1577 1580 Francis Drake. Who is Francis Drake and what did he commit such an outstanding? Life, full adventure

Francis Drake was born in 1540 in the town of Tavistok, Devonshire County, in the family of a poor village priest Edmund Drake. In some sources, it is argued that in his youth his father was a sailor. Francis's grandfather was a farmer, owned 180 acres of land. In total, there were twelve children in the Drake family, Francis was senior.

Francis early left the parent house (presumably in 1550), enrolling the Jung to a small merchant ship, where he quickly mastered the art of judge. Hardworking, persistent and calculating, he liked the old captain, who did not have a family and who loved Francis as a native son and bequeathed his ship Francis. As a shopping captain, Drake took several long journeys to the Biscai Bay and Guinea, where he was profitably engaged in slave trade, delivering blacks to Haiti.

In 1567, Drake commanded the ship in the squadron known in those days of John Hokkins, who robbed the blessing of the Queen Elizabeth I coast of Mexico. The British are not lucky. When, after the terrible storm, they defended themselves in San Juan, they attacked the Spanish squadron. Only one ship out of six escaped from the Western and after difficult swimming got to the Motherland. It was a Drake ship ...

In 1569, he married a girl named Mary Newman. Marriage turned out to be childless. Mary died twelve years later.

Soon after that, Drake made two exploration swimming across the ocean, and in 1572 he organized an independent expedition and made a very successful raid on Panaman's shelters.

Flagship "Pelican"

Soon among far from good-natured pirates and slave traders, a young drake began to stand out as the most cruel and most fortunate. According to the testimony of contemporaries, "it was a domineering and irritable man with a mad character", greedy, vengeful and extremely superstitious. At the same time, many historians claim that not only for the sake of gold and honors, he took risky swimming that he was attracted by the opportunity to visit where none of the British was not yet. In any case, geographers and sailors of the era of the great geographical discoveries are obliged to precisely this person to many important clarifications of the world map.

After Drake distinguished himself in the suppression of the Irish uprising, he was represented by Queen Elizabeth and outlined his raid plan and emptying the Western shores of South America. Together with the title of counter-admiral Drake received five ships with a crew from one hundred sixty selected sailors. The queen put one condition: to stay in secret the names of all those noble gentlemen who, like she, gave money to the expedition gear.

Drake managed to hide the true goals of the expedition from Spanish spies, spreading the rumor that he was heading to Alexandria. As a result of this disinformation, the Spanish ambassador in London Don Bernandino Mendoza did not take measures to block the pirate path to the West Hemisphere.

On December 13, 1577, Flotilla - the flagship ship "Pelican" (Pelican), "Elizabeth", "Marine Gold", "Swan" and Galen "Christopher" - left Plymouth.

Drake cabin was finished and furnished with a large luxury. The dishes that he used was from pure silver. During the eating, his hearing was delaited to their play musicians, and behind the Drake chair stood Page. The queen sent him as a gift incense, sweets, embroidered sea hat and a green silk scarf with an embroidered golden words: "Let always keep you and directs you."

In the second half of January, the ships reached Mogadar, the port city in Morocco. Taking the hostages, the pirates exchanged them on the caravan of all sorts of goods. Then followed by a throw across the Atlantic Ocean. Reputing along the path of Spanish harbor in the mouth of the La Plata, the flotilla on June 3, 1578 knew anchor in the San Julian Bay, in which Magellan dealt with the ruffers. Cancer something Rock made over this harbor, for and drake also had to suppress the rebellion of the rebellion as a result of which Captain Dauti was executed. By the way, then Pelican was renamed Golden Hind.

On August 2, throwing two vessels who came to the complete dissent of the Flotilla ("Golden Lan", "Elizabeth" and "Marine Gold") joined Magellan Strait and passed it for 20 days. After leaving the strait, the ships fell into the cruel storm, stood them in different directions. "Marine Gold" died, Elizabeth was abandoned back to Magellan Strait and, having passed him, he returned to England, and the "Golden Lan", on which there was a drake, brought far to the south. At the same time, Drake made the unwitting discovery that the fiery ground is not a protrusion of the southern mainland, as it was thought at the time, and the archipelago, followed by the open sea. In honor of the discoverer, the shed between the fiery land and Antarctic was named the Drake.

As soon as the storm, Drake took the course to the north and broke in Harbor Valparaiso on December 5. Capturing a ship standing in the harbor, loaded with wines and ingots of gold in the amount of 37 thousand ducats, the pirates landed ashore and plundered the city, taking the cargo of golden sand worth 25 thousand pesos.

In addition, on the ship, they found secret Spanish cards, and now Drake moved forward not blindly. I must say that the Spaniards Drakes felt on the West Coast of America in the western coast of America in complete safety - after all, no English ship passed by a Magellan Strait, and therefore the Spanish ships in the area did not have security, and the city were not prepared for the Pirates. Walking along the shores of America, Drake captured and plundered many Spanish cities and settlements, including Calyao, Santo, Trujillo, Mantu. In Panaman waters, he will overtake the Karafuego ship, which was taken by the goods of the fabulous value - gold and silver in the ingots and coins in the amount of 363 thousand pesos (about 1600 kg of gold). In the Mexican Harbor Acapulco Drake captured Galeon with a burden of spices and Chinese silk.

Then Drake, deceiving all the hopes of his enemies, did not turn back to the south, and crossed the Pacific Ocean and went to the Mariana Islands. Renovating the ship in the Kealtals area, he took the course to Cape of good hope and on September 26, 1580, threw anchor in Plymouth, having completed the world after Magellan around the world.

World Travel Map Francis Drake

It was the most profitable from all the journeys that ever committed, it gave an income of 4,500% of profits, about 500 thousand pounds of sterling! To imagine the grandeur of this amount, it is enough to bring two digits for comparison: the fighting in the defeat of the Spanish "invincible Armada" in 1588 cost England "total" in 160 thousand pounds, and the annual income of the English treasury at the time was 300 thousand pounds. Queen Elizabeth visited the drill ship and right on the deck made it in the knights, which was a big award - in England there were only 300 people who had this title!

The Spanish King Philip II demanded the punishment of the Pirate of Drake, compensation for damage and apology. The Royal Council of Elizabeth limited himself to a foggy answer that the Spanish King had no moral right to "prevent visits to India by the British, and therefore the latter can make travel there, at risk that they will catch them there, but if they are returning without prejudice to themselves, His Majesty cannot ask her majesty to punish them ... "

In 1585, Drake married the secondary. This time it was a girl of rather rich and noble kind - Elizabeth Sidenhem. Chet moved in the recently purchased Drake Manor Buckland Abbei (Buckland Abbey). Today there is a great instance in honor of Drake. But, as in the first marriage, there were no children from Drake.

In 1585-1586, Sir Francis Drake commanded the Armed English fleet, directed against the Spanish colonies of West Indies, and the same as last time, returned with rich prey. For the first time, Drake commanded such a big compound: he was subordinate to 21 ship with 2300 soldiers and sailors.

It is thanks to the energetic actions of the Drake was delayed to the Sea of \u200b\u200b"Unbeatable Armada", which allowed England to better prepare for military actions with Spain. Not bad for one person! And it was as follows: on April 19, 1587, Drake, commanding the squadron of 13 small ships, entered the Harbor of Cadiz, where they were preparing for the departure of Armada ships. Of the 60 ships that stood on the raid, he destroyed 30, and some of the remaining seized and carried away with him, including huge galeon.

In 1588, Sir Francis attached his heavy hand to the complete defeat of the "invincible Armada". Unfortunately, it was the zenith of his fame. The expedition to Lisbon in 1589 ended in failure and cost him the location and grace of the queen. He could not take the city, and from 16 thousand people alive only 6 thousand remained. In addition, the royal treasury suffered losses, and the queen was very bad to such questions. It seems that happiness left Drake, and the next expedition to the shores of America for new treasures had already cost him life.

Everything in this last swimming was unsuccessful: in places the landing it turned out that the Spaniards were warned and ready to dissuade, treasures were not, and the British carried constant losses in people not only in battles, but also from diseases. Admiral also sick with tropical fever. Feeling the approach of death, Drake rose from bed, with great difficulty dressed, asked his servant to help him get into armor to die as a warrior. At dawn on January 28, 1596 he did not. After a few hours, the squadron went to the Namba de Dios. The new commander Thomas Baskerville ordered to put the body of Sir Francis Drake in a lead coffin and with the Military Humans to lower in the sea.

Since Sir Francis Drake did not have children to inherit his title, he was transferred to the nephew, who also called Francis. Then it seemed curious fate, but later became the cause of many incidents and misunderstandings.

The most successful Corsair in history often went to desperate risk. And almost always won. What was it? Sober calculation or wonders of exceptional luck?

By the middle of the XVI century in the Atlantic - in the Caribbean and the coast of Europe - there was an unusual situation. Literally in years in these waters, which were previously dangerous, except with their storms, a new terrible danger appeared - pirates! And the first violin in this concert immediately began to play the British. Why exactly they? England was late for the dealer of American and Asian colonies. IN XVI A eyelid there confidently settled Spaniards with Portuguese. So, becoming new conquisites in English men was difficult. Where to go a young, bold, strong guy, fucking rapid enrichment? Well, of course, in pirates! And given the fact that piracy almost officially encouraged by the British government, the marine robbery became in the literal sense of the word of the national idea of \u200b\u200bBritain.

And the most outstanding pirates became national heroes. SER SPECIFIC HERO has become sir Francis Dreyk – one of the greatest pirates that the English land has ever gave birth to.

Of course, at birth, Drake was not at all. This is the queen , Satisfied with a very profitable (for treasury), the activities of the pirate will comply with the knightly title. And near 1540when in the family of the Devonshire Farmer Edmund Draika A boy who was named Francis was born, no one could assume that he would have to become Sir, vice-admiral and a thunderstorm of the Spanish crown.

However, one should not consider small English landowners (yomenov), from among whose parents there were parents of the future pirate, representatives of the lowest estates. So, young Francis received quite a good (at that time) education.

He knew how to read and write. And not only in English, but also in French. From his father, which on the slope of the years passed from "Agricultural workers" in preachers, Drake inherited the art of convincing - an indispensable quality for any leader (including for the leader of the marine robber).

When Francis was still a teenager, his father gave him to the disciples to the Shkiper of Trading Barka. It is unlikely that Drake-senior dreamed of seeing her son with a robber. Rather, he wanted to provide the boys guaranteed employment in adulthood. And in England the second half XVI The century, the most popular professions, were those that somehow were associated with the sea.

So, Francis becomes Jung on the ship. Ship shopping and walks only in coastal waters. It is not even a school, but a kindergarten for every English seaman. But it is necessary to go through to step above. And the School of Specifically for Francis has already become the service John Hawkins - The famous Sailor of the Elizabethan era. Hawkins was older than Drake for eight years. And most importantly, it was a nobleman with connections. Therefore, Hawkins quickly became an influential leader, and the Son of Protek's son at first worked for him.

What did Drake do Hawkins? Oh, then it was the most demanded (just appeared, but filling huge prospects) business - slave trade!

Slave trade: a school of a young sailor

So, if the coastal (coastal) swimming was a Drake for a kindergarten, then his school was the slave expeditions of John Hawkins.

Murrely, with a well-suspended Language, Sailor Drake quickly urged the attention of the owner. Perspective young man gets a bark under his team "Judith". Very quickly, Drake becomes the right hand of John Hawkins.

However B. 1568. Growing business Hawkins - Drake suffered an unexpected fiasco. During the next visit to the new Light with the parties of slaves, the Mexican fortress of San Juan de Uluua, Hawkish's escade was attacked by the Spaniards who have long been suspicious of the visits of English ships in their colonies. Madrid believed that trade with Spanish colonies, including slaves, should lead the Spanish merchants, and not foreigners at all.

Throwing the flagship ship with all values, Hawkins managed to hide from the Spaniards on the Mignon Light Ship. It ran out of the rings of Spanish ships and drake on his "Judith." The remaining English ships went to the bottom or were captured.

The outrageous worker traders Drake and Hawkins arrived in England, where through official channels they demanded from the Spanish king compensation for incurred losses as a result of such a blatant "violation of international law". The fact that before his defeat of the Hawking squada, in addition to the slave trade, still managed to bodle some coastal Mexican settlements, the plaintiffs were modestly by silence.

King of Spain Philip II. Of course, this complaint ignored. Then Drake decided that do not wait for mercies from Spain, take them from her - our task" So there was no work worker, but a pirate Drake ...

First Pirate Raid Drake

The first pirate raid Drake in 1572 year glorified his name to all England. Handling partly to his own, partly on the government orders several ships, he went to the Caribbean Sea. There, after a number of success of the middle arm, Francis was waiting for a large fortune "Silver Fleet" of the Spanish Crown ...

Each year in spring from the shores of America to Spain won flotilla from dozens of ships. She brought whole mountains of silver, mined on the famous Bolivian silver mines in Potosi. Therefore, this flotilla and called the "silver fleet".
Of course, for Drake and his little squadron, there could be a speech about the capture of the entire "silver fleet", consisting of several dozen cargo and military (security) ships with a numerous and learned team. But the fact is that the "silver fleet" was formed in Havana (starting point of travel to Spain).
Spanish ships arrived in the main port of Cuba from all over South and Central America, and other values, mined or burned in subject territories. From these mini-squadr, and then the mighty "silver fleet" came up, about the attack on which there was nothing to think and think.

But Drake is just lucky to intercept such a Spanish mini-stage, transporting valuable load in Havana. The breeding of the British was colossal - 30 tons of silver. In England, Drake returned to the rich and famous for the whole country with pirate.

Pirate and Queen: Secret Support

The second Drake bassage was even more successful than the first. In November 1577 Drake went to the expedition to the Pacific coast of America. The squadron sailed already with full official support of the queen Elizabeth who was convinced of the talents of ambitious captain and in an incredible profitability of such events for the treasury. However, formally the goal of the journey was the opening of new lands.

However, everyone understood that the Drake was sent to the campaign not with cognitive purposes. A secret contract was made to the official instruction.According to which the Queen is equipped with a drake of a squadron of six ships, and in return, he undertakes 50% captured during the "travel" of values \u200b\u200bto pass in the royal treasury.

The results of the hike exceeded all the most bold expectations. Drake with fire and sword went through the Pacific coast, attacking Spanish cities and villages. But these were all the little things compared to the main prize - manila Galeon. Every year, at the other end of the planet from Manila (in the Spanish Philippines), Galeon was leaving, which is in the Metropolitan, all the looted on these Asian islands over the whole year.

But to plut to the west through the Indian Ocean, a rich cape of good hope, the Spaniards were afraid. They feared (and very fairly) Asian, Arab, African and, of course, European marine robbers, who were abundant in the waters of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Therefore, the Spaniards chose another path. To the east, in a straight line through the Pacific Ocean to the port of Acapulco in Spanish Mexico. There, the values \u200b\u200bof Manila Galloon were discharged, transported on land on the opposite (Atlantic) coast, where they were loaded onto the ships and sent themselves itself in Spain. Such a way was quite time consuming, but but shorter and, most importantly, more secure ...

Yes, it was so safer. The English pirates in the Caribbean have already begone and kept the military squadrons against them. But in the Pacific Ocean, they have not yet pleased. And serious protection did not provide.

And so, having encouraged South America through Magellan Strait, Pirates Drake broke into operational (Pacific) Last ...

Defeated Leviathan

Spring 1579, coming to the harbor of the Mexican Port Acapulco (on the Pacific Coast of Mexico), Drake saw the silhouette of a huge ship on the raid. It was the same Manila Galeon!

This ship could not be confused with any other. The fact is that Spanish entrepreneurs who are dissatisfied with competition with suppliers of inexpensive Asian products (first of all textile), convinced the king to publish a special decree. It was decided that with the Philippines in Spain, you can send only one cargo ship per year. So Castilian weaves wanted to limit the influx of cheap Asian fabrics.

But Spanish merchants and merchants in the Philippines found a way out. They began to build this one - the only permitted vessel of this size so that it would fit all the necessary goods. For his era, it was a truly giant ship.

The sailing fleet has never seen such a bullfin. Some of the Manila Monsters had a displacement of 2000 tons (for comparison: the largest ship in the Drake squadron did not reach 300 tons). And so, Leviafan saw Drake in Harbor Acapulco, where Galeon, apparently, just arrived with the cargo.

Drake did not hesitate. On his side was a factor of suddenness and a desperate team of thugs. The Spaniards were caught by surprise, most of the team was on the shore. Small security resistance was quickly broken. Indecent treasures (and with the Philippines, not only Chinese silk, but also spices, and porcelain, and precious stones) fell into the hands of pirates.

It should be noted that the Manila's galleons during the Drake have not yet had guns, so they could not give artillery to the bold invaders. The Spaniards got used to calmly swim through the Pacific Ocean, where there were no serious pirates. Why then cannon?

However, after the drill hit, as well as after 1587 Another British Gentleman Good luck, Thomas Cavendish , captured Manila Galeon "Holy Anna"The Spaniards revised their maritime safety rules. Manila's galleons have now become equipped with guns, the military team on the galleons was significantly increased. After these innovations, the attack has become a very problematic task.

But Drake was lucky. He turned out to be the first, so he threw such a fat kush.

"Golden Lan" brings two state budgets

When in September 1580., after a three-year lack, the only surviving ship Drake is his famous flagship "Golden Lan" - entered the Plymouth Harbor, treasures in the amount of 600,000 pound sterling were resting in the vessel's holds. It was twice the annual budget of the entire English kingdom!

Drake was met as a national hero. The queen was delighted. One inhabit, Sir Francis (he became Sir, because the knightly rank was awarded immediately on his return) brought her a fantastic gift. According to the secret drug, the queen had the right to half all the extraction, that is, in this case, 300,000 pounds of sterling.

The next, third ride, the drill rings on the Spanish colonies was also effective. IN 1586 Pirate was able to get from Cartagena, one of the largest cities in Spanish America, unheard of at the time of the redemption of 107,000 gold pesos. True, in order to achieve this impressive result, the drake had to initially burn about a quarter of the city for the coolness (which, by the way, the Queen of Elizabeth, who threw the "Spanish blood", was pretty happy).

Then a bold raid was already on the Spanish coast itself (on Cadiz in 1587), so that the captain of Pirates himself was joking, "to pour the beard to the King of Spain."

Along the way, the Azor Islands Drake captured the San Philip Krakka, who was walking out of India with a large cargo of gold, spices and silk (production amounted to 114,000 pounds; The queen, as before, received his share).

A B. 1588 Sir Francis Drake took an active part in the defeat of the Spanish invincible Armada. In England, he turned into a national hero, and for the Spanish king became the embodiment of the universal evil.

Latest Drake

His last pirate expedition to West India (America) Drake committed 1595-1596 In the company with John Hawkins - a man who was largely obliged to its enchanting career.

Touching from the slave trade, John Hawkins also leaned into the pirates. Although here he had to give way to the palm of the championship to his former protégé (drake), nevertheless the Spaniards fluttered and before his name. Student next military actions against hate England, the Spanish king was interested in first: where is the Drake and Hawkins now, what do they do, what do you do? That is, the long-ranking of these gentlemen gives at least some hope of success.

But to the middle 1590-H. Hawkins felt guilty to the queen. In the previous expedition, he brought gold significantly less than he expected himself, and much less than the Coroloi expected. For this 60-year-old sea wolf, a real dealer in the palace was arranged.

Wanting to justify, Hawkins wrote the Queen of the repentant letter, weathered in the biblical spirit: they say, a man suggests, and God has.

The piety of the Queen this time (as in every other time, when it was the matter of pounds sterling) did not return the religious arguments of his ward. In the hearts she told approximate:

"This fool came out in the sea warrior, and returned Pop!"

Hawkins realized that the queen would not be a god-fearing rhetoric. Redless nonsense (Red Beth - Nickname Elizabeth) It is necessary to give what she wishes most, namely gold. For help, he turned to his old companion - Drake. By the way, Francis Queen is also somewhat cool. And for the same reason: I did not receive new chests with gold from him.

Two old friends decided to fix their reputation in the eyes of the Royal Court and went to another expedition to the shores of Spanish America. Alas, this swimming has become both the last for them..

Hawkins died in November 1595 off the coast of Puerto Rico. And in two months, January 28, 1596, not far from Puer-Tu-Belo (now briefed in Panama) francis Drake died from dysentery. The famous pirate buried in the ocean in the lead coffin.

Francis Dreyk (Francis Drake.) - one of the most famous English pirates. The second person after Magellan committed around the world.

Early years Francis Drake

Francis was born in about 1545 in the city of Tenviston, Devonshire County. The family was poor and more familiar, except for Francis Edmund Draika More eleven children were born. Francis's father in the past was a sailor.
Since Francis was an older child, he early began to help his father and approximately 10 years old got a Jung on a small shopping ship. A tortuous boy deftly coped with the work and grabbed on the fly the basics of shipping, which very much like the old captain. As the captain was his relative and did not have children, he bequeathed his ship Francis.
At 16, Francis Drake became the owner of a 50-ton barca Judith . About the first year of swimming Drake is known little, we only know that he took part in the slave trade during a pirated expedition John Lowvel.

The first expeditions and the first failures of the Drake

At the end of 1567 Francis Dreyk took part in the expedition of another relative John Hawkins, Rich Armator, who planned to plundle the Spanish fortresses on the coast of Mexico.
But the expedition was extremely unsuccessful. For a very long time, the British could not capture the slaves or even rob some Portuguese slavery. When they managed to load a sufficient number of slaves, they could not sell them to Spanish planters for a long time. The English ships fell into a strong storm, and when, they went into the harbor, the exit was blocked by the escordant accompanying the silver fleet. Of the six English ships, only the ship Drake managed to leave without loss. See a more detailed report on this expedition in the biography. John Hawkins.
Returning to England, Drake married Mary Newman, after which I went on a few ships to the Caribbean Sea, for exploration. But all the trips before the expedition of 1672 were intelligence, so no documents about these trek trek were preserved.
In May 1672 Francis Dreyk goes again through the ocean, for Caravan shakes . In this expedition, the British came out on two small courts and already on the way to America the British robbed several Spanish ships. Having reached the Panama Cleans, Expedition together with pirates James Rens Attacle the city of Nombre de Dios, but they failed to seize the city, besides, Drake was wounded in his leg. Despite this Drake, a few months crashed along the coast, Grabia Spanish Courts.
Finally, the British landed on the shore and tried to capture the caravan with silver. According to a stupid randomness, instead of a caravan with silver, a detachment Drake captured a caravan with food. Ground Drake robbed Went Cruz Colon. Going out to the sea, the British met French pirates under the command Guillaume Le Tetyu.With which re-attacked a silver caravan, this time I smiled at the pirates. Mining was so great that the pirates could not carry everything at a time, so part of the production was forced to hide in place. Cleaning the forest, the Spaniards found a leto and shot. Through torture to one of the pirates, the Spaniards found hidden silver. Draich was more lucky, he safely reached his vessels. The captured mining was divided between the British and the French, soon the Drake met the Spanish vessel with food. Now Drake had food and a strong ship, the British moved home.
The extraction captured on the expedition was so great that the Drake after paying all percent was able to purchase the estate and three ships. But about 30 people did not return from the campaign, among them there were two family brothers Francis.

Circumnavigation

Francis Dreyk led the suppression of the Irish uprising, for which it was presented queen Elizabeth I. He used this audience to set out the queen of his project attack on Spanish colonies in the Pacific Ocean. The queen approved the plan, but put one condition, hide the names of people who provided finances for this expedition. Drake went to the trick, none of the team knew about the true goal of the expedition, until they reached the shores of South America.
Three ship came to the campaign. When the pirates crossed the ocean, they stopped in san Julian BayIn which Magellan dealt with the rioters. Drake here had to execute her friend, Captain Thomas Dobouti on suspicion of the preparation of rebellion. After which the flagship of the expedition was renamed Golden Lan. .
Coming out Magellanova Strait., ships fell into a cruel storm. One of the ships died, the second was discarded back to the strait, and passing through him in the opposite direction, the ship returned to England. Golden Lan. Drake took away far to the south, here the caper made the discovery that the fiery land island, and not part of the southern mainland as they thought before. The shed between the fiery land and Antarctic was later called the Drake name.
When the storm verse, Drake moved along the coast. Since before that time, none of the European ships, in addition to Spanish, never visited the Pacific coast, the Spanish fortresses located on the coast were defenseless, and Drake's attacks were so sudden and unexpected that they almost always ended with luck. The Spaniards expected the Drake to return to England through Magellan Strait and put out the squadron, but Drake deceived the enemies, crossed the quiet and Indian Oceans, went around Africa and returned to England in almost three years.
It was the most profitable expedition in history. Drake brought gold and jewels from America in the amount of 500 thousand pounds to imagine the size of this amount should be said that England's costs in combating Unbeatable Armado It cost 160 thousand pounds, and the annual income of the English treasury was 300 thousand pounds. Profit for each nested pound amounted to 4700%.
The queen arrived on board the ship Drake and right on the deck produced him in the knights. Drake was elected by the mayor of Plymouth and succeeded in this position. Residents of this port city for another 300 years with gratitude recalled their mayor when they used drinking water.

Victory over invincible armada

After returning Francis Dreyk, made another successful expedition to West India. He managed to rob the capital of Espanyola Santo Domingo and one of the largest Spanish cities Cartagena. The expedition took part 21 ship and more than two thousand soldiers.
Philip II. Announced Drake by the main enemy of Spain. Spain began to prepare a huge fleet for the army landing into English bank.
Drake managed to come up with a small squadron to the Spanish port, where there were about 60 ships. Thanks to the use of branders, he managed to set fire to 30 ships. Drake himself took the Spanish galleon with water-displacement of 1200 tons. This catching out for almost a whole year detained the yield of the preparing Unbeatable Armada . In the victory over Armada, the main ally, the British became the wind, which was hosted by Spanish ships and did not give the opportunity to land a landing.
Attempting Drake to capture Lisbon ended with a failure. The treasury suffered huge losses, which brought Drake's disfavor of the queen.

Last swimming

By the time of the last expedition, the Spaniards managed to extract the experience of the previous raids and were able to establish the protection of fortresses and the main mines. Diseases accompanied this expedition, and mowed soldiers and sailors. Did not escape this fate and himself Francis Dreyk. He fell ill with dysentery and January 28, 1596 died. His body was placed in the lead coffin and dropped into the sea.

Francis Drake (Francis Drake) was born in 1540 in the town of Tavistok, the County of Devonshire, in the family of the poor Rustic priest Edmund Drake. In some sources, it is argued that in his youth his father was a sailor. Francis's grandfather was a farmer, owned 180 acres of land. Francis's mother was from the genus Milway, but I could not find her name. In total, there were twelve children in the Drake family, Francis was senior.

In 1569, he married a girl named Mary Newman, which I could not recognize anything. It is only known that the marriage turned out to be childless. Mary died twelve years later.

Pelican - Flagship Ship Francis Drake

Soon after that, Drake made two exploration swimming across the ocean, and in 1572 he organized an independent expedition and made a very successful raid on Panaman's shelters.

Soon among far from good-natured pirates and slave traders, a young drake began to stand out as the most cruel and most fortunate. According to the testimony of contemporaries, "it was a domineering and irritable man with a mad character," greedy, vengeful and extremely superstitious. At the same time, many historians claim that not only for the sake of gold and honors, he took risky swimming that he was attracted by the opportunity to visit where none of the British was not yet. In any case, geographers and sailors of the era of the great geographical discoveries are obliged to precisely this person to many important clarifications of the world map.

On December 13, 1577, flotilla - the flagship ship "Pelican" (Pelican) with a displacement of 100 tons, "Elizabeth" (80 tons), "sea gold" (30 tons), "Swan" (50 tons) and gallery "Christopher" - left Plymouth .

During the Queen of Elizabeth, the official rules of the court of courts did not exist, and therefore the dimensions of the Drake ship do not coincide in different sources. By comparing the information R. Hockel leads the following data: the length between the shapes is 20.2 meters, the largest width is 5.6 meters, the depth of the trim is 3.03 meters, the height of the side: on the face - 4.8 meters, in the stern part - 9.22 meters, in the nose - 6.47 meters; The sediment is 2.2 meters, the height of the grotty mast 19.95 meters. Armament - 18 guns, of which seven guns on each board and two on the tank and stern. On the shape of the Pelican case, it was a transitional type from the drain to the galleon and was well adapted for a long marine sailing.

Sturm Drake Cartagena (antique engraving)

Reconstruction of the intended appearance "Golden Lani"

On August 2, throwing two vessels who came to the complete dissent of the Flotilla ("Golden Lan", "Elizabeth" and "Marine Gold") joined Magellan Strait and passed it for 20 days. After leaving the strait, the ships fell into the cruel storm, stood them in different directions. The "Marine Gold" died, "Elizabeth" was abandoned back to Magellan Strait and, having passed him, he returned to England, and "Golden Lan", on which there was a drake, brought far to the south. At the same time, Drake made the unwitting discovery that the fiery ground is not a protrusion of the southern mainland, as it was thought at the time, and the archipelago, followed by the open sea. In honor of the discoverer, the shed between the fiery land and Antarctic was named the Drake.

In addition, on the ship, they found secret Spanish cards, and now Drake moved forward not blindly. I must say that the Spaniards Drakes felt on the West Coast of America in the western coast of America in complete safety - after all, no English ship passed by a Magellan Strait, and therefore the Spanish ships in the area did not have security, and the city were not prepared for the Pirates. Walking along the shores of America, Drake captured and plundered many Spanish cities and settlements, including Calyao, Santo, Trujillo, Mantu. In Panaman waters, he overtakes the ship "Karafuego", which was taken by the goods of the fabulous value - gold and silver in the ingots and coins in the amount of 363 thousand pesos (about 1600 kg of gold). In the Mexican Harbor Acapulco Drake captured Galeon with a burden of spices and Chinese silk.

It was the most profitable from all the journeys that ever committed, it gave an income of 4,500% of profits, about 500 thousand pounds of sterling! To imagine the grandeur of this amount, it is enough to bring two digits to compare: the fighting by defeating the Spanish "invincible Armada" in 1588, the England was "total" in 160 thousand pounds, and the annual income of the English treasury at that time was 300 thousand pounds. Queen Elizabeth visited the drill ship and right on the deck made it in the knights, which was a big award - in England there were only 300 people who had this title!

Dedication to Francis Drake in Knights

The Spanish King Philip II demanded the punishment of the Pirate of Drake, compensation for damage and apology. The Royal Council Elizabeth limited himself to a foggy answer that the Spanish King had no moral right to "prevent Indian British visits, and therefore the latter can make travel there, at risk that they will catch them there, but if they are returning without prejudice to themselves, His Majesty cannot ask her majesty to punish them ... "

It is thanks to the energetic actions of Drake was delayed to the sea "invincible Armada", which allowed England better to prepare for military actions. Not bad for one person! And it was like this: on April 19, 1587, Drake, commanding the squadron of 13 small ships, entered the Harbor of Cadiz, where they were preparing for the sail of Armada ships. From 60 ships that stood on the raid, he destroyed 30, and some of the remaining seized and carried with him, including a huge galeon with a displacement of 1200 tons.

In 1588, Sir Francis attached his heavy hand to the full defeat "invincible armada." Unfortunately, it was the zenith of his fame. The expedition to Lisbon in 1589 ended in failure and cost him the location and grace of the queen. He could not take the city, and from 16 thousand people alive only 6 thousand remained. In addition, the royal treasury suffered losses, and the queen was very bad to such questions. It seems that happiness left Drake, and the next expedition to the shores of America for new treasures had already cost him life.

Sir Francis Dreyk

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Drake, Francis(Drake, Francis) (approx. 1540-1596), English navigator, pirate. Born near Tavistok in Devonshire between 1540 and 1545. His father, in the past, the farmer became a preacher in Chathe, south of London. Probably, Drake walked at the beginning of the coaster vessels who went to the Thames. The Drake family was associated with relatives with a rich family of Gaukins from Plymouth. Therefore, after a little-known first swimming through the Atlantic Ocean, Drake received the place of captain of the vessel in John Gaucins squadron, which was engaged in trafficking in slaves and delivered them from Africa to Spanish colonies in West Indies. The trip 1566-1567 was unsuccessful because the Spaniards made a treacherous attack on English ships at the San Juan de Ulua fortress in Porto Veracruz on the East Coast of Mexico. Revenge for this attack became one of the motifs of the subsequent pirated activity of the treasurer of the Navy J. Gaucins and Captain F. Rada.

Trip around the world.

For several years, Drake performed pirated raids in the Caribbean, which Spain considered its territory, seized the Nombre de Dwos in the Central Panama, robbed the caravans who were transporting cargo of silver from Peru in Panama on Moulah. His activity attracted the attention of Elizabeth I and the courts of the courtiers, including the State Treasurer of Lord Berli and the Minister of the Interior of Francis Wallsingem. The expedition has been collected, which lasted from 1577 to 1580. Initially, it was originally planned to search for the alleged southern mainland, but it resulted in - possibly, at the direction of the queen (although England and Spain were not in a state of war) - in the most successful in history Pirate raid, which brought income at 47 pounds of sterling for each nested pound.

Drake sailed as a captain of the ship "Pelican" (subsequently renamed Golden Lan) with a displacement of 100 tons . In addition, there were four more smaller vessels, which, however, have not completed travel. Having suppressed a rebellion on the ship off the coast of Patagonia in Argentina, when one of his officers was punished, Thomas Dauti, Drake went out to the Pacific Ocean through Magellan Strait. Then his flotilla was treated to the south to about 57 ° Yu.Sh., and as a result, the Drake opened between the fiery land and Antarctic Strait, which nowes his name (although it is likely, he himself never seen Cape Mountain). On the way to north, he robbed the court and harbor off the coast of Chile and Peru and, it seems to be returned through the alleged northwestern passage. Somewhere on the latitude of Vancouver (no ship magazines have survived) due to bad weather Drake was forced to turn south and become anchored several north of modern San Francisco. The parking lot called by him by New Albion was established in 1936 due to the find of the copper plate from the date of June 17, 1579 by about 50 km north-west of the Golden Gate Strait (now Drake Bay). The inscription is knocked out on the record, announced this territory of the ownership of Queen Elizabeth. Then the Drake crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached Molukkskiy Ogro, after which he returned to England.

Drake made swimming around the world, demonstrating shipping skills. The queen complained to him the title of knight as the first captain who committed around the world (the claims of Magellan were challenged because he died during a swim in 1521). The narration of marine travel Drake, compiled by the Francis Fletcher's ship priest and published by Haclut, is still very popular. Having received its share of production, Drake acquired Abbey Buckland near Plymouth, where the Francis Drake Museum is now located.

War with Spain.

In 1585, Drake was appointed commander-in-chief English fleet, heading for West India, which meant the beginning of an open war with Spain. His skill in the tactics of combined marine and terrestrial operations made it possible to capture consistently Santo Domingo (on O. Gaiti), Cartagena (on the Caribbean coast of Colombia) and St. Augustine (in Florida). Before returning to his homeland in 1586, he took the colonists with him (at their request) from the Valley of R. Rowl (Virginia). Thus ceased to exist in America, a colony, based on Walter role, which was not just a settlement, but also a strategic base for pirated raids in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, in Spain, the preparation of invincible Armada was successfully completed for attacking England, so in 1587, Drake was sent to Cadiz on the southern Atlantic coast of Spain. The audacity in combination with superior power allowed drake to destroy the trial in this port. Everyone expected that the Drake will command the fleet in Plymouth to protect England from the attack of Spanish Armada in 1588. However, the Queen considered that due to low origin and independent character, Drake cannot be appointed commander in chief. Although the Dreyk himself personally participated in the preparation and equipment of the fleet, he submived by the leadership of Lord Haaard from Effingham and throughout the company remained his main tactical adviser.

Thanks to the skillful maneuvering, the English fleet broke into the sea and turned reversed Armada. When the weekly chase for Armada in La Manne began, Drake was appointed to the commander of the fleet on the "revenge" (ship with displacement of 450 tons with 50 guns on board), but he rejected this proposal, captured the damaged Spanish ship "Rosario" and led him to Dartmouth. The next day, Drake played a decisive role with the defeat of the Spanish fleet in Gravlin (northeastern Kale).

The expedition of Drake against Spain and the siege of the city of La Coruna on its north-west coast, undertaken in 1588 to destroy the remnants of Armada, turned into a complete failure, mainly due to miscalculations in the logistics of the campaign. Drake fell into opal, although he continued to actively participate in local affairs as the mayor of Plymouth and the parliament deputy from this city. In addition, he founded in Chathene shelter for wounded sailors. In 1595, he was again called in the Navy to lead an expedition to West India with J. Gaukins. The expedition ended in failure, Gaucins died off the coast of Puerto Rico, and Drake himself died of fever January 28, 1596 off the coast of Portobella.