English sailors

• The age of trade

  • The actions of explorers increased income for the Crown and the country (the purpose for many voyages was to make money), but real prize lay in trade
  • Before Elizabeth's reign, the majority of English trade was with other European countries, but people began to look further, particularly in Southeast Asia where spices could be bought
  • Initially it was necessary to go through middlemen, traders who bought the spices and then sold them to the Europeans, making a big profit
  • The English were keen to cut out the middlemen by finding direct routes to India and Southeast Asia to raise their own profits
• Attempts to trade with Asia

  • Several attempts were made to find a direct route to India and China
  • The first notable ones were those of Sir Martin Frobisher who tried on three occasions but failed each time
  • Attempts to reach the East led to the exploration of other areas, including the Americas
  • Companies began to be established with the purpose of trading in particular areas
  • The Muscovy Company was created in 1555 and given the monopoly of trade with the city of Moscow in Russia, so that no other company could trade in this area
  • This lead to the Eastland Company (1579) in Scandinavia and the Baltic, and the Levant Company (1581) in Turkey and the Middle East
• Resources in Asia

  • In 1582, Queen Elizabeth sent Ralph Fitch to India and Southeast Asia
  • When he returned, he told the queen that profitable trade was more than possible
  • The East India Company was established in 1600 to oversee this trade
  • Although English trade in Southeast Asia was limited compared to that of other European countries, this period saw the foundations laid for dominance in later centuries
  • These companies brought products to England that had rarely been seen before, such as spices, silks and porcelain
• The human trade

  • In 1562, the successful merchant, seafarer and trader John Hawkins saw a new opportunity to make an even greater fortune - breaking into the Portugese monopoly in trading enslaved Africans
  • On a raiding trip to West Africa, Hawkins captured 300 Africans who had already been enslaved by the Portuguese
  • He took them to the Caribbean where he traded them for goods including leather, sugar and pearls
  • Two years later in 1564, with the backing of Queen Elizabeth, Hawkins took a larger fleet of ships back to West Africa and enslaved 400 more Africans
  • It is believed that a young Francis Drake accompanied Hawkins, his elder cousin, on the voyage
  • Over the following years, it is estimated that between 1,200 and 1,400 African people were enslaved and traded in this way
• John Hawkins

  • Key figure in Elizabeth's court, even working as a spy joining the Ridolfi Plot against the queen and passing information about the plot to the authorities
  • Hawkins was responsible for building up the Royal Navy and was a respected military leader, playing a major role as a commander in the battle against the Spanish Armada. He was also a successful privateer, raiding Spanish ports and ships
  • In 1562, Hawkins became Britain's first slave trader. His cousin Francis Drake joined him on three of his four slave-trading voyages
  • He is believed to be responsible for introducing tobacco to England after discovering it during one of his voyages
  • Knighted in 1588 for his role in preparing the English fleet against the Spanish Armada
• The new world

  • In addition to Southeast Asia and Africa, English and other European sailors crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas
  • Like elsewhere, these voyages were about gaining wealth and influence, but they were also about establishing colonies
  • Europeans saw these lands as a 'New World' because to them, that is exactly what they are
  • However, for the indigenous people that lived there, the arrival of European colonists represented the start of a time of misery and exploitation
  • Many indigenous people were killed, others were enslaved; all saw their way of life disrupted and destroyed
• Raleigh's 'new world'


  • In 1584, Elizabeth gave Sir Walter Raleigh permission to explore, colonise and rule any land that was not already ruled by a Christian
  • In return he had to give the queen one fifth of all the gold and silver that he found there
  • The aim was to increase England's influence and gain the country more wealth
  • Raleigh, who was a respected, famous explorer and adventurer, did not set sail for North America himself but rather sent others to form the first English colony in what is now the United States
• Sir Walter Raleigh

  • Born into a Protestant family and had struggled to survive the reign of Mary I
  • Very loyal to Elizabeth and spent years in Ireland fighting Catholic rebels
  • Became a favourite of the queen when he returned to court
  • Embarked on voyages to South America in search of a legendary city of gold: El Dorado
  • Funded an attempt to establish a colony in North America
  • His secret marriage to one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting led to a jealous Elizabeth banishing him from court for five years in 1592
• The Roanoke colony

  • A colony was established at Roanoke but did not last
  • A second was established in 1587 and seemed set to succeed
  • However, when the colony's leader, John White, returned after a trip to England, the other colonists had disappeared
  • The only clue was the word CROATOAN carved into a tree, the name of a local tribe
  • No trace of the colonists was ever found
  • It would not be until the reign of James I, Elizabeth's successor, that a colony was successfully established in North America
• How did the voyages benefit England? - Wealth

  • English privateers like Sir Francis Drake brought riches back to England by raiding Spanish ships and ports
  • Sailors like Drake and his cousin, John Hawkins, made their fortunes and added to the country's wealth by trading in enslaved Africans, who were treated as another product to be bought and sold
  • However, other countries like Spain and Portugal also made huge amounts of money at this time, for this example, by trading in spices and taking gold from South America
  • Despite this, England did build the foundations of the powerful trading empire it later became, with many of the trading companies established under Elizabeth becoming very important in the following century
• How did the voyages benefit England? - Power

  • English naval power was a growing force under Elizabeth
  • It was clear that England could hold its own in any sea battle and was able to exert its influence over many weaker countries
• How did the voyages benefit England? - Territory


  • England failed in its first attempt to build a colony in America - and other countries beat England in the race to colonise South America
  • However, English explorers and settlers persevered and over the next few centuries England began to build up more and more territory overseas
• Sir Francis Drake

  • One of the most famous figures of the Elizabethan Age was Sir Francis Drake: a privateer, explorer and military leader
  • One of his most important achievements was his circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580
  • His journey was a huge maritime achievement and it helped to map parts of the world that few Europeans had ever visited before
  • His main aim, however, was to capture as much treasure as possible and take it back to England
• The age of discovery

  • The Elizabethan period was a time of great discovery and exploration for many European countries, most notably Spain
  • England, keen to compete with their powerful rival, also began to seek out new lands and trade opportunities
  • In 1577, Sir Francis Drake set off from Plymouth on what would be one of the greatest voyages of the era
  • Drake was a privateer who had become known for his attacks on Spanish ships and Spanish ports, but also for his involvement in the early days of the trade in enslaved Africans
  • Both of these activities made Drake, Queen Elizabeth and many other English nobles very wealthy
• Before the voyage

  • When Drake left Plymouth in 1577 with five ships, his aim was to sail to the east coast of South America before voyaging around the southern tip of the continent and attacking the Spanish colonies on the west coast
  • He believed that these settlements would be poorly defended as they would never expect to see an English ship in the Pacific Ocean
  • Drake hoped to weaken Spain's position in South America and Europe, and to increase England's influence by building new trade routes
  • The journey would be challenging but the benefits of success could be huge
  • The Queen and other nobles paid for the voyage, hoping for large returns on their investments
  • The risk of inflaming the rivalry with Spain meant that many of these backers did so in secret
• Drake's return

  • Drake certainly achieved his aims
  • Drake and all his backers made a huge amount from their investments, with half of the money going to the queen
  • This not only improved England's financial situation, but also built new opportunities for trade around the world
  • The achievement could also be used as propaganda to show that England was an important and powerful country, able to compete with Spain on the global stage