire, Drake played important role: with his victories he showed the whole world the strength and capabilities of England. Drake was one of the pioneers of privateer piracy, which expanded in the future.

Drake sought to spread the culture of some American plants, such as potatoes, to Europe; For this, a monument was erected to him in Offenburg (Baden).

The strait between Tierra del Fuego and Graham Land on Antarctica and the bay to the north west of San Francisco are named after Drake.

Famous English pirate Francis Drake began to participate in pirate adventures at the age of 26, in 1567. Also in early years he was one of the members of the Hawkins expedition. Drake set off from Plymouth on May 24, 1572 on his next voyage. He decided to carry it out on his own ship "Sevan". To the younger brother Francis, John, was assigned to control another ship, the Pasha. Drake, during this campaign and other voyages, carried out pirate raids in the Caribbean Sea off the island of Pinos (today it is Juventud Island) and off the coast of Cuba.

Francis returned after numerous “exploits” to England on November 3, 1580. Queen Elizabeth greeted him with great honors. She even gave the pirate a sword, on which there was an inscription that if Drake was hit, it would mean that the whole kingdom hit. Elizabeth granted Francis the title of Sir. He became an admiral of the British fleet and a member of parliament. Strange, isn't it? However, Francis Drake deservedly received all this. In the fall of 1580, he returned not just from a pirate campaign. Francis traveled around the world. After reading this article, you will find out what Francis Drake discovered and what the results of his expedition were. We will also go into detail about how this famous journey took place.

It is interesting that no one instructed him to sail around the world, and the pirate himself did not plan it. In those days, many geographical discoveries were made by accident, as a result of unforeseen circumstances.

Preparing for swimming

Francis Drake completed preparations for the pirate voyage in the fall of 1577. He planned to go to the Pacific (west) coast of South America. The preparations were carried out with the help of influential patrons, among whom was Queen Elizabeth herself. The idea of ​​the campaign was simple: the Spaniards did not expect an attack on the west coast of South America, either from sea or from land. Consequently, it is possible to rob coastal settlements and ships with almost impunity.

Out to sea, stop in San Julian

Francis Drake's ships (4 in total) left Plymouth at the end of 1577. Already in April next year the pirates reached the mouth of the river. La Plati. After a short stop, they headed south. The pirates followed the coast of Patagonia. This is the name of the part of modern Argentina, stretching from the Strait of Magellan to the river bed. Rio Negro. In San Julian Bay, located in the south of Patagonia, Francis's flotilla decided to make a stop. By the way, it is known that it was in this bay that Magellan wintered in June - October 1520.

Difficulties the team had to face

After this stop, the flotilla moved on, however, already consisting of three ships. The fact is that one ship became faulty and was burned on Drake's orders. Soon the travelers reached the Strait of Magellan. Its winding and complex fairway was difficult to overcome in 20 days. The sailors suffered from the cold. It was July, and this is Southern Hemisphere coldest month. Finally, the team entered the Pacific Ocean and continued north to the tropics. Suddenly, the pirates were overtaken by a strong storm. One ship out of three was missing. Most likely, he crashed and sank somewhere in the ocean. Another ship has re-entered the Strait of Magellan. The pirates who sailed on this ship managed to return to England. There is only one ship left. This was Francis Drake's flagship, the Golden Hind.

How Drake made a discovery

After the storm, the ship ended up far to the south. Francis Drake noticed that Tierra del Fuego ended here. To the south there is a vast ocean. This is how, by chance, an important geographical discovery was made. It became clear that Tierra del Fuego is an island. Previously it was believed that this was part of the Unknown Land. What Francis Drake discovered was very great importance. Later, the strait between Antarctica and South America deservedly became known as

Attacks on Spanish ships, rich booty

The ocean has finally calmed down and the weather has improved. Noticing this, Francis Drake decided to continue the expedition he had begun. The pirate sent his the only ship. Feeling the proximity of the subtropics, the team perked up. The sailors began to forget the hardships of the journey that they experienced in the Tierra del Fuego region after the first Spanish ships appeared. As a result of the attacks on them, the holds of the Golden Hind gradually began to be filled with jewelry and gold.

Drake did not take the lives of those he robbed unless absolutely necessary. Because of this, his pirate operations proceeded with virtually no casualties among his crew. Drake established almost friendly relations with the Chilean Indians. The availability of wine, food and women from local tribes, rich booty became a reward for the hardships and dangers experienced before. Drake captured a Spanish galleon that was transporting jewelry and gold from the American colonies to the Spanish treasury. Not every pirate could boast of such luck. The extracted wealth was so great that there was nowhere to load it. It was necessary to return home, but how?

Return trip

Of course, Francis did not know, and could not have known, about the plans of the Spaniards. However, being an experienced captain, he was able to foresee that the Spanish ships, intending to destroy him, would go through the Strait of Magellan towards him. And so it happened. It was necessary to save people, themselves and the looted jewelry. And what did Francis Drake do? He decided to head north, moving along the west coast of America. The length of this path is amazing. Drake sailed from Tierra del Fuego (of course, stopping several times on the shore) along the coasts of Peru and Chile, past the lands of Mexico and Central America, along the west coast modern USA. He reached 48 degrees north latitude, that is, he reached the US border with what is now Canada. IN total the length of this path is at least 20 thousand km, since the ship did not move strictly along the meridian. The ship circled the shores of both Americas.

The shore deviated further and further to the west. Fleeing from persecution, Francis was probably ready to get to Atlantic Ocean, circumnavigating North America. However, this was impossible to do, since the pirate did not know whether such a way existed. There was only one way out - to turn west, finding ourselves in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Heading southwest, Drake arrived 3 months later. After another 1.5-2 months, his ship was already moving between the islands of the Moluccas archipelago. Drake in this area could well have encountered Portuguese or Spanish warships. However, he was lucky to avoid these meetings.

The final stage of the journey

The next stage of the famous pirate’s voyage can also be called unique in its kind. Drake's ship sailed across the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope. The travelers, rounding this cape, moved north. They decided to sail along the west coast of Africa and Iberian Peninsula. After some time, the pirates reached the Bay of Biscay. They arrived in Plymouth in early November 1580. Thus, the trip lasting 3 years turned out to be around the world.

Merits of Francis Drake

Pirate Francis Drake is the second captain after F. Magellan, who managed to circumnavigate the world. However, he was much more fortunate than his predecessor. After all, Magellan did not reach Portugal. He died in a skirmish with the aborigines that occurred in the Philippine Islands. 1.5 years after his death, the only surviving ship was brought to Lisbon by crew members who managed to survive.

Francis Drake's achievements consisted not only in the fact that he managed to save his life during a dangerous and long voyage. He brought back most of the sailors of the ship "Golden Hind". In addition, Francis Drake's galleon, under the personal command of the captain, was brought to the port. In addition, the ship carried a large cargo of gold and various jewelry.

Immediately after this voyage (1577-1580), Francis Drake, from a simple pirate, as he had been several years earlier, turned into a respected admiral British Navy. The Queen of England herself showed him every honor. Francis Drake's discoveries were appreciated.

After this, Francis went to sea many times. He fought with Spanish ships. Francis in 1588 participated in repelling the attack of the Spanish Invincible Armada. The battle ended in victory for the British. Famous pirate died in 1596, having set off on another journey a year earlier. In the Caribbean, he died of dysentery.

Drake Passage

And today, the wide strait connecting the South Shetland Islands and Tierra del Fuego is named after this pirate. An ignorant person may think that this is some kind of misunderstanding or historical curiosity. But now that we know all the circumstances of this case, we can say with confidence that there is no mistake. That's right, because Drake did a lot for his homeland. But not only for her. What Francis Drake did for geography is no less, and perhaps more important.