Sir Francis Drake :: essays research papers

Sir Francis Drake     Late in 1577, Francis Drake left England with five ships, evidently on a trading travel to the Nile. On reaching Africa, the real destination was revealed to be the peace-loving Ocean via the Strait of Magellan, to the dismay of approximately of the accompanying gentlemen and sailors. Still in the eastern Atlantic, a Portuguese merchandiser ship and its pilot - who was to stay with Drake for 15 months - was captured, and the fleet crossed the Atlantic, via the drape Verde Islands, to a Brazilian landfall.Running down the Atlantic southeasterly American coast, storms, separations, dissension, and a fatal skirmish with natives marred the journey. Before leaving the Atlantic, Drake lightened the expedition by disposing of two unfit ships and one English gentleman, who was tried and kill for mutiny. After rallying his men and unifying his command with a queer speech, Drake renamed his flagship, previously the Pelican, the Golden hind( prenominal).In September of 1578, the fleet, now three ships, sailed by the deadly Strait of Magellan with speed and ease, only to emerge into terrific Pacific storms. For two months the ships were in mortal danger, unable to sail clear of the brook or to stay clear of the coast. The ships were scattered, and the smallest, the Marigold, went down with all hands. The Elizabeth found herself book binding in the strait and turned tail for England, where she arrived safely but in disgrace. Meanwhile, the Golden Hind had been blown far to the south, where Drake discovered - perhaps - that on that point was open water below the South American continent. The storms abated, and the Golden Hind was finally able to sail north along the Pacific South American coast, into the previously undisturbed private waters of King Philip of Spain. The premiere stop, for food and water, was at the (now) Chilean Island of Mocha, where the rebellious residents laid a intimately disastrous ambush, havi ng mistaken the English for their Spanish oppressors.After this bad first base in the Pacific the tide turned, and for the next five and a fractional months Drake raided Spanish settlements at will, among them Valpariso, Lima and Arica, and easily took Spanish ships, including the rich hold dear ship "Cacafuego," leaving panic, chaos, and a confused pursuit in his wake. During this time, he captured and released a number of Europeans, whose subsequent testimony survives. The plundering was remarkable for its chasteness neither the Spanish nor the natives were intentionally harmed, in that respect was very little violence, and there were very few casualties.