Francis Drake
Vice AdmiralSir Francis Drake(1540 – 27 January 1596) was an Englishsea captain,privateer,navigator,slaver,andpoliticianof theElizabethan era.He was born inTavistockand grew up inKent,where he learned to be a sailor. Soon he was a shipmaster (captain). QueenElizabeth Iawarded Drake a knighthood in 1581, which he received on the Golden Hind in Deptford. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against theSpanish Armadain1588.He also carried out the secondcircumnavigationof the world, from 1577 to 1580 during which he attacked towns of theSpanish Empire.He had always been a powerful enemy to the Spanish.
He died ofdysenteryin January 1596[1]after he had unsuccessfully attackedSan Juan, Puerto Rico.
His exploits were legendary. He was a hero to the English but apirateto theSpaniards.KingPhilip IIwas reported to have offered a reward of 20,000ducats,[2]today worth about £4,000,000 (about US $6,500,000) for him to be killed.
References
[change|change source]- ↑According to the English calendar that was then in use, Drake's date of death was 27 January 1595, as the New Year began on 25 March.
- ↑Cummins, John,Francis Drake: The Lives of a Hero,1996, Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN0312163657
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