Sir Francis Drake was always
dreaming that he would sail, and he did. Drake was an
Englishman who hoped to explore possibilities of trade
and colonial settlement in the Pacific Ocean and to find
the western outlet of the Northwest Passage. He wanted to
find an undiscovered continent that was thought to lie in
the Pacific.
Drake became a ship's captain in
1567, and he lead several trading voyages from England to
the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
In 1577, Queen Elizabeth I chose
him to lead a secret expedition to the Pacific coast of
North America.
He started his voyage on December
13, 1577. He and more than 160 men sailed from Plymouth
on five ships, including Drake's flagship, the Golden
Hind.
After leaving Sao Tiago in the Cape
Verde Islands, Drake's expedition met two Portuguese
ships. He captured one of the vessels and gave its
command to a friend,Thomas Doughty. The ships then sailed
south along the Atlantic coast of South America and ran
into violent storms. They stopped at San
Julian.
Before leaving San Julian, Drake
destroyed the supply ships and the ships that he had
picked up (the Portuguese ships) because they were in bad
condition.
The remaining three ships sailed
through the Strait of Magellan. Shortly after that some
more violent storms wrecked the Marigold and blew the
Elizabeth off course forcing it to return to England. The
storms also blew the Golden Hind, which he was sailing
on, way to the south. Drake then headed north along the
Pacific coast of South America. He captured a Spanish
ship the Cacafuego and stole its cargo of gold, silver,
and jewels.
Loaded with treasure, the Golden
Hind sailed north along the Pacific coast of North
America. Drake then turned south and repaired his ship
where what is now called San Fransico and named the new
area New Albion. He claimed the land for
England.
Drake had planned to return to
England through the Strait of Magellan, not to sail
around the world. But he feared an attack from the
Spanish if he sailed south again. So he decided to sail
home by the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Drake stopped many times for
supplies. After crossing the Indian ocean he sailed
around the Cape of Good Hope. Drake reached Plymouth on
September 26, 1580. He had been out at sea for almost
three years and the voyage made him a national hero and
he is still today.
