The Legendary Navigator - Mark

Many men throughout history have left their mark on the world. Their discoveries, inventions and scientific findings have helped us better understand the world around us. Sir Francis Drake is just one of those men. His life work for England included sailing around the world, disrupting Spanish colonies in the New World and defeating the Spanish Armada.

The year was 1577. Queen Elizabeth had just allowed Sir Francis Drake, along with John Winter and Thomas Doughty, to attempt a voyage that would take him and his six ship fleet around the world. They left Plymouth, England on December 13, 1577 and headed southwest. Their first stop was at Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America where the natives gave them fresh food and water. As they headed up the western coast of South America, Drake captured a few Spanish ships loaded with gold, pesos and treasures. Historians are not certain how far he went up North Americas Pacific Coast but he is believed to have gone as far as Vancouver Island, Canada. Drake and his crew then crossed the Pacific Ocean, passed through the Indian Ocean, sailed around Africa, and finally headed north back to Plymouth where they had left three year earlier. Upon his arrive in England Sir Francis Drake became a celebrity. The Queen also knighted him and gave him £10,000.

Drake was still hungry for adventure, so he left for the New World soon after his return to England. He headed for the Gulf of Mexico where he sacked the Spanish ports of Santo Domingo and Cartagena. On the return trip his fleet went up north and captured the Spanish fort San Augustín on the east coast of northern Florida. His path took him further up the East Coast to the little island of Roanoke; he became the savior of a few dozen starving colonists whom he took back to England.

Sir Francis’s crew returned to learn that their sacking of Spanish ports in the Gulf had angered Phillip II of Spain. War was coming. Drake was elected vice-admiral under Lord Howard. The winds and currents were against the Spanish, giving the English more time to launch their fleet. England was successful in driving the Spanish out of the English Channel and into the open sea where the climax, The Battle of Gravelines, occurred. Sir Francis Drake played a major part in the battle due to his strategy that ultimately broke the Spanish’s formation.

For these reasons Sir Francis Drake is an English hero, though villain and pirate to the Spanish. Folklore has it that if England ever comes in need they are to beat on Drake’s Drum, a snare drum Drake took on his voyage around the world, and he will return to defend his beloved homeland. Sir Francis Drake’s acts of courage and valor are remembered to this day; he certainly did leave his mark on England and the world.

- Mark (grade 10)