PEOPLE IN HISTORY          WARS, BATTLES AND REVOLUTIONS          MAP ARCHIVE          FAMOUS SPEECHES

 
 

GOVERNMENTS IN HISTORY          HISTORIC DOCUMENTS          HISTORIC PLACES AND LOCATIONS          ALL-TIME RECORDS IN HISTORY

 
 

SOURCE TEXT          SOURCE DOCUMENTS          HISTORY DICTIONARY          TIMELINES          ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS

 
   
 

HOME   -   PEOPLE IN HISTORY A-Z   -   FRANCIS DRAKE

 
   


Sir Francis Drake, 1540 (?) - 1596

 

Francis Drake 1540-1596

 


Spanish nightmare Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman who sailed around the globe, which he did during the years 1577 - 1580.

At around age 18, Francis went to plunder off the French coast under John Hawkins, an old friend of the family. Illegal slave trade was part of the game.

In 1567, he commanded a ship for the first time.

In 1569, Francis married Mary Newman. Mary died in 1583.

 

On his second trip to the West Indies, Francis was attacked by the Spanish at San Juan de Ulúa off the coast of Mexico. All but three of the English ships were destroyed.

 

In 1572, Francis himself set out with two ships and 73 men to pillage. He plundered the town Nombre de Dios in Panama, burned down Portobelo, and captured lots of silver. This trip made Francis Drake rich and famous.

He spent the next few years on sea fighting the Irish.
 


SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
Click to enlarge


 

In December 1577, Francis went to circumnavigate the globe and, of course, to harass the Spanish en route as much as possible.

He went through the Straits of Magellan and plundered his way up the coast of South America, trying to find a passage to the Atlantic. He went as far up the coast as today's Vancouver.

But as there was no passage to the Atlantic, Francis Drake decided to cross the Pacific instead and went back to what is now San Francisco in order to get ready and prepare for the crossing. While in the area, he claimed the land there in the name of his Queen and named it New Albion.
 


MAP OF NEW ALBION - 1820
Click to enlarge


 

Francis Drake made his way around the Cape of Good Hope and arrived in Plymouth on September 26, 1580.

Queen Elizabeth I was delighted and Francis knighted.


 

Buckland Abbey

In 1585, Francis decided to marry again. This time the lucky lady was Elizabeth Sydenham.

They acquired Buckland Abbey as their home, which you are welcome to visit today.


 

Francis was on the roll.

In 1585, he sacked Vigo in Spain and burned São Tiago on the Cape Verde Islands. Off he went across the Atlantic again, took Santo Domingo and Cartagena, and plundered the coast of Florida.

 

Spain had had it and prepared for war. In 1587, Drake entered the harbor of Cádiz with 26 ships and destroyed about 30 of the ships the Spanish were assembling there.

Francis Drake was vice admiral of the fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. Next on the list was an invasion of Portugal. Drake was in joint command of the campaign but failed to take Lisbon. The year? 1589.

 

Drake’s last expedition, in 1595, undertaken jointly with Hawkins, was directed against the West Indies. This time the Spanish were prepared, and the venture was a complete failure. Hawkins died off Puerto Rico, and Drake shortly afterward, of dysentery, off Portobello, where he was buried at sea.


And here is the map of his trips:

World Map 1340 - 1600
ROUTES OF FRANCIS DRAKE
Click map to enlarge


 

For the Discovery of North America, check this map

Discovery of North America
985 - 1794 Discovery of North America

 

 

 

 

More History


 



People in History A - Z
 

 

People in History by Group


Explorers, Scientists & Inventors

Musicians, Painters & Artists

Poets, Writers & Philosophers

Native Americans & The Wild West

First Ladies

Popes

Troublemakers

Historians

Archaeologists

Royal Families

Tribes & Peoples

 


King John of England 1167-1216

 

Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible 1530 - 1584

 

Adolf Hitler 1889 - 1945

 

 

Famous Speeches in History
Browse the speech archive:

Speeches by Topic A-Z

Speeches by Speaker A-Z

Speeches in Chronological Order

Speeches Given by Women

Speeches Given by African-Americans

Speeches Given by U.S. Presidents





Wars, Battles & Revolutions in History




 

Online History Dictionary A - Z

Online History Dictionary A - Z

 


Greco-Persian Wars
Also called the Persian Wars, the Greco-Persian Wars were fought for almost half a century from 492 to 449 BC. Greece won against enormous odds. Here is more:

Battle of Marathon
Battle of Thermopylae
Battle of Salamis
Battle of Plataea


 


HISTORY

Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution


Check out the
Timelines of the Mexican Revolution

Mexico's transition from dictatorship to constitutional republic translated into ten messy years of skirmishing in Mexican history.

More from the Mexican Revolution:

Pancho Villa

Emiliano Zapata

Francisco I. Madero

Causes of the Mexican Revolution

Women in the Mexican Revolution

Summary of the Mexican Revolution

 


 

 

French Revolution - Its Causes, Its Victims, Its Effects

     
 


People in History

People in History A

People in History B

People in History Ca - Char

People in History Chas - Cz

People in History D

People in History E

People in History F

People in History G

People in History H

People in History I

People in History J - K

People in History L

People in History M

People in History N - O

People in History P - Q

People in History R

People in History S

People in History T

People in History U - Z


Explorers, Scientists & Inventors

Musicians, Painters & Artists


Poets, Writers & Philosophers

Native Americans & The Wild West

First Ladies

Popes

Troublemakers

Historians

Archaeologists

Royal Families

Tribes & Peoples

 


Wars, Battles & Revolutions

Wars & Revolutions A

Wars & Revolutions B - E

Wars & Revolutions F - G

Wars & Revolutions H - J

Wars & Revolutions K - O

Wars & Revolutions P - R

Wars & Revolutions S - Z

Wars & Revolutions Chronological

Battles A - C

Battles D - G

Battles H - L


Battles M - P

Battles Q - Z

Battles Ancient Times - 1499

Battles 1500 - 1699

Battles 1700 - 1799

Battles 1800 - 1899

Battles 1900 - Today
 


Miscellaneous

History Dictionary A - F

History Dictionary G - Z

Source Text - By Title

Source Text - By Author

Historic Documents A - K

Historic Documents L - Z

Historic Documents Chronological

Music in History

History Movies

Research

Bored?

Kids & History

Browse

About Us

Write Me

 


Sitemaps

Sitemap 01   Sitemap 02   Sitemap 03    Sitemap 04   Sitemap 05   Sitemap 06  
Sitemap 07   Sitemap 08   Sitemap 09    Sitemap 10   Sitemap 11   Sitemap 12
Sitemap 13   Sitemap 14   Sitemap 15    Sitemap 16   Sitemap 17   Sitemap 18
Sitemap 19   Sitemap 20   Sitemap 21    Sitemap 22   Sitemap 23   Sitemap 24


Site Search

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

 

© 2016 Emerson Kent