Francis Drake, famous for his successful circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580, was born on 1544 at Tavistock, Devon from Edmund Drake, a Protestant farmer, and his wife Mary Mylwaye and is known to be an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician during the Elizabethan era. Francis Drake was made the second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Francis Drake first married Mary Newman and after his death in 1569, he again married Elizabeth Sydenham, the only daughter of Sir George George Sydenham, of Combe Sydenham, the High Sheriff of Somerset.
Drake started his sailing career in a ship owned his relatives with Sir John Hawkins, his cousin and just in his second fleet he got trapped Spaniards in the Mexican port of San Juan but escaped successfully with Hawkins.
Francis was much attracted by the Spanish ships that were sailing back from their new conquests in South America as they were full of treasures of gold and silver. Drake attacked many such ships at that time and looted all the treasures. Later Drake also attacked the Spanish and Portuguese ports. Further, when Drake attacked Panama in 1572–73, he was helped by a group of slaves who escaped to live in forests and were called 'the cimarrones'.
Later in 1577, Drake started his circumnavigation around the world that took three years, and ended in 1580. Though, the voyage was planned to attack the Spanish ships and ports with five ships and 164 people from Plymouth but the crew got separated and only the ship Elizabeth could return home.
By October 1578, as the crew started towards the western coast of South America, there were only 58 people left in the ship Pelican, which was sailed by Drake himself. Later, Drake renamed the ship as 'The Golden Hind'.
During his circumnavigation, he moved to South America and invaded the Spanish ports and continued his journey towards north along the Atlantic Ocean. Further he navigated to the west coast of America. When he failed to find a route their, he again turned to south and then west across the Pacific Ocean. Before returning again to England to moved around Moluccas, Celebes, Java and then round the Cape of Good Hope.
When he returned from his voyage Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581 and he was then called Sir Francis Drake.
Later in 1585, Francis sailed to the West Indies and the coast of Florida where he invaded the Spanish cities. In 1587, in a war against Spain, the entered port of Cadiz and destroyed 30 Spanish ships that were ready for war against British. In 1588, he was declared as the vice admiral in the fleet that defeated the Armada. Later on 28 January 1596 Drake died of dysentery off the coast of Portobelo, Panama.
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