Sir Francis Drake :: essays research papers

Sir Francis Drake     Late in 1577, Francis Drake left England with five ships, ostensibly on a trading junket to the Nile. On reaching Africa, the true destination was revealed to be the Pacific sea via the Strait of Magellan, to the dismay of some of the accompanying gentlemen and sailors. Still in the eastern Atlantic, a Portuguese merchant ship and its pilot - who was to stay with Drake for 15 months - was captured, and the fleet crossed the Atlantic, via the Cape Verde Islands, to a Brazilian landfall.Running crop up the Atlantic second American coast, storms, separations, dissension, and a fatal skirmish with natives mar the journey. Before leaving the Atlantic, Drake lightened the expedition by disposing of two unfit ships and matchless English gentleman, who was tried and executed for mutiny. After rallying his men and unify his command with a remarkable speech, Drake renamed his flagship, previously the Pelican, the Golden Hind.In folk of 1578, t he fleet, now three ships, sailed through the deadly Strait of Magellan with speed and ease, simply to emerge into terrific Pacific storms. For two months the ships were in mortal danger, unable(p) to sail clear of the weather or to stay clear of the coast. The ships were scattered, and the smallest, the Marigold, went bundle with all hands. The Elizabeth found herself back in the strait and turned bathroom for England, where she arrived safely but in disgrace. Meanwhile, the Golden Hind had been blown cold to the south, where Drake discovered - perhaps - that in that respect was open water below the South American continent. The storms abated, and the Golden Hind was finally able to sail due north along the Pacific South American coast, into the previously undisturbed buck private waters of King Philip of Spain. The first stop, for food and water, was at the (now) Chilean Island of Mocha, where the ungovernable residents laid a nearly disastrous ambush, having mistaken the English for their Spanish oppressors.After this bad beginning in the Pacific the tide turned, and for the future(a) five and a half months Drake raided Spanish settlements at will, among them Valpariso, Lima and Arica, and slow took Spanish ships, including the rich treasure ship "Cacafuego," leaving panic, chaos, and a rugged pursuit in his wake. During this time, he captured and released a number of Europeans, whose subsequent affidavit survives. The plundering was remarkable for its restraint neither the Spanish nor the natives were intentionally harmed, there was very little violence, and there were very few casualties.