Francis Drake (February-March 1540 - January 27, 1596) - English sea captain, corsair, navigator, slave trader, pirate, vice-admiral, prominent politician of the era of Elizabeth I. These are the main stages of his life; it's hard to believe that all this can refer to one person! Its main operations took place in the Caribbean. The name Drake terrified the Spaniards that they, slightly altering his name, called the pirate El Draque (from Latin Draco - dragon). During his unusually long and incredible career, Francis Drake earned about five million dollars less than the unsurpassed Samuel Bellamy by robbery at sea, which allowed him to enter the top three most distinguished pirates and take an honorable second place.

Sir Francis Drake was born in Tavistock, Devon, UK in February or March 1540 and was subsequently the oldest of twelve children in the family. His parents were Edmund Drake, a Protestant farmer turned priest, and Mary Milway.

Despite their farming status, the Francis family belonged to the aristocratic branch of the Dukes of Bedford; among his ancestors, one cannot fail to mention Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400), one of the creators of classical English literature, author of the Canterbury Tales (1380-1400). However, young Francis was not at all burdened by the fact that he was the son of a farmer, and did not show even a shadow of desire to realize the high society ties of the family. In 1549, due to religious unrest, Edmund Drake decided to move with his family to Kent. It was there, figuratively speaking, that Francis Drake's naval career began. He was not yet thirteen years old when he managed to get into the command of a small barge that cruised between the ports on the Thames. Not a very impressive start, you might say, but if you find out that less than seven years later, the captain of the barque passed away, bequeathing his ship ... to Francis Drake, then surely change your mind. Just think: Drake was not yet twenty when he became the captain and owner of his own ship!

However, Francis, of course, was not going to be forever content with a modest boat. In 1563, Drake still used his family ties: he got along with his cousin John Hawkins (strategically, this was a very smart move, since the Hawkins from Plymouth owned a whole fleet of ships). In the same year, for the first time in his life, he sailed to the shores of the New World aboard one of the ships of John Hawkins (Hawkins himself participated in the voyage, since he was a captain; his intentions were to bring Drake up to date and teach him special maritime wisdom). The ship was used to transport slaves, so Drake quickly learned the details of what was probably the most lucrative job at sea in those days. In addition to the slave trade, Francis had to take part in the robbery of Portuguese ships that he met along the way. He turned out to be a successful student and very soon earned the right to lead his own caravel! In 1568 he and Hawkins, as usual, hunted together in the Caribbean; and we are not talking about a couple of ships, but about an entire squadron. Having sold a large cargo of slaves in Venezuela very profitably, they were heading home. And then Lady Luck cheated on them. At San Juan de Ulua (a port town on the Mexican coast) Hawkins' squadron fell into a trap set by the insidious Spaniards. In the ensuing battle, almost all of Hawkins' ships were seriously damaged, but he and Drake not only managed to escape, but also to bring all the ships to their home shores. This event greatly influenced Francis Drake and left an indelible imprint on his entire further destiny... Francis Drake, having survived all the bitterness of a shameful defeat, became henceforth and forever the merciless enemy of the Spaniards. It could even be said that if that unfortunate incident had not happened at San Juan de Ulua, he probably would not have been able to fully realize his corsair talent and inflict such damage on the Spaniards at sea. The fact that Drake was raised by his father in a Protestant spirit, while the Spaniards were, as you know, Catholics, added fuel to the fire. However, for John Hawkins, all that happened was also not without consequences. He decided to end the slave business and, in some way, retired. But Francis Drake - he did not calm down, what is there! He made several test voyages to the Caribbean (in 1570 and 1571) - there was no more talk about the slave trade, because Drake was burning with a thirst for revenge! There is apparently no documentary evidence of the first voyage in 1570. But as for the next one, which took place a year later, the situation is different.

There is only one reason - the unconditional triumph of the newly minted corsair! Drake ventured out on his own, unsupported. He independently led the brig "Swan" ("Swan") with a displacement of 25 tons - a relatively small ship. Despite this, however, Drake eventually managed to capture two large frigates. However, he did not even think to stop there, adding about two dozen more small ships to his trophies. The triumph inspired him so much that Drake, forgetting all caution, raided the city of Venta de Cruzes from the sea, which was only twenty kilometers from Panama. And he literally got away with it. In these two of his first forays into the Caribbean, Drake not only sought to get as much booty as possible, he also analyzed the tactical and technical nuances that characterize the peculiarities of the Spanish defense strategy in the Caribbean region. But most of all, he was naturally interested in how the mechanism for delivering finances from the colonies to the shores of the Old World works. And then Francis Drake was in for the biggest surprise. He actually became convinced that Spain, which received very significant funds from America, was so confident both in its military superiority and in domination at sea that it did not allow the thought of the possibility of a serious, well-thought-out attack, being completely confident in its safety. their resources. And Drake instantly noticed a really weak link in the chain of delivery of funds: it was the Isthmus of Panama.

Why, you ask.

The answer is very simple.

The Spaniards clearly wanted to save money, and therefore worked according to an extremely primitive scheme: the entire volume Money(gold, silver) was collected and prepared for shipment to Panama, then all these innumerable riches were transported to the port of Nombre de Dios, from where everything was already delivered to Spain by ships. From Panama to Nombre de Dios, however wild it may seem, all the valuables rode on the backs of mules, and without any real guard! The path of the mules ran, as you already understood, through the Isthmus of Panama. At the same time, the final destination - Nombre de Dios - could by no means be counted among the well-protected ports. Drake instantly understood how he could exploit the oversight of the overconfident Spaniards. However, being wise man Drake decided this time to safely return with all his impressive booty back home, where he intended to organize another voyage to the Caribbean - now with a completely conscious and clear goal.

Since Drake was one of those people who always bring what he started to the end, in 1572, having thoroughly prepared, he again headed for the Caribbean, clearly intending to set the heat on the Spaniards. By the way, it should be noted that this was generally a rather curious precedent: after all, plundering ships in the Caribbean was (let's say: tacitly!) Allowed the French, not the British, and even then only occasionally. And Francis Drake, in fact, became the first English captain to roam the Caribbean with the sole purpose of plundering Spanish galleons laden with gold. He, just in case, even tried to ask the British crown for written approval of his actions, but, alas, he did not succeed. At that time, his professional activity was regarded by the queen, alas, as purely pirate. However, he did not even think to be discouraged - and, of course, he was right. Time worked for him!

In May 1572, Drake went to sea not alone, but with a small squadron of two ships. This time he handed the modest Swan to his brother John, while he himself flew the imposing 70-ton frigate Pasha. According to sources, the total strength of Drake's team in this raid was 73. All of them, like their gallant captain, avidly longed for every conceivable Spanish treasure. On June 29, 1572, Drake's historic landing took place on the Panama coast, and on July 19 (that is, practically only three weeks later) the port of Nombre de Dios was already captured by pirates! True, the victory was not complete; The Spaniards still managed to transfer an impressive part of the precious reserves with the squadron to a safe place. On top of that, the pirates encountered fierce resistance from the city's defenders. The fight was fierce and bloody. Drake, who was fighting in the front ranks, was wounded in the thigh. The winners, however, received a hefty load of silver bars.

It was impossible to go back in any way: the heavy load of prey had a bad effect on the maneuverability of the ships; in addition, there was a great risk of collision at sea with an entire Spanish military squadron. Drake realized that he needed to take care of the arrangement of the temporary base. Leaving behind the plundered city and choosing a suitable island, the pirates camped on it. Everything went well at first. Silver bars were safely hidden in a secluded spot on the island, and both pirate ships scurried day and night along the coast, boarding Spanish ships. However, very soon the team began to mow a strange pestilence. Having lost about 75% of the crew, Drake decided to burn one of the ships - such was the sad fate of "Swann". But the surviving sailors were too few to successfully continue their invasion raids. And then Francis Drake took an incredible step, showing, among other things, the enviable talent of a skilled diplomat: he entered into an alliance with simarronami... These were fugitive African slaves who actively opposed the Spaniards. The Cimarron scouts were especially good: not a single major movement of the Spanish government's human or financial reserves on the Panama coast escaped their attention. As a result of the alliance, Drake received a double benefit: he could replenish the team at the expense of African volunteers, in addition, all information about the movement of cargoes of gold, silver and jewelry became available to him. The scouts very soon made themselves known. They informed Drake that a flotilla with a rich cargo was expected to arrive in Panama by the end of January 1573. Obviously, then this cargo had to be transported to Nombre de Dios with the same caravans of mules. The pirates again landed on the coast and ambushed. Probably, the Spaniards also did a good job of intelligence, and maybe one of the Simarrons worked on both sides at once. Be that as it may, but the Spaniards again managed to outwit the pirates and save a considerable part of the values.

Drake did not grieve for long. First, the pestilence stopped. Only 17 pirates, including Drake himself, managed to withstand the mysterious illness. Secondly, the Cimarron volunteers (a total of 30 people) turned out to be quite capable students. And with this motley team, Francis Drake decided to try his luck at sea again. It should be mentioned that the Cimarrons preferred revenge to the Spaniards over gold and silver, and therefore did not at all claim their share of the booty, which, of course, was also to the liking of Captain Drake.

So, it was already the spring of 1573. Circumstances developed in such a way that Drake's crew met the large ship of the famous French pirate and explorer Guillaume Le Testu, who was known under the nickname Tetu. Both captains liked each other immensely and decided to join forces. The corresponding shares in the division of any production were also clearly stipulated. Soon, the scouts of Cimarron brought in truly inspiring news: a caravan of mules, laden with gold and silver, had settled down to rest just a mile from Nombre de Dios. At that time, both pirate ships were practically close to their anchorage. The united army of English and French pirates, with the support of the Simarrons, swiftly went ashore and rushed to the attack. The Spaniards bravely resisted, but they were all killed. The pirates got a pile of silver and gold bars. They simply could not take everything away, so they decided to bury the silver in order to later return for it. Not without losses. The victory of the pirates was seriously overshadowed by the death of Le Testu. However, Drake, observing the agreement, equally divided the booty among the pirates. The volume of everything conquered was so hard that in August 1573 Francis Drake decided not to tempt fate in vain and return home (only the pirates did not manage to get the hidden silver, since it was discovered by the Spaniards).

The severe damage Francis Drake inflicted on the Spanish presence in the Caribbean did not go unnoticed by the British crown. Moreover: Drake, thanks to his reputation as an invincible corsair, was honored in 1575 to manage the ships of the Earl of Essex, who was the main favorite of the English Queen Elizabeth I. Essex easily agreed to introduce Drake to the court. The crowned mistress and the corsair extremely quickly found a common language, and Drake won over the queen so much that she not only attracted private investors, but also decided to partially finance his new expedition. The purpose of the expedition was implied by itself - the East coast of South America. Drake was allowed to attack the Spanish port cities in the Peru region (it was there that the Spanish mined silver and gold); he again did not receive a license for this, since Elizabeth was loyal to the principles of political correctness. If Drake had fallen into the clutches of the Spaniards, the queen would simply have abandoned him, leaving him to his fate. Drake, most likely, understood this and was certainly not going to be captured by the Spaniards. Among other things, the Queen gave Drake one secret mission. He was to look out for areas suitable for colonies.

On December 13, 1577, Francis Drake, at the head of a squadron of five ships and a crew of 160 souls, left his home port

Plymouth. Drake's flagship was the heavily armed frigate Pelican. On the way, Drake visited the African coast to refresh his skills and abilities. His crew boarded over ten ships flying the flags of Spain and Portugal. On June 20, 1578, Drake's squadron reached the Strait of Magellan. It was a bad place for sailors. Some of the pirates began to murmur. A riot was clearly brewing. As long as there were successful robberies off the African coast, everything was in order. But after a very difficult and long journey across the Atlantic, not everyone was ready to be exposed to mortal danger, following the Strait of Magellan. Moreover, several ships were seriously damaged and sank. But there was no other way to get to Peru.

Drake quickly learned that Captain Thomas Doughty was the main instigator of the riot. Based on the testimony of Lord William Burghley and the ship's carpenter, Edward Bright, Doughty was charged with instigating mutiny and practicing magic (a truly deadly combination!). Drake ordered his execution, and on July 2, 1578, Thomas Doughty was beheaded. Thus, the riot was nipped in the bud. But the tests of the pirates did not end there. The Strait of Magellan, Drake's thinning squadron passed safely, but then it got into a fierce storm, which lasted almost two months and thoroughly battered all the ships; at the same time another ship sank. An explosive situation arose again. As a result, one frigate turned around and headed back to its native shores, and Drake on his flagship, which he had already renamed from "Pelican" to "Golden Hind", continued on his way in splendid isolation. On December 5, the Golden Hind anchored in the harbor of Valparaiso (Chile). The pirates acted clearly and effectively. The city was outright plundered, and the goods awaiting dispatch to Spain passed to the English buccaneers. Before properly deploying in the Pacific Ocean, Drake insisted on a detailed inspection of the ship and restoration of any damage found. This procedure took about half a month, but as a result, the Golden Hind was ready to meet any Spanish ship. In addition, Drake played into the hands of the fact that the Spaniards felt in the waters of the Pacific Ocean almost like at home, not expecting an attack; English ships, and even with a secret prescription of the queen, have not been observed in this region before.

And it began !!!

It was absolutely impossible to establish the exact number of ships that became victims of the pirates. The size of the loot exceeded all expectations. Having enjoyed revenge on the Spaniards at sea, Drake decided to prove himself on land. He turned the frigate and on February 5, 1579, he had already reached the coast of Peru; in most Peruvian ports (for example, in Lima, the capital of Peru, Callao, etc.) there were always ships with important cargoes to be sent to Spain. They were not expected here either; however, the British were a little late, and therefore not so many valuables fell to them, although the pirates managed to board almost all the ships that were at that time in the harbor of Callao. Interrogation with passion, immediately perpetrated by Drake's henchmen, revealed interesting information... It turned out that shortly before the arrival of the British, the harbor had left the sloop "Kakafuego", stuffed with valuables to the very side. The Golden Doe immediately rushed in pursuit. It should be noted that, even when trying to overtake the Kakafuego, the pirates did not neglect their duties; they stopped and robbed practically all the ships they encountered. Drake managed to catch up with the "Kakafuego" after about a month (March 1) at Cape San Francisco (north of the equator). The Kakafuego was practically unarmed and surrendered without a fight. Its holds were filled to capacity with heavy ingots of gold and silver. The delighted pirates also found many bags of silver coins. With such wealth it was already possible to return home! Moreover, more than significant damage was inflicted on the Spanish ports and the merchant fleet, and Drake managed to look out for suitable areas for the colonies.

Yes, only to go with such a huge booty again through the Strait of Magellan Drake certainly did not want to. In addition, they would have to sail along the coast of Spain, which now did not bode well either. He chose to move north to Mexico; A number of reputable cartographers of the time claimed that there was a legendary northwest route to Europe, so Drake decided to actually check these claims. Following the course, the pirates made several stops; while staying in the harbor of Guatulco (Mexico), pirates desecrated the local temple, looting it clean. The Golden Doe stubbornly walked north; only the fierce cold stopped its impetuous course. Drake, assessing the situation, thought it good to return home the same way and turned south. On the coast of Northern California, the pirates made a long stop; The Golden Hind was in need of repair. Then Drake brilliantly led the frigate through the Strait of Magellan and, stopping only on the islands and bypassing Spain, safely reached Plymouth on September 26, 1579.

The result of this almost two-year voyage had for Drake a very essential... Now he has found true fame and became his own at the court of Queen Elizabeth. She was quite pleased with what Drake had told her about the arrangement of possible colonies. But she was even more delighted by the corsair's generous donations to the crown. Now he could already afford it, because he became simply fabulously rich. In the vicinity of Plymouth, Drake even bought himself a huge estate; the queen additionally presented it with several more. And in 1581, for special services to the British crown, Francis Drake was awarded a knighthood, and now he was to be addressed "Sir Francis"; in the same year he was elected Member of Parliament in Great Britain. Four years later, when he ruled Plymouth as mayor for several years, Drake married the young heiress huge fortune, further strengthening their position. It seemed that his marine life the end has come. But that was a misleading impression!

Who knows, do not wish the Queen to put Drake at the head of a huge squadron, which was to crush Spanish domination in the Caribbean, and did not instruct him to declare the British presence in the West Indies (this is the traditional name of the islands Caribbean) in diminishing the state prestige of Spain, Sir Francis would wisely rule Plymouth and enjoy the company of a charming wife. But this double temptation was too great! Drake resigned as mayor, said goodbye to his wife and departed.

His squadron consisted of more than 25 ships. The team consisted of 2300 people. This impressive demarche marked the beginning of a military confrontation that dragged on for decades. Now Sir Francis Drake finally had the coveted license! According to this document, he had the right to rescue British sailors from captivity captured as a result of the military conflict with Spain. In fact, this meant the capture and plundering of Spanish ships. Queen Elizabeth even approved the creation of a special joint stock company, which was formed in the expectation of lucrative mining from enemy galleons.

This is not to say that everything turned out well for Drake on this expedition. Rather, the opposite is true. He missed a whole flotilla of ships laden with gold, and the cities he occupied (for example, Santiago) could not please with a rich ransom, which made Drake in a rage set them on fire. To top it off, a fever broke out on the ships of Sir Francis's squadron, claiming hundreds of lives. Instead of the expected ransom of a million gold ducats from the residents of Santo Domingo, Drake was able to help out at most twenty-five thousand. Even from the legendary Cartagena, the pirates managed to collect no more than one hundred thousand ducats, although Drake seriously threatened to raze the city to the ground. The result of the expedition was deplorable: from the whole team, a little more than one and a half thousand people survived, the financial costs did not pay off. Sir Francis Drake himself lost serious funds on this voyage.

The queen could not be satisfied with such a result. Nevertheless, she still liked Drake. In 1587 she ordered him to resist the ships of the famous Spanish Armada; Along the way, Drake was allowed to shake off the old days. He shook, and shook, to admit, notably: his main trophy was the Portuguese barque "San Felipe", which became the prey of pirates in the Azores region; the load of valuables and goods they received was simply enormous. In addition, Sir Francis Drake devised an ingenious plan to seize the major Spanish port of Cadiz; along with gold and silver, Drake managed to capture over thirty enemy ships. All this fully compensated for the unsuccessful outcome of the 1856 expedition. Upon his return to England, Sir Francis Drake was awarded the rank of vice admiral and appointed by Queen Elizabeth to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the United Kingdom's naval forces. In 1589 he commanded the combined forces of the fleet; he had over 150 warships under his command. And although he managed to successfully resist the invasion of the Spaniards, the situation changed significantly when the hostilities moved to Spanish territory. Disease, significant losses, miscalculations in strategy - all this nullified the initial successes of the British.

The queen was hurt again. In order to somehow compensate for the negative impression, she conceived a second expedition to the West Indies. The military situation was not particularly favorable, as a result of which her desire was realized only a few years later. However, in 1595, she ordered Drake to lead a new squadron. The vice-admiral gave the queen his reasons that hurrying to the sea was not good and everything had to be properly prepared, but she was relentless. And on September 7, 1595, the squadron headed for the Caribbean. This time the Queen demanded something incredible and fantastic: for example, the capture of ... Panama! The squadron was hastily drawn up; it included 27 warships and merchant ships (in terms of the number of ships, it was 2 ships superior to the flotilla that went on the first West Indies expedition). The team also increased accordingly: a total of 1,500 sailors and 1,000 infantrymen were collected. To lead all these forces (by the decision of the queen) was called a triumvirate in the person of Sir Francis Drake himself, his former partner and relative Sir John Hawkins, as well as Thomas Baskerville, who was to lead the actions on land. If Drake, in principle, should not have had problems with Baskerville in terms of joint actions, then with Hawkins, the situation was much worse. He had a completely different temperament, was, in contrast to the impetuous and resourceful Drake, too methodical, slow and careful; in addition, he clearly envied the rapid ascension of his once-junior officer. Conflicts followed one after another, and this did not at all bode well for the conduct of a military campaign. And everything literally went awry from the very beginning. Rather than heading straight for the coast of Panama, the squadron was ordered to proceed to the port of San Juan in the Greater Antilles, where a damaged galleon with an incredibly valuable cargo was found in the harbor. Somehow the Spaniards became aware of the demarche of the British squadron, who instantly sent five superbly armed frigates to San Juan. This happened on September 25th. And then on Drake's ships, supplies of provisions unexpectedly came to an end; the vice admiral decided to attack the port town of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. The battle did not work out in favor of the British - several sailors were even captured. Then Drake moved to Guadeloupe and ended up there with all the ships on November 9. Immediately after replenishing food supplies, he intended to lead the squadron to San Juan, but then Hawkins fiercely intervened, believing that all ships should be carefully examined. Drake reluctantly agreed that there was big mistake... Since Hawkins himself supervised the examination, the procedure dragged on for two whole weeks. During this time, five Spanish military frigates not only reached San Juan, but took up a solid defense, ready to repel any British attacks. Finally the British squadron reached San Juan. It happened already on November 22. Hawkins, who had argued with Drake all the way when he found five military frigates ready to meet them, burned with vexation. Apparently, he was so worried that he had a blow, and he gave God his soul.

Drake made several attacks for the sake of appearance, although it was already clear that they would not see the galleon. While the British were busy with the ships, the Spaniards increased the port's firepower several times by installing guns from the damaged ships on the walls; the latter formed a magnificent shield, behind which - in complete safety - were five military frigates. Having senselessly attacked the port on November 22 and 23, on the 24th Drake lifted the siege and led the squadron along the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. The English pirates managed to take some small towns by storm and ravage, but the booty was meager. Other cities, for example Cartagena, turned out to be incredibly well fortified (the Spaniards learned well the lessons that Drake taught them in 1585; and indeed - ten years is a hefty period, a lot just could not help but change!).

On January 8, 1596, Drake found himself in the area of ​​the memorable town of Nombre de Dios and recaptured it; for the capture of Panama, he dispatched Thomas Baskerville with 600 soldiers, ordering him to move along the path followed by caravans of mules with valuable baggage to Panama. But it was winter and the rainy season. All paths became impassable. Baskerville, having lost many of his soldiers, was forced, four days later, to return ingloriously to Nombre de Dios.

Drake's squadron at this time was at sea west of Nicaragua. Due to the unusually bad weather, a severe fever broke out on the ships. Drake contracted dysentery and on January 27, 1596, died in severe agony. Following his tragic death, Baskerville assumed command and led the ships back to England. On the way, they even managed to repel an attack by a powerful Spanish squadron, and this was the only positive result of the second British expedition to the West Indies.

Sir Francis Drake bequeathed to be buried in full military attire. His body was imprisoned in an iron coffin and given over to the waves at Portobello, off the coast of Panama. Generations of divers have dreamed and still dream of discovering this coffin.

The strait between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica was named after Drake. It is the widest strait in the world and is 820 kilometers long.

Francis Drake was the eldest of twelve children in the family of Edmund Drake, an ardent supporter of Martin Luther. At the age of twelve, Francis was apprenticed to a merchant ship.

In 1563, he made the first long voyage to Africa with his cousin. There they began to take local residents and in the Caribbean to sell them to the Spaniards. Since Spanish settlers were forbidden to trade with foreigners, Drake had a conflict with the Spanish authorities.

A couple of years later, he launched the first attack on a Spanish ship. His part of the mining consisted of silver and gold, with a total value of about 40,000 pounds sterling. A convinced Protestant, Drake saw himself as an instrument of God against Catholics.

Francis Drake's biography includes many seizures of foreign ships off the coast of both Americas and in the Atlantic Ocean. After meeting Sir Francis Walsingham, he had a plan to go to Pacific Ocean and destroy the Spanish settlements there.

Thus, the purpose of Francis Drake's travel was not an idle interest: his purpose was the wealth of the Spaniards and the strengthening of the position of the Protestant Church. The expedition volunteered to sponsor several influential people England and Queen Elizabeth 1 herself. In total, five ships equipped with cannons were equipped for the campaign.

The journey began in November 1577. By the end of the month, Francis Drake had plundered six Spanish and Portuguese ships. On one of them was a captain who knew the African coast well. It was decided to take him with him. In addition, Drake abandoned his ship and appropriated one of the Spanish ships.

By June 1578, the flotilla reached the port of San Julian in southern Argentina, where Drake ordered the execution of one of his subordinates for attempting a mutiny. Fearing a new conspiracy, he announced that all ship captains appointed by their owners would be stripped of their powers. True, then he reappointed almost all of them as captains, but under his leadership.

During the passage to the Pacific Ocean, the ships were caught in a violent storm. One of the ships turned back to England, the other disappeared without a trace, and another remained in San Julian. As a result, Drake ended up in the Pacific Ocean alone, in his Pelican, renamed the Golden Hind. During the trip, he discovered that Tierra del Fuego is not part of South America, as previously thought. The strait that Francis Drake discovered was later named after him.

Having rounded Argentina, the flotilla moved along its western coast. Along the way, a ship with a rich booty was captured and the port of Valparaiso was destroyed. By March, Drake had robbed two more Spanish money-carrying ships. However, by this time his team consisted of only 70 people, half of whom were injured or sick. In addition, the "Golden Hind" was seriously flowing. Having reached North America, he ordered to drop anchor in the area of ​​the future California.

Here they were met by a local tribe, who considered the English to be gods descended from heaven. Men presented them gifts in the form of tobacco leaves and bird feathers, while women wept and scratched their faces until they bleed. When it came time to leave, the Indians were greatly saddened. Nevertheless, in July the ship went on. In Java, they stocked up on food and crossed the Indian Ocean, then circled the Cape of Good Hope.

On November 26, 1580, Drake returned to Plymouth, becoming the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world. This campaign brought him wealth and fame. By order of Queen Elizabeth, he was henceforth called Sir Francis Drake and was elected to the House of Commons. He went to sea more than once to capture Spanish ships.

In 1588 Sir Francis Drake participated in repelling the attack Invincible armada Spain, which ended in a crushing defeat for the Spaniards. In pursuit of the remnants of the enemy fleet, the British had the opportunity to capture Lisbon, but the ships did not have siege weapons. For his services to the fatherland, the Queen appointed him mayor of Plymouth.

In 1595, he went to his last trip, and this is where Francis Drake's biography ends - in the Caribbean, the famous pirate and navigator died of dysentery at the age of 56. After his death, his body was given over to the ocean, with which he once linked his life.

Francis Drake was born in 1540 in Tavistock, Devonshire, the son of a poor country priest, Edmund Drake. Some sources claim that his father was a sailor in his youth. Francis's grandfather was a farmer who owned 180 acres of land. In total, the Drake family had twelve children, Francis was the eldest.

Francis left his parental home early (presumably in 1550), joining a small merchant ship as a cabin boy, where he quickly mastered the art of navigation. Hardworking, persistent and calculating, he liked the old captain who did not have a family and who fell in love with Francis as own son and bequeathed his ship to Francis. As a merchant captain, Drake undertook several long voyages to the Bay of Biscay and Guinea, where he was profitably engaged in the slave trade, supplying blacks to Haiti.

In 1567, Drake commanded a ship in the squadron of the then famous John Hawkins, who plundered the coast of Mexico with the blessing of Queen Elizabeth I. The British were out of luck. When, after a terrible storm, they defended in San Juan, they were attacked by a Spanish squadron. Only one ship out of six escaped from the trap and, after a difficult voyage, reached his homeland. It was Drake's ship ...

In 1569 he married a girl named Mary Newman. The marriage turned out to be childless. Mary died twelve years later.

Shortly thereafter, Drake made two exploratory voyages across the ocean, and in 1572 organized an independent expedition and made a very successful foray into the Isthmus of Panama.

Flagship Pelican

Soon, among the far from good-natured pirates and slave traders, young Drake began to stand out as the most cruel and most successful. According to the testimony of his contemporaries, “he was a domineering and irritable man with a frenzied character,” greedy, vengeful and extremely superstitious. At the same time, many historians argue that not only for the sake of gold and honors, he undertook risky voyages, that he was attracted by the very opportunity to visit where none of the English had ever been. In any case, geographers and sailors of the era of the great geographical discoveries owe it to this person many important clarifications of the world map.

After Drake distinguished himself in crushing the Irish rebellion, he was introduced to Queen Elizabeth and laid out his plan to raid and devastate the western shores of South America. Together with the rank of Rear Admiral, Drake received five ships with a crew of one hundred and sixty selected sailors. The queen set one condition: that the names of all those noble gentlemen who, like her, gave money for the equipment of the expedition, remain secret.

Drake managed to hide the true objectives of the expedition from the Spanish spies, spreading the rumor that he was heading for Alexandria. As a result of this misinformation, the Spanish ambassador in London, Don Bernandino Mendoza, took no action to block the pirate's path to the Western Hemisphere.

On December 13, 1577, the flotilla - the flagship Pelican, Elizabeth, Sea Gold, Swan and the Christopher galley - left Plymouth.

Drake's cabin was finished and furnished with great luxury. The dishes he used were pure silver. During the meal, the musicians delighted his ears with their playing, and a page stood behind Drake's chair. The queen sent him as a gift incense, sweets, an embroidered navy hat and a green silk scarf with the words embroidered in gold: "May God always protect and guide you."

In the second half of January, the ships reached Mogadar, a port city in Morocco. Taking hostages, the pirates exchanged them for a caravan of all kinds of goods. Then there was a throw through Atlantic Ocean... Having plundered the Spanish harbors at the mouth of La Plata on the way, the flotilla on June 3, 1578 anchored in the bay of San Julian, in which Magellan dealt with the rioters. A cancer of some kind prevailed over this harbor, for Drake also had to suppress the rebellion that broke out, as a result of which Captain Doughty was executed. By the way, at the same time "Pelican" was renamed into "Golden Hind".

On August 2, abandoning two ships that had become completely unusable, the flotilla ("Golden Doe", "Elizabeth" and "Sea Gold") entered the Strait of Magellan and passed it in 20 days. After leaving the strait, the ships fell into a fierce storm that scattered them in different directions. "Sea Gold" was lost, "Elizabeth" was thrown back to the Strait of Magellan and, having passed it, he returned to England, and the "Golden Hind", on which Drake was, skidded far to the south. At the same time, Drake made the involuntary discovery that Tierra del Fuego is not a ledge Southern mainland, as it was believed at that time, but an archipelago, beyond which the open sea stretches. In honor of the discoverer, the strait between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica was named after Drake.

As soon as the storm subsided, Drake headed north and broke into Valparaiso harbor on 5 December. Capturing a ship standing in the harbor, loaded with wines and gold bars worth 37 thousand ducats, the pirates disembarked and plundered the city, taking a cargo of golden sand worth 25 thousand pesos.

In addition, they found secret Spanish maps on the ship, and now Drake did not move forward blindly. It must be said that before Drake's pirate raid, the Spaniards felt west coast America is completely safe - after all, not a single English ship passed the Strait of Magellan, and therefore the Spanish ships in this area were not guarded, and the cities were not prepared to repel the pirates. Walking along the coast of America, Drake captured and plundered many Spanish cities and towns, including Callao, Santo, Trujillo, Mantu. In Panamanian waters, he overtook the ship "Carafuego", on which a load of fabulous value was taken - gold and silver bullion and coins in the amount of 363 thousand pesos (about 1600 kg of gold). In the Mexican harbor of Acapulco, Drake captured a galleon loaded with spices and Chinese silk.

Then Drake, having deceived all the hopes of his enemies, did not turn back south, but crossed the Pacific Ocean and went to the Mariana Islands. Having repaired the ship in the Celebes area, he headed for the Cape of Good Hope and on September 26, 1580 anchored in Plymouth, making the second round the world voyage after Magellan.

Francis Drake's World Tour Map

It was the most lucrative of all the travels ever made - it gave an income of 4,700% profit, about 500 thousand pounds! To imagine the enormity of this amount, it is enough to give two numbers for comparison: fighting the defeat of the Spanish "Invincible Armada" in 1588 cost England "only" 160 thousand pounds, and the annual income of the English treasury at that time was 300 thousand pounds. Queen Elizabeth visited Drake's ship and knighted him right on deck, which was a great reward - in England there were only 300 people holding this title!

The Spanish king Philip II demanded the punishment of the pirate Drake, damages and an apology. Elizabeth's Royal Council confined itself to a vague answer that the Spanish king had no moral right to “prevent the British from visiting India, and therefore the latter could travel there, risking being caught there, but if they return without prejudice to themselves, His Majesty cannot ask Her Majesty to punish them ... "

In 1585 Drake remarried. This time it was a girl of a rather rich and noble family - Elizabeth Sydenham. The couple moved to Drake's recently purchased Buckland Abbey estate. Today there is a large memorial in honor of Drake. But, as in his first marriage, Drake had no children.

In 1585-1586, Sir Francis Drake again commanded an armed English fleet against Spanish colonies West Indies, and just like last time, returned with rich booty. This was the first time Drake commanded such a large unit: he had 21 ships under his command with 2,300 soldiers and sailors.

It was thanks to Drake's energetic actions that the launch of the "Invincible Armada" was delayed for a year, which allowed England to better prepare for military operations with Spain. Not bad for one person! And it was like this: on April 19, 1587, Drake, commanding a squadron of 13 small ships, entered the harbor of Cadiz, where the ships of the "Armada" were preparing to sail. He destroyed 30 out of 60 ships in the roadstead, and captured some of the rest and took with him, including a huge galleon.

In 1588 Sir Francis put his heavy hand in the complete defeat of the Invincible Armada. Unfortunately, this was the zenith of his fame. The expedition to Lisbon in 1589 ended in failure and cost him the favor and favor of the queen. He could not take the city, and out of 16 thousand people only 6 thousand survived. In addition, the royal treasury suffered losses, and the queen treated such issues very badly. It seems that happiness has left Drake, and the next expedition to the shores of America for new treasures has already cost him his life.

Everything in this last voyage was unsuccessful: at the landing sites it turned out that the Spaniards were warned and ready to repulse, there were no treasures, and the British suffered constant losses in people, not only in battles, but also from diseases. The admiral also contracted tropical fever. Feeling the approach of death, Drake got out of bed, dressed with great difficulty, asked his servant to help him put on armor in order to die like a warrior. At dawn on January 28, 1596, he was gone. A few hours later, the squadron approached Nombre de Dios. The new commander, Thomas Baskerville, ordered the body of Sir Francis Drake to be placed in a lead coffin and lowered into the sea with military honors.

Since Sir Francis Drake had no children to inherit his title, it was passed on to his nephew, also named Francis. Then it seemed like a curiosity of fate, but later became the cause of many incidents and misunderstandings.

The content of the article

DRAKE, FRANCIS(Drake, Francis) (c. 1540-1596), English navigator, pirate. Born near Tavistock in Devonshire between 1540 and 1545. His father, a former farmer, became a preacher in Chatham, south of London. Drake probably sailed in the beginning on coasters that called on the Thames. The Drake family was closely related to the wealthy Hawkins family of Plymouth. Therefore, after a little-known maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Drake got a job as captain of a ship in John Hawkins' squadron, which was engaged in the trade of slaves and brought them from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies. The voyage of 1566-1567 ended unsuccessfully, as the Spaniards launched a treacherous attack on English ships at the fortress of San Juan de Ulua in the port of Veracruz on the east coast of Mexico. Revenge for this attack became one of the motives for the subsequent pirate activities of the Treasurer of the Navy J. Gaukins and Captain F. Drake.

Trip around the world.

For several years, Drake carried out pirate raids in the Caribbean Sea, which Spain considered its territory, captured Nombre de Dios in central Panama, robbed caravans carrying cargo of silver on mules from Peru to Panama. His work attracted the attention of Elizabeth I and a group of courtiers, including the Treasurer of State Lord Burleigh and Secretary of the Interior Francis Walsingham. Funds were raised for an expedition that lasted from 1577 to 1580. A hike was originally planned to search for the alleged southern mainland, but it turned - perhaps at the direction of the queen (although England and Spain were not yet at war) - the most successful in history a pirate raid that generated £ 47 for every pound invested.

Drake sailed as the captain of the ship "Pelican" (later renamed "Golden Hind") with a displacement of 100 tons . In addition, there were four other smaller ships, which, however, never completed their voyages. After suppressing a mutiny on a ship off the coast of Patagonia in Argentina, when one of his officers, Thomas Doughty, was punished, Drake entered the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Magellan. Then his flotilla was swept south to about 57 ° S, and as a result, Drake opened between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica the strait that now bears his name (although he probably never saw Cape Horn himself). On his way north, he plundered ships and harbors off the coast of Chile and Peru, and appears to have intended to return via the supposed Northwest Passage. Somewhere in the latitude of Vancouver (no logs have survived), due to bad weather, Drake was forced to turn south and anchor slightly north of modern San Francisco. The site, which he named New Albion, was established in 1936 thanks to the discovery of a copper plate dated June 17, 1579, about 50 km northwest of Golden Gate (now Drake Bay). An inscription is engraved on the plate declaring this territory the possession of Queen Elizabeth. Drake then crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the Moluccas, after which he returned to England.

Drake sailed around the world, demonstrating his mastery of seamanship. The Queen bestowed the title of knight on him as the first captain to sail around the world (Magellan's claims were disputed, since he died while sailing in 1521). The story of sea ​​travel Drake, compiled by the ship's priest Francis Fletcher and published by Hackluth, is still very popular today. With his share of the booty, Drake acquired Buckland Abbey near Plymouth, which now houses the Francis Drake Museum.

War with Spain.

In 1585, Drake was appointed commander-in-chief of the English fleet bound for the West Indies, which meant the beginning of an open war with Spain. His skill in the tactics of combined sea and land operations made it possible to seize successively Santo Domingo (on the island of Haiti), Cartagena (on the Caribbean coast of Columbia) and St. Augustine (in Florida). Before returning to his homeland in 1586, he took with him the colonists (at their request) from the valley of the Roanoke River (Virginia). Thus, the first colony in America, founded by Walter Raleigh, which was not just a settlement, but also a strategic base for pirate raids in the Caribbean, ceased to exist.

Meanwhile, in Spain, the preparation of the Invincible Armada for an attack on England was successfully completed, so in 1587 Drake was sent to Cadiz in the southern Atlantic coast Spain. Insolence combined with superior power allowed Drake to destroy the ships in this port. Everyone expected Drake to command a fleet at Plymouth to defend England against an attack by the Spanish Armada in 1588. However, the Queen felt that Drake's low birth and independent nature could not be made commander-in-chief. Although Drake himself was personally involved in the preparation and equipping of the fleet, he dutifully yielded leadership to Lord Howard of Effingham and remained his chief tactical adviser throughout the campaign.

Thanks to skillful maneuvering, the English fleet broke into the sea and turned the Armada back. When the week-long pursuit of Armada in the English Channel began, Drake was appointed commander of the fleet on the "Revenge" (a ship with a displacement of 450 tons with 50 guns on board), but he turned down this offer, seized the damaged Spanish ship "Rosario" and brought him to Dartmouth. The next day, Drake played a decisive role in the defeat of the Spanish fleet at Gravelin (northeast of Calais).

Drake's expedition against Spain and the siege of the city of A Coruña on its northwest coast, undertaken in 1588 to destroy the remnants of the Armada, turned out to be a complete failure, mainly due to miscalculations in the logistics of the campaign. Drake fell into disgrace, although he continued to be actively involved in local affairs as mayor of Plymouth and MP for that city. In addition, he established a shelter for wounded sailors in Chatham. In 1595 he was again drafted into the navy to lead an expedition to the West Indies with J. Hawkins. The expedition ended in failure, Hawkins died off the coast of Puerto Rico, and Drake himself died of fever on January 28, 1596 off the coast of Portobelo.

Drake (Drake), Francis (about 1545 - January 28, 1595) - English navigator, pirate, military leader, who made the first round the world voyage after F. Magellan (1577-1580). He sailed to the shores of Africa and America, engaging in the slave trade and pirate raids on Spanish ships and possessions. In December 1577 Drake with a squadron of 5 ships left Plymouth, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and in April 1578 reached the shores of South America (the mouth of the La Plata). In August 1578, Drake entered the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Magellan, having already only one ship, which was carried south by the storm to Cape Horn. This is how the southernmost point of America was discovered. This discovery shook the legend of the existence of the mythical southern continent, indicated on maps south of 40 0 ​​- 45 0 S. sh. Then Drake sailed along the western coast of America, plundering Spanish ships and cities along the way. Trying to get away from the Spanish ships, Drake went north in search of a passage from the north from the Pacific to the Atlantic and reached 48 0 s. sh. Descending south, he discovered the bay of San Francisco, from where he turned west, heading for the Moluccas. In June 1580 he rounded the Cape of Good Hope and returned to Plymouth in September 1580.

Drake took an active part in the defeat of the Spanish "Invincible Armada" (1588). Drake's voyages and raids, fully supported by Queen Elizabeth of England, inflicted swipe Spanish monopoly position in the Pacific Ocean.

Named after Drake: Drake Passage between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica.

Drake Francis, English navigator, was born near Tavistock (Devonshire) about 1545, died near Puerto Bello (Panama) on January 28, 1596. The first English traveler around the world. The son of a sailor, he went to sea early and in 1565-1566. first went to the West Indies. In 1567-1569. he served as a captain on John Hawkins' voyages to Guinea, from where he brought black slaves to the West Indies. Hawkins and Drake eluded one attack by the Spanish fleet off Veracruz with only heavy losses. In 1570-1572. Drake undertook three pirate expeditions to the West Indies; thereafter, he was instructed by Queen Elizabeth to obstruct Spanish trade in the Pacific. At the end of 1577, he left Plymouth with five ships and from August 20 to September 6, 1578 sailed the Strait of Magellan. In the Pacific Ocean, due to bad weather, his ship was separated from other ships. However, he continued to sail on one ship and plundered the harbors of the western American coast. From California, he moved north to about 48 ° N. w., but because of the cold weather prevailing there, he had to abandon the plan to return to England, rounding America from the north. Moreover, he was the first of the Europeans to reach the river. Columbia, and maybe even to the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Since the second round South America It was impossible because of the retaliatory measures taken by the Spaniards, he crossed the Pacific Ocean and on November 4, 1579, through the Mariana Islands, he reached one of the Moluccas - Ternate. From there he, having passed Java and rounded the Cape of Good Hope, on November 5, 1580, returned to his native Plymouth. With this, Drake completed his second round the world trip after Magellan. However, apart from part of the western North American coast, he did not discover anything new. In 1585-1586. Drake again commanded an armed English fleet against the Spanish colonies in the West Indies, and returned, as he had from his round-the-world voyage, rich in booty. In 1587 Drake in the harbor of Cadiz burned a detachment of the Spanish armada and in 1588, already in the rank of vice admiral under the leadership of Lord Howard, participated in its destruction in the English Channel. His later ventures, one against Lisbon in 1589, as well as two subsequent West Indies in 1594 and 1595, were unsuccessful. In the second of these, in 1596, he died of dysentery.

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  2. 300 travelers and explorers. Biographical Dictionary. - Moscow: Mysl, 1966 .-- 271 p.