Environmental Factor - Drake's Circumnavigation

• Wealth - By raiding Spanish ships and ports, English sailors like Drake brought riches back to England. However, other countries like Spain were also making huge amounts of money by trading in spices etc. Despite this, England built the foundations of the great trading empire it later became.
• 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.
• 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. Howevr, English explorers and settlers persevered and over the next few centuries England began to build up more and moer territory overseas.
• Technology - The astrolobe, magnetic compass and printing press helped to make navigating easier.
• John Hawkins = He was a key figure in Elizabeth's Court and was responsible for building up the Royal Navy. He was respected military leader, playing a major role in the Spanish Armada. His cousin was Francis Drake, who accompanied him on his last voyage. From 1562 he became involved in the African slave trade, first seizing slaves from the Portugese, and then capturing them himself. The slave trade made England rich. He is believed to be responsible for introducing tobacco to England.
• Francis Drake = Born into a strict Puritan family and joined his cousin John Hawkins on his transatlantic voyages. He became famous as a captain and privateer (raiding Spanish ships) after his successful voyage in 1572 when he returned with considerable stolen goods. He circumnavigated (travelled around) the globe in the Golden Hind between 1577 and 1580. He was knighted when her returned by Elizabeth in 1581, but was hated and called a pirate by the Spanish. He played a crucial role in defeating the Spanish Armada.
• Sir Walter Raleigh = He was born into a protestant family who had a stuggle to surve during Mary I's reign. He was a favourite of Elizabeth's at court and she granted him a royal charter to explore new lands. He played a key role in exploring the New World and colonising North America. He is reputed to have introduced potatoes and tobacco to England.
• Martin Frobisher = Martin Frobisher was the son of a merchant who became an English sailor and privateer. He made three voyages to the New World to look for the Northwest passage to China. He collected many riches from attacking French ships and played a key role in defeating the Spanish and was knighted for his efforts.
• James Lancaster = James Lancaster was a soldier and a trader. He was the man who reached the Far East. He had been inspired by Portuguese explorers and sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to reach India and the Spice Islands. This led to the East India Company being formed in 1600 which traded goods such as silks, spices, cotton and tea. These ships all used Lancaster's route.
• Drake's Motivations:

  1. Conquest of new land and trade
  2. Encouraged by Elizabeth
  3. Wealth
  4. Finding the Strait of Anian
  5. Influenced by Hawkins
  6. Revenge on the Spanish
• Conquest of new land and trade:

  Drake planned to explore the Pacific coast to investigate trading and settlement oppurtunities. By 1570 new areas of opportunity opened up in South America - in particular Brazil and Peru where there was a prospect of trade with Spanish colonies, a market for English cloth, areas for settlement and a chancce to seize defenceless trading ships and their cargoes.
• Encouraged by Queen Elizabeth:

  Elizabeth provided John Hawkins with two ships in 1568 to obtain a cargo of enslaved Africans for trading. After Drake's voyages to south america in 1573 when he returned with much spanish gold and silver it encouraged investors like the Queen to finance other expeditions to America. Elizabeth also gave permission for and secretely encouraged Drake's planned voyage of 1577 to the Americas.
• Acquisition of wealth:

  Portugal and Spain had from the 15th century made a fortune from the slave trade. Desire for goods like sugar, spice etc led to the increase in this trade from the Americas. John Hawkins made large sums from the slave trade and the raiding of Spanish ports and ships. In 1572 Drake led his first major expedition, helped by an enslaved African called Diego. Diego helped local relations and led to Drake capturing lots of spanish gold and silver.
• Finding the Strait of Anian:

  Drake, like many sailors at the time, was convinced there was a northwest sea passage that linked the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. This was known as the Strait of Anian. Such a connection between the Atlantic and Pacific would speed up the time taken to travel between East Asia - a valuable place for the trade of spices, silks - and nothern Europe.
• The influence of Hawkins:

  Drake had lived with the Hawkins family who were renowned merchants, seafarers, and pirates. Hawkins had taken Drake on several slave trading missions, leading to Drake captaining his own boat, the Judith, in Hawkins 1568 mission to the Americas, Hawkins made lots of money in the trading of Africans. Hawkins' fleet was also attacked by the Spanish - leading to Hawkins and Drake wanting revenge.
• Revenge on Spanish:

  In 1568 at San Juan de Ulua, the Spanish broke a truce and attacked Hawkins' fleet leading to 5 of his boats being sunk. Only Drake and Hawkins' ships escaped. This led to a desire for revenge by both Drake and Hawkins and an increase in raids on Spanish colonies and piracy. In 1572 Drakes expedition to the Americas saw him raiding ships leaving the Spanish port of Nombre de Dios for several months. Spanish shipping was vulnerable in South America, especially Peru and Brazil.
• 1. The voyage was privately organised and financed with Drake’s cousins, the Hawkins brothers, as the main backers, with some members of the Privy Council, such as Francis Walsingham. Due to the delicate state of English-Spanish relations, this noble (and royal) support could not officially be given as Drake would likely come into conflict with Spain on this voyage. The Golden Hind had about 80 crew, followed by the 80-ton Elizabeth and 30-ton Marigold. Two smaller supply ships were also included.

  
• 2. Off the West Coast of Africa, near Cape Verde Islands, Drake captured a Portuguese merchant ship, the Santa Maria, which he renamed Mary. Drake took from the ship a collection of maps, a ‘rutter’ (drawings of the coast lines), and an astrolabe (used for navigation). The ships captain, Nuno da Silva, who had significant knowledge of navigation was just as important as he knew about safe anchorages on the coats and where Drake could land to find water.

  
• 3. Across the Atlantic Drake’s fleet were scattered by storms of the coast of Brazil. Drake decided to reduce the fleet by sinking the Swan and abandoning the Christopher.

  
• 4. Along the coast of South America Drake’s relationship with his crew became strained. His co-commander, Thomas Doughty questioned Drake’s authority. Drake accused him of mutiny and treason and after a ship-board trial he was sentenced to death and beheaded on 2 July 1578.

  
• 5. August 1578 the fleet, now only numbering 3 ships, the Marigold, Elizabeth and the renamed Golden Hind, set off south to pass through the Strait of Magellan and into the Pacific. This took only 16 days.

  
• 6. In the Pacific the ships faced fierce storms. The Golden Hind was blown off course, leading to the discovery of what is still known today as Drake’s Passage – between Cape Horn and Antarctica. The storms also led to the loss of the Marigold and the crew, alongside damaging the Elizabeth.

  
• 7. Now with just the Golden Hind, Drake sailed north up the coast of South America attacking defenceless Spanish settlements. He captured Spanish ships at Valparaiso, along with their more accurate navigation charts and much silver. At Mocha Island Drake and Diego were wounded.

  
• 8. In a raid on Lima, Drake learned there was a Spanish treasure ship, the Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, sailing for Panama. Drake pursued the ship and captured it with little resistance. There was so much gold, silver and jewels that it took 6 days to transfer it all to the Golden Hind. In total it was worth over £480million in today’s money. He treated the Spanish officers well however, giving them safe passage.

  
• 9. Drake now wanted to return to England with this vast treasure. He needed to find safe, sheltered anchorage, away from possible Spanish attack. He headed north, beyond New Spain (North America). He came across a Spanish ship from which he took useful charts and information from its officers about crossing the Pacific.

  
• 10. Drake sailed north along the North American coast, possibly looking for the Strait of Anian which he could not find. Turning South, in June 1579 he found a protected natural Harbour, inhabited by the Miwok people. This was a friendly encounter, and he spent several weeks there preparing the Golden Hind for the Pacific route home.

  
• 11. Drake’s return voyage began 23 July 1579. On his return journey Drake bought 6 tons of cloves in the Maluku Islands and was welcomed by the local ruler, enthusiastic about selling spices to English merchants who may compete with his usual Portuguese buyers.

  
• 12. In July 1580, the Golden Hind rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa.

  
• 13. Two months later, on 26 September 1580, Drake finally sailed into Plymouth with 59 remaining crew members and the immensely valuable cargo of treasure and spices.

  
• Impacts of Drake's Circumnavigation:

  1. Wealth and treasure
  2. Drake's social standing
  3. Spanish relations with England
  4. English imperialism/conquest
  5. Geographical understanding
• Wealth and treasure:

  When Drake returned from his voyages he had treasure worth around £480million in today’s money. The Queen gave Drake permission to take an extra £10,000 of gold for himself and he shared another £40,000 amongst his crew. The rest was taken to the Tower of London and included 46 parcels of treasure weighing nearly 5 tons. There were also 650 bars of silver, coin weighing nearly 23,000lbs and over 100lbs worth of gold. The Queen (and her council) was anxious to conceal just how much Drake had brought home with him to prevent worsening of Anglo-Spanish relations.
• Drake's social standing:

  When Drake returned from his voyages Queen Elizabeth knighted him in April 1581. He could now attend Court. When his ship arrived at Plymouth, he had a private audience with the Queen which lasted for 6 hours, during which he described the expedition and treasure taken. The Queen was suitably impressed. After taking his share of the treasure Drake could now afford to buy a house in London and appeared at Court as often as possible, visiting the Queen and showering her with presents like the emerald-studded crown.
• Spanish relations with England:

  Drake had already angered the Spanish with early raids on ports such as San Juan de Ulua and the raiding of Spanish ships. Upon Drake’s return, the Spanish Ambassador was keen to know about the results of the expedition, yet Elizabeth concealed the results from him. He was nicknamed ‘El Draque’ in Spanish meaning a dragon. The Queen’s obvious support for this man and his actions increased Spanish fears and anger about England’s threat to their naval power. As a result, Phillip II reinforced his territories with more colonists and troops.
• English imperialism/conquest:

  The success of the circumnavigation led to more expeditions being started to discover more colonies and trade in the Americas. However,

  as Phillip II strengthened his colonies, many English expeditions to South America in the early 1580s failed. Therefore, English ambitions turned to North America to visit areas Drake had encountered e.g., the Miwok

  people.
• Geographical understanding:

  A valuable result of the voyage was the record Drake made of his journey. His diary included maps and illustrations and his cousin John and Drake, kept a visual record of the journey. Drake’s surviving rutters are well-illustrated and packed with detail. Drake also stole Spanish rutters from their ships and so increased his knowledge of the Americas from these documents. This made it easier for future English expeditions to the Americas. Drake corrected many errors on existing European maps including making a more accurate plan od the coast of Chile.
• Impacts on Francis Drake: The voyage was incredibly tough with Drake losing all but one ship (the Golden Hind). Drake was also wounded at Mocha Island. When Drake returned from his voyages he had treasure worth around £480million in today’s money. The Queen gave Drake permission to take an extra £10,000 of gold for himself. Elizabeth I knighted Drake and as a result his social status increased.Some within Elizabeth’s Court were jealous of Drake (e.g., Duke of Sussex and Earl of Arundel) yet Drake gained much land and even bought Buckland Abbey from Elizabeth I with his newfound wealth.
• Impacts on Queen Elizabeth: Elizabeth publicly could not support Drake’s voyage, but by knighting him after he returned and by receiving him for a private audience she showed her favour. The crown gained treasure worth over £480million in today’s money. New territories and trade routes were located for English seafarers to use. Elizabeth used this as an opportunity to show Spain how England were challenging them for imperial dominance. Drake also personally gifted the queen presents such as an emerald studded crown and diamond cross in 1581.
• Impacts on Drake's soldiers: Drake achieved an almost mythical status amongst some of his crew, but not all were convinced. Initially the crew were told they were heading to Egypt and were only informed of their true purpose when they were mid-Atlantic. Only 59 crew members returned from the voyage with Drake. Drake was also criticised for the trial and execution at sea of Thomas Doughty who Drake accused of treason and witchcraft. Upon their return to England however the crew shared £40,000 of the treasure and spoils.
• Impacts on Drake's backers: The voyage was privately financed with

  Drake’s cousins, the Hawkins brothers as the main backers, with some of the Privy Council such as the Earl of Leicester and Sir Francis Walsingham. Royal support could not officially be given as it could lead to direct conflict with Spain. On his return he was officially welcomed by

  Elizabeth who accepted his treasure and even knighted him. Drake’s discovery of the Drake passage also made it far easier for future voyages to navigate around South America and thus trade opportunities increased.
• Impacts on the Spanish/Portugese: Drake’s voyage showed the vulnerability of Spanish territory in South America and in the early 1580s Phillip II reinforced these territories with more colonists and troops. This meant English expeditions to South America in the early 1580s failed. Elizabeth’s support for Drake was an open insult to the Spanish in particular. Drake’s negotiations with the Maluku people challenged Portuguese buying of spice in these islands.