Drake Francis - English explorer and corsair: biography, interesting facts

Francis Drake is a navigator, discoverer and beloved corsair of the English queen. His feats and travel forced many to strive in the boundless expanse of the ocean. However, only units managed to reach the level of wealth and fame that Francis Drake possessed.

Biography

The future seafarer was born in Middle England, to the family of a well-to-do farmer. Drake Francis was the eldest child in a large family. As the eldest son, his father's business was prescribed for him, but the heart of the young Francis belonged to the sea. Already at the age of 12 he became a boy on a merchant ship of one of his numerous relatives. A diligent and rapid training in marine science has allocated it from peers. The landlord liked Drake Francis so much that, when he died, he left the ship as a legacy to the former boy. So at 18, Drake becomes captain of his own ship.

First voyages

At first, like all captains of merchant ships, Drake Francis drove various commercial cargo to the British kingdom. In 1560 Drake's uncle, John Hawkins, drew attention to the catastrophic shortage of workers on the New World plantations. The idea of attracting American Aborigines to forced labor was unsuccessful - the Indians did not want to work, were not afraid of torture and death, and their relatives had an unpleasant habit of taking revenge on white people for abducted and tortured Redskins.

Another thing is slaves. They could be imported from the Black Continent, bought for trinkets, sold or exchanged. For us, living in the 21st century, these words sound blasphemous. But for an Englishman of the 16th century it was just a business - the same as any other.

Trade in live goods

The laws of the New World allowed to trade only those slaves that were supplied by the Trading House of Seville. But the demand for slaves significantly exceeded the capacity of this commercial organization, and the colonists suffered great losses. Owners of plantations of tea, coffee, cotton and tobacco were ready to pay good money for cheap labor.

Hawkins decided to take a chance. He shared his plan with several trading companies, and they gave him money to start work. Already the first flight to the New World with live goods has more than paid back the funds invested in the enterprise. Although it was believed that there was nothing reprehensible in Hawkins' actions, the old sailor resorted to guns and guns when any governor disagreed with the methods of his work. Taxes from the company were regularly paid into the coffers of England. Several flights from Africa to the New World have made Hawkins and his patrons a very rich people.

Hawkins-Drake Enterprise

On the third voyage Hawkins took his nephew Francis Drake and as usual went to the shores of Africa for a living commodity. By this time, Drake Francis was an experienced captain, swam in the Bay of Biscay and crossed the Atlantic along with seasoned smuggler John Lovel. The joint expedition ended tragically - the ships of the corsairs caught a storm, the squadron lost its course, and the flagship ship suffered more than others. John Hawkins decided to go for repairs and headed to the port of San Juan de Ulua, located on the territory of Honduras. After him went and Francis Drake. What he discovered - this is an extremely unfriendly reception that this town gave to two seafarers. The guns of the port unequivocally warned that it was very dangerous to approach, and negotiations with local authorities were unsuccessful. At this time, the sails of a Spanish coastal squadron appeared on the horizon. Smugglers had to enter into an unequal battle. The ship of Francis Drake "Swan" was less affected during the storm, and the corsair managed to escape from the pursuers, leaving the companion to the mercy of fate.

Having reached the English coast, Drake told everyone that his uncle was killed in an unequal battle. But in a few weeks the corsair was waiting for an unpleasant meeting: as it turned out, Hawkins managed to survive, and he managed to escape from the Honduran trap with several escaped sailors. It is not known what the uncle and nephew talked about, but a few years later they organized a new expedition and began again to raid the New World.

Pirate Francis Drake

After this incident, Drake vowed to take revenge on the Spanish crown for the unsuccessful Honduran raid. He constantly pursued the Spanish ships, causing considerable damage to the Crown. The fact that the Spaniards were concerned about the constant attacks of Drake is evidenced by the fact that the head of the English pirate was given a reward of 20 thousand ducats. His first expedition of retribution came from Portsmouth Docks in 1572. On two ships - "Swan" and "Pasha" - headed to the New World and managed to capture the Colombian port of Nombre de Dios. Here he managed to rob several Spanish ships and capture rich prey. Then Drake crossed the Isthmus of Panama to see the Pacific Ocean. Probably, the kind of boundless space prompted the pirate to create certain plans, which he could implement several years later.

War with Ireland

At this time, war broke out in the homeland of the gallant captain. Ireland made another attempt to gain its independence. Drake agrees to join the Earl of Essex and takes part in sea battles against the Irish. In his squadron were three government frigates, with which he attacked the coastal Irish villages and drowned enemy ships. For service in the government fleet, Drake Francis was introduced to the queen as the best of captains.

Direction - South America

It is not known whether at the first meeting the impudent captain laid out his plans to Queen Elizabeth, or it happened during one of the subsequent meetings. Drake pressed on the fact that the hegemony of Spain in the New World must be destroyed, and the coast of the South American continent is ideally suited for this purpose. He was going to destroy the Spanish colonies located in this part of the world and lay down to the feet of Elizabeth a huge booty. The English queen found Drake's proposal very interesting and even gave him five government ships.

Round-the-world expedition

In December 1577, Francis Drake began his three-year expedition (1577-1580). His ships headed for South America. After the battle near the Rio de la Plata, he went further south and on two ships skirted Patagonia. After several skirmishes with the natives, he managed to reach the Straits of Magellan, which was opened in 1520. During the storm, he lost sight of his second ship, which, in the end, returned to the English shores on his own. And the flagship "Golden Hind" continued its journey around the world.

Other shores

On the Pacific coasts of South America, Drake thoroughly plundered the rich ports of Peru and Chile, seizing merchant ships and being loaded with prey. His greatest success was the capture of the magnificent Spanish ship "Nuestra senora de Concepcion" - the best ship of the Spanish squadron. Drake seized the ship carrying a rich load of gold and silver bullion, which was valued at 150,000 pounds - fabulous at the time money. Realizing that angry Spaniards would be waiting for him on normal routes, Drake decided to go round the Pacific and return home by a new road. Replenishing its reserves in 1579, he moved west.

During the voyage, Drake applied to the map islands and coastlines, established relations with the natives, thereby laying the foundations for the trade of England with the Asian countries.

Meeting in England

Almost three-year voyage came to an end. In September 1580, Drake arrived in Plymouth. He brought to the port not only his own ship, but also a captured Spanish ship, renamed "Cacafuelo". The queen very warmly accepted Drake, because his pirate outings sensibly supplemented her treasury. Queen Elizabeth solemnly boarded the "Golden Lani" and made Captain Drake knight. So the pirate received the title of Sir Francis Drake, and, according to contemporaries, he gained the personal favor of the queen and was her favorite.

Career corsair did not end after such a triumph. 1585 he found him in the Caribbean, where he commanded a fleet of 25 ships of Her Majesty. He captures the rich city of San Domingo and brings tobacco and potatoes to the English coast. Captain Drake's career ended in 1595 after an unsuccessful attempt to capture Las Palmas. In that battle, Drake's uncle, John Hawkins, was killed, and the captain himself, ill with malaria, went home. But, unfortunately, the disease progressed, and the famous pirate died in Portobello. His death was a happy day in Spain, where the news of Drake's death was met with a bell ringing.

It is difficult to overestimate the contribution made in the history of Sir Francis Drake. What he discovered, can be found on any map of the world. Among the many images of coastal lines and small islands that he has painted, there is a large strait between South America and Antarctica. This strait on all the maps of the world is named Francis Drake - the famous pirate and corsair of Her Majesty.