Why the sailor Francis Drake is a hero to the British and a pirate to the rest of the world

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

He brought potatoes, tobacco and treasures from the New World at the cost of several annual budgets of the English kingdom. How could you not admire Francis Drake? His name is not forgotten even now: he can be found on geographical maps and in stories about noble pirates of the past.

How a farmer's son became a pirate

The future pirate and vice admiral of the Royal Navy was born in 1540 in the family of the farmer Edmund Drake, who was one of the younger sons, which means that he knew firsthand what it means to be strapped for money. Childhood passed in poverty, and then adolescence and Francis, the first child. In addition, his parents, Protestants, had to suffer for their faith - the era was turbulent, and they often had to fight for their religious views.

Fleeing persecution by Catholics, the Drakes were forced to flee Devonshire, and farming was a thing of the past. His father was forced to get a job as a ship priest - so the life of Francis Drake was connected with the sea. Already at twelve he was a cabin boy on a merchant ship, and at eighteen, thanks to the will of the previous owner, he inherited the ship and became a captain. Drake never received a decent education, until the end of his life he was very reluctant to read and write, but he was decisive, independent and he knew how to turn to his advantage any twists and turns of fate. Let the first ship was small, with a displacement of only 15 tons, but it was Drake's own business, which opened up wide opportunities. In 1558, another successful event for Drake happened: Elizabeth came to the throne, replacing the deceased Queen Mary.

In 1567, Francis Drake set out on a long voyage across the ocean to the shores of the American continent, not so long ago discovered, but already became the subject of territorial disputes. This was a joint expedition of a young captain and his uncle, John Hawkins, who was only eight of Drake's senior. years. Hawkins, a few years before this trip, discovered a way to make good money: he went to the shores of Africa, where his goal was to capture black slaves, who were then transported to the New World to be sold in the slave market. The slave trade was an extremely profitable occupation, despite the fact that the navigators were constantly threatened by a wide variety of dangers - a storm, riots of their own teams, epidemics, raids by African tribes, attacks by the Spaniards.

Relations between the English and Spanish navigators were tense - the reason for this was the support of the English queen of the Dutch rebels, who were trying to free themselves from Spanish rule. Yes, and about the colonization of American lands, the question was acute: Elizabeth was interested in diluting this Spanish-Portuguese representation in the New World, but the British were not welcome there. Interestingly, the Spanish inquisitors, who encouraged the extermination of Indian tribes, condemned the slave trade as something contrary to Catholic doctrine.

During the Hawkins and Drake expedition, five of their ships were attacked by the Spaniards, leaving two ships. It was then that Drake would set himself the goal of taking from the Spaniards everything that was possible - not only in an effort to avenge the losses caused, but also finally finding a real enemy who could be presented with long-standing accounts: for a childhood full of hardships, for the persecution of parents by Catholics …

Since then, Francis Drake has become a nightmare for the Spanish king Philip II. He was called El Drake, that is, "Dragon". The next expedition went to the West Indies in 1572, then ships and Spanish possessions on land were captured and plundered, the Englishman's ships were bursting with gold and silver. Francis Drake returned to England as a national hero.

The head of the "pirate fleet" of Queen Elizabeth

Francis Drake was not only a rich man, but also generous, and in addition, he treated the Queen with great respect and gallantry. There is even a legend that it was thanks to this English pirate that the tradition of saluting arose - allegedly at the first meeting with Elizabeth, pretending to be blinded by her beauty, he covered his eyes with his hand. Drake was noticed at court, and not just noticed - he was offered a service for the good of the kingdom. The brave captain was sent to Ireland to suppress the uprising. And in 1577, Elizabeth commissioned Drake to lead an expedition to the Pacific coast of America.

Formally, the voyage was started for the sake of exploring new lands and discovering Terra Australis Incognita - an unknown southern land, that is, Antarctica. The fact that the South Pole surrounds the mainland was suspected long before the appearance of European sailors in those latitudes. Looking ahead, it must be said that Drake never reached the official goal of the trip, however, it was his name that was given to the wide strait between Antarctica and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

The true goal of the expedition was to take from the Spaniards as much wealth as possible, in order to replenish the English treasury. Drake thus became not a pirate, but a privateer - that is, he acted with the sanction of his ruler against the ships of the enemy state. The agreement between the queen and the privateer was confidential - only the two of them knew the exact amount of Spanish goods stolen and brought to England.

Only one of the expedition's ships reached the Pacific Ocean - a galleon called "Pelican", which was renamed "Golden Hind" and under this name went down in history. On this small ship (its length was only 36 meters), Drake and his team spent almost three years, climbing along the western American coast to Vancouver. The coast near San Francisco was declared English and was named New Albion. The bay on the California coast - where Drake landed - bears his name.

Having circled the African continent, Drake returned to England, having made a round-the-world trip and, by the way, brought home a huge amount of valuables. Apparently, it was several times higher than the state budget, and for those who invested in this trip, the whole enterprise brought more than 4,000 percent of the profit.

Drake was greeted as a national hero and received a knighthood from the queen. The Spaniards were furious. Moreover, Drake did not stop there and a few years later returned to the waters of the West Indies, devastating several more Spanish cities. It was said, however, that the attacks of the English privateer were used by the Spanish colonists for their own purposes: Drake's robberies were credited with the loss of much more gold than the Englishman could take away in reality.

In 1585, the Anglo-Spanish War began, and in 1586 Spain began to equip the Invincible Armada - a fleet that was supposed to repel English ships, and in addition, help British Catholics in the fight against the Protestant Church. Two years later, the Armada campaign took place, and luck turned away from the Spaniards: more than half of the ships were lost in battles or sank as a result of a storm that broke out off the British coast. Vice-Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Francis Drake distinguished himself here, taking direct part in the defeat of the Invincible Armada.

The last expedition

But in the last years of Drake's life, luck seemed to betray him. The plans to seize Lisbon, which Elizabeth had hoped for, failed, attacks on the Spanish colonies did not bring that impressive result: the enemies learned lessons from past defeats. Elizabeth was much cooler about her corsair than before. On his last expedition to the American coast, Drake went in 1595, again with John Hawkins. There, near Panama, he died, asking to put on armor before his death.

Francis Drake was buried at sea in a lead coffin. For the King of Spain, the news of the death of a longtime enemy has become a real holiday.

Drake had no children, despite two marriages, the fortune passed to his nephew. Until now, as it should be in such cases, there are rumors about treasures with countless treasures hidden before death by an English pirate, and even about a map that was allegedly put in a coffin along with Drake's body.

Drake left a mark in history not only as a corsair in the service of Her Majesty. Together with Hawkins in 1590, he founded an almshouse in London for retired sailors, whose age or health did not allow them to independently achieve decent living conditions.

The Englishman made adjustments to military science; Previously, it was believed that the advantage in naval combat was given by the number of guns on board, while Drake demonstrated that the speed and maneuverability of the ship are much more important - this tactic proved to be effective during the battles against the Invincible Armada.

If the privateer himself was not a fan of taking pen and ink in his hands, then among his entourage there were many who undertook to perpetuate the events of his life on paper. And the Spanish Inquisition documented in detail everything related to El Draca. Therefore, quite a lot is now known about the life of Francis Drake, despite the fact that more than four centuries have passed since his death. True, there are plenty of legends and rumors.

Francis Drake never raised a black pirate flag over his ships, but some of his colleagues did it for very specific purposes. Here's what else pirates of the past portrayed on their flags.null