Francis Drake

• • Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, opening up new trading routes for exploration
• • Drake spent his early career privateering in the New World, raiding Spanish ships and colonies, which created profitable revenue for the English crown
• • Drake was an English merchant who worked in trading in the New World
  • He seized cargoes and captured ships from many, especially the Spanish
• • in 1572, Elizabeth hired Drake as a privateer
• • Elizabeth could not back Drake publicly by 1573
  • this is because England and Spain were trying to improve relations
• • by 1577, Anglo-Spanish relations were getting worse again
  • Drake went on a voyage of the New World and Elizabeth issued him to attack Spanish colonies in the New World
  • She wanted to enrich England and disrupt Spanish trade
  • this would send the message that Elizabeth would not allow England to be dominated by Spain
• • Drake circumnavigated the globe during his 1577-80 voyage
  • He was the first Englishman to do so
  • he set off with 5 ships and was left with one, the Golden Hind, by the time he reached the Pacific
• outcome:

  • Once in the pacific, Drake stole from Spanish ports and ships along the coast of Chile and Peru
  • He claimed a region of north California, calling it New Albion
  • Drake brought an estimated $400,000 of Spanish treasure back to England
  • This impressed Elizabeth to the point where she knighted him
• significance of his actions:

  • Drake’s actions against Spain showed that England did not accept Spain’s domination of the Americas
  • Drake boosted the crown’s finances at a time of concern over Spain’s threat to England
  • Elizabeth’s public knighting of Drake on the Golden Hind sent a message of defiance to Spain