I am the cyber spirit of one of England's best navigators, Sir Francis Drake.
I was born around 1540 in England near a place called Tavistock. I worked hard to become a great sailor . In 1567, I was given my first ship. For several years I made trading voyages to the West Indies and returned with riches for England.
Then in 1572, I was ordered to sail with 75 men and 2 ships to raid Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. England was in competition with Spain and we wanted to win. This was the first time I saw the Pacific Ocean. I returned to England with treasures. This good work helped me to become very popular as a daring and brilliant sea captain.
Queen Elizabeth sent me in 1577 to the Spanish colonies on the Pacific coast of the New World. We faced bad storms and one ship was lost but I sailed on to capture Spanish ships. The name of my ship was the "Golden Hinde". I sailed into a place now called Drake's Bay which is north of San Francisco. I called the place New Albion and claimed the land for England. Later on July 23, 1579, I sailed again and rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and sailed back to England in September, 1580. I brought with me spices and Spanish treasures. I was named the first Englishmen to circumnavigate the world. A few months later Queen Elizabeth I came on my ship the "Golden Hinde" and I was knighted by the queen.
Later in 1585, I left England again and sailed to the West Indies. It was on this trip that I come into the story of Roanoke. We had just raided Spanish colonies and stopped at Roanoke Island. We found Governor Ralph Lane and his men on the island and asked if they wanted to go back to England. It seemed as if they were having a hard time with the natives. Lane and his men decided to leave the island. Besides Lane and his men, we also brought back to England some tobacco plants. Everyone said that I introduced tobacco to England.
Spain was becoming a very powerful country and was attacking English ships. To stop, Queen Elizabeth wanted me to fight the Spanish in 1597. I became a vice admiral and helped England win the war against Spain at the Spanish Armada.
Then in 1595, Elizabeth sent me to fight the Spanish in the Caribbean where I got sick with dysentery and died in 1596. I was buried at sea.
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