Sir Francis Drake

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23rd September

Sir Francis Drake

Francis Drake was an Elizabethan sailor and navigator and was the first English man to circumnavigate the world. He was born around the year of 1541, on an estate near Tavistock (Devon). Drake was the eldest of an amazing 11 brothers. His Father was a pure protestant, who used to be a sailor. During the period when the bible became English from Latin, the Drakes had to move away from Tavistock because of violence near their home, and they lost all their possessions.

At the age of 18, the young Francis Drake began work as a ship trader journeying to and from the Bay of Biscay. In 1567, when Drake was about 24, he was made captain of a boat, the Judith. Drake made one of the first English slaving voyages bringing African slaves to work in the “New World”. A Spanish squadron attacked the fleet leaving only two surviving ships thus making themselves lifelong enemies of Drake. He in turn was considered a pirate by them.

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In 1570 and 1571, Drake made two trading voyages to the West Indies which proved to be very profitable. The following year he was in command of two vessels which were involved in raids against Spanish ports in the Caribbean. Having captured many Spanish treasures he returned to England to a hero’s welcome gaining a reputation as a brilliant sailor/tradesman.

In December 1577, Drake was secretly commissioned by Elizabeth I to set off on an expedition against the Spanish colonies on the American pacific coast. Having started the journey with 5 ships, on reaching the Pacific Ocean in October 1578, ...

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