Pages of history. Page three (continued).

About piracy and pirates.(part 2)

Drake began his pirate adventures in 1567, when he was 26 years old. But from his youth he joined the Hawkins expedition and participated in pirate voyages. On May 24, 1572, Drake set sail from Plymouth aboard his own ship, the Savant. He assigned his younger brother John to command another ship called "Pasha". During this and subsequent voyages, Drake carried out pirate activities in the waters of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Cuba and the island of Pinos (now Isle of Juventud). After countless "exploits" at sea, Drake returned to England on November 3, 1580. Queen Elizabeth showered the pirate with honors and handed him a sword with the inscription: “If you are hit, Drake, it means we have been hit.” The Queen grants him the title of Sir and makes him a Member of Parliament and an Admiral of the British Navy.

And all this is deserved. After all, he returned in the fall of 1580 not just from another pirate voyage, but from a trip around the world.

Francis Drake's trip around the world.

No one instructed Drake to travel around the world, and he himself did not plan such a voyage. As often happened in that era, many geographical discoveries were made by chance, due to unforeseen circumstances. For Francis Drake, it turned out almost like the saying: there would have been no happiness, but misfortune helped. Let us remind readers how it all happened.

In the fall of 1577, Drake, with the help of influential patrons, including Queen Elizabeth herself, managed to prepare a pirate expedition to the western, Pacific, coast of South America. The idea of ​​the campaign was brilliantly simple: on the west coast of America, the Spaniards did not expect an attack either from land or, especially, from the sea. Therefore, you can plunder their ships and coastal settlements with almost impunity.

At the end of 1577, Drake's flotilla, consisting of four large ships, left Plymouth. In April 1578, pirates reached the mouth of the La Plati River. After a brief stop, they went south along the coast of Patagonia - the vast region of modern Agrentina, which extends south from the bed of the Rio Negro to the Strait of Magellan. In the south of Patagonia, in San Julian Bay, Drake's flotilla made a stop. It is known that Magellan wintered in this bay in June-October 1520.

After stopping in San Julian, Drake's flotilla continued sailing with three ships: one ship suffered a malfunction and was burned on Drake's orders. Soon the pirates entered the Strait of Magellan, the complex and winding channel of which was difficult to navigate in twenty days. The crew's sailors suffered greatly from the cold: July is the coldest month in the Southern Hemisphere. Finally they found themselves in the Pacific Ocean and headed north towards the tropics. But then a strong storm began. Of the three ships, one went missing, apparently crashed and sank in the ocean, while the other re-entered the Strait of Magellan and managed to return to England. There is only one Drake's flagship left, called the Golden Hind. The ship was carried far to the south. Drake saw that Tierra del Fuego ended here, and that a boundless ocean stretched to the south. So, essentially by accident, a geographical discovery was made: Tierra del Fuego is an island, but not part of the vast Unknown Land, as navigators had previously believed. The strait between South America and Antarctica was later called the Drake Passage.

Finally the ocean calmed down and the weather improved. Drake decided to continue the expedition and sent his now only ship north. The team, anticipating an imminent meeting with the subtropics, found a second wind. The hardships of traveling in the Tierra del Fuego region began to quickly be forgotten when, after the first attacks on Spanish ships, the holds of the Golden Hind began to be filled with gold and other valuables.

Unless absolutely necessary, Drake did not kill those he robbed. Therefore, Drake's pirate operations resulted in almost no casualties among his crew. Drake established almost friendly relations with the Chilean Indians. Rich booty, availability of food and wine, as well as women from local Indian tribes were the pirates' reward for all the dangers and hardships they had previously experienced. Drake managed to capture a special Spanish galleon (see note), transporting gold and jewelry from the American colonies to the Spanish treasury. Not every pirate had such luck. There was nowhere to put the wealth anymore. I had to return home to England. But how? Drake, of course, could not know about the plans of the Spaniards, but as an experienced captain, he assumed that the Spanish ships, in order to destroy him, would go to meet him through the Strait of Magellan. And his assumption was absolutely correct. It was necessary to save yourself, the team and the looted precious cargo. And Drake went north along the west coast of America. The length of this path is amazing. From Tierra del Fuego he traveled by sea, of course with stops on the shore, along the entire coast of Chile, Peru, past the lands of Central America and Mexico, along the west coast of what is now the United States, reaching 48 degrees north latitude (the border with Canada). This path was no less than 20 thousand kilometers - after all, the ship did not travel strictly along the meridian, but skirted the shores of the continents of both Americas. The shore deviated further and further to the west. Drake, fleeing persecution, was probably ready to go around North America to get to Atlantic Ocean. But this was impossible, because... he didn't know if such a way existed. There was no other way out, and Drake turned west, into the endless Pacific Ocean. Turning southwest, he reached the Mariana Islands three months later. After another one and a half to two months, his ship was already making its way between the islands of the Moluccas archipelago. In this area, Drake could have encountered Spanish or Portuguese warships, but he somehow managed to avoid such encounters.

The next stage of his voyage was also unique in its kind. Drake's ship from the island of Java headed across the Indian Ocean straight to the Cape of Good Hope. Having rounded the Cape of Good Hope, travelers moved north around the western coast of Africa, passed the Iberian Peninsula, entered the Bay of Biscay and arrived in Plymouth in early November 1580. The journey, which lasted almost three years, turned out to be around the world.

Francis Drake became the second captain after Ferdinand Magellan to circumnavigate the world. At the same time, Drake was much more successful than Magellan. It is known that Magellan was not destined to personally bring his ships to Portugal. He died in the Philippine Islands in a skirmish with the aborigines. The only one of the five ships of Magellan's flotilla, a year and a half after his death, was brought to Lisbon by the few surviving members of Magellan's crew.

In a long and dangerous voyage, Drake managed to save his life and the lives of most of the sailors of the crew of his flagship ship, the Golden Hind, and personally brought this ship to the English port of Plymouth. The ship was carrying a large cargo of gold and other valuables.

Captain Drake from a simple pirate immediately became an admiral of the British Navy and received other honors from the Queen of England.

The wide strait between the island of Tierra del Fuego and the South Shetland Islands is named after the pirate Drake. To an ignorant person it may seem that this is some kind of historical curiosity or misunderstanding. But now that we know the circumstances of the case, we can say that everything is correct here, because Drake did a lot both for geographical science and for his homeland.

* * *

Several years passed, and Drake resumed his raids on America, but with a huge flotilla of corsairs, which numbered 30 ships and 2,300 soldiers and sailors. By order of Drake, soldiers level the city of Santo Domingo (on the island of Haiti), then besiege Cartagena (northern coast of Colombia), threatening this city with complete destruction. As a result, Drake receives 110 thousand ransom ducats (the ducat was a large monetary unit of that time). He returns to England with booty totaling 600 thousand pounds sterling.

During another raid on the Spanish colonies, Drake contracted dysentery and died. Like his teacher Hawkins, he was buried at sea with full honors. From the manuscripts left by Drake it is clear that everywhere, so to speak, without interruption from his main work - piracy, he was engaged in the natural sciences. The Portuguese pilot Nuno da Silva testifies that Drake had works by English, French and Spanish authors in his ship's library. He drew well. In his sketches he depicted birds, seals, trees, Indians and in general everything that attracted his attention during his travels.

After Drake's death, Thomas Baskerville took command of the expedition. Before returning to England, he brought his fleet to the island of Pinos (now Juventud) for repairs and rest. By this time, King Philip II of Spain had managed to send here a large naval squadron under the command of Bernandino Avellaneda, who was ordered to destroy the British. Baskerville took refuge in the Bay of Siguanea. But Baskerville's ships were discovered by Avelyanda. Avelyanda forced a fight on them. The British took up defensive positions and then tried to escape. As a result, only eight of the thirty ships that set sail from Plymouth in September 1595 reached England.

© Vladimir Kalanov,
"Knowledge is power"

Sir Francis Drake (circa 1540 - January 28, 1596) - English navigator, corsair, vice admiral (1588). The first Englishman to circumnavigate the world (1577-1580). An active participant in the defeat of the Spanish fleet (Invincible Armada) in the Battle of Gravelines (1588), thanks to Drake's skillful actions, the British managed to gain an advantage over enemy forces with superior firepower.

It would seem that it is a matter of honor and duty for any reigning person to fight pirates and all kinds of other robbers.

It also seems obvious that the fate of a pirate is to be in every possible way afraid of the powers that be, or at least to avoid meeting with them.

But history knows completely different examples.

One of them testifies to an amazing, at first glance even impossible, and yet absolutely natural union of two people from the distant past.

She is none other than Her Majesty the Queen of England. He is, without a doubt, a real pirate, an inveterate sea robber.

But, nevertheless, she favored him and even gave him a silk scarf with the words embroidered in gold: “May God always protect and guide you.” Handing him a sword on the eve of a dangerous voyage, she said: “We believe that whoever strikes a blow to you ... will strike it to us.”

And how could it be otherwise if Her Majesty, in modern language, “entered into a share” with the famous pirate, became his “sponsor”, while demanding that her personal participation in the “commercial” deal be kept strictly secret...

By Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder (1520–1590). Title English: The Wanstead or Welbeck Portrait of Elizabeth I or The Peace Portrait of Elizabeth I. Date between 1580 and 1585. Technique oil on wood. Dimensions 45.7 × 38.1 cm

It was the 16th century. Several centuries remained before the development of international law to combat piracy, and the hijacking of ships for the purpose of profit flourished on the seas. That's how it is; but to persuade the monarch of one of the largest European states to encourage and finance robbery was far from easy even then...

But Sir Francis Drake managed to do it. For about twenty years, the “iron pirate,” as he was later called, robbed with the assistance of his powerful patroness. He was knighted and became a national hero...

But Drake is interesting to us not only and not so much for this. During the next predatory voyage, trying to avoid a meeting with an angry enemy, the pirate was forced to look for a new route to his homeland. This journey, almost three years long, turned out to be... the second circumnavigation in history!..

Drake was born in 1545 in the south of England, in an island country where the profession of a sailor has long been held in high esteem, where, according to legend, ships began to be built almost from the moment the British Isles were settled.

Little Francis often visited the ship where his father served as the ship's chaplain in the first years of his life. When he was no more than ten years old, his father appointed his son as a cabin boy on a merchant ship.

Obviously, the boy was hardworking and persistent in mastering the art of navigation. In any case, he clearly liked the old captain, who had no family and bequeathed his ship to Francis after his death. This happened in 1561, as a result of which Drake became the captain and owner of a small ship at the age of sixteen.

What did the future privateer (as pirates supported by the governments of their countries are called) do at such a young age, possessing a ship and the skills to drive it? In answering this question, it should be noted that Drake lived at a time when Spain, owning large and rich territories in the New World, became the most powerful of the world's empires.

Every year, countless jewels literally and figuratively sailed from America, enriching the Spanish treasury. This, of course, could not but cause irritation and envy among other European monarchs. The laurels of Spain especially haunted England, the land of sailors...

The Spaniards brutally dealt with any Europeans who tried to land on the shores of their American possessions. And yet, some prudent English businessmen managed to find a loophole...
One of them, a certain John Hawkins, with the blessing of the same queen, Elizabeth I, offered the services of an intermediary in the semi-official trade in slaves from Africa between Portugal and Spain. With this mission in 1566, another English expedition visited the shores of the West Indies. And we remember this because one of its participants was young Francis Drake.

Apparently, Drake's first transatlantic voyage, despite his ordinary role in the expedition, clearly benefited him. After all, here he received his first baptism of fire. The capture of several Portuguese ships with slaves off the coast of Guinea, passage across the ocean to the shores of Colombia, veiled slave trade deals with local Spanish authorities...

The skills of such “work” came in handy for Drake very soon. Returning home in 1567, he stayed in his homeland for only six weeks - and got ready for a new voyage. It’s not difficult to guess that we are back on the shores of America.

On October 2, 1567, a flotilla of six ships, led by Hawkins, left England. This time one of the small sailing ships was commanded by Francis Drake. The 22-year-old captain takes an active part in battles at sea and on land in order to obtain slaves. After some setbacks, in the end, the British manage to capture about half a thousand people.

Ships arrive in the Caribbean with a cargo of “black goods”. Here, on numerous islands, combining the skills of diplomat and warrior, Hawkins conducts several profitable trade deals.

Having almost completed his plan, he was about to return home, but then a terrible storm broke out, which lasted for several days. Before they have time to recover from it, the English ships are hit by new hurricane blows of wind and waves. As a result, Hawkins is forced to stay in one of the ports for repairs and recuperation.

And this must happen - it was at this time that a Spanish squadron consisting of 13 ships arrived here. Outwardly maintaining decency, the Spaniards and the British held diplomatic negotiations for several days and exchanged friendly letters. Carefully hiding their true intentions, they try to outsmart each other...

This time the Spaniards have the upper hand. Having pulled troops to the shore, contrary to all the assurances of their officials, they attack English ships...

A fierce battle took place, as a result of which only one ship, the Drake, returned relatively intact to England.

There were 65 people on it. A few days later, however, another ship appeared - Hawkins. But only 15 sailors remained alive on it. These were all those who survived from the 500 expedition people...

Drake's biographers claim that throughout his entire life he was never able to forgive the Spaniards for the treachery they showed then.

But were the British really so innocent? Most likely, there was a situation in which one thief deceived another thief.

And yet, if only the Spaniards knew what the devil they had awakened!

Powerful and irritable, with a furious temper, greedy, vindictive Drake really remembered what happened to him and began to carefully prepare for retribution...

This was not the petty revenge of an offended youth. It was a question of a well-thought-out strategy of maritime terror in relation to all Spanish ships - with the possible transfer of hostilities to the territory of Spanish possessions in the New World. In essence, the young captain sent a challenge to the most powerful monarch in the world at that time.

Preparing to carry out his plans, Drake, without advertising, commits in 1569-1571. two more voyages to America. These were peculiar reconnaissance trips with the creation of secret food warehouses on the shores of Panama. Having thus carried out reconnaissance, in May 1572 Drake, on two ships, again set off across the Atlantic to the long-planned point.

He sails to Nombre de Dios, one of the ports on the Atlantic coast, called by the pirates “the treasury of the world.” Every year all the jewelry mined in Peruvian mines was delivered here for further shipment to Spain.

Having landed on shore, Drake launched an assault on the city, during which he was wounded. The captain, who had lost a lot of blood, was carried to the ship by the sailors, forgetting for a while about their main goal - the plunder of the city's wealth. It is obvious that even then Drake was popular among them, and they were ready to follow their 27-year-old leader to the ends of the earth.

After leaving the city and stopping on one of the islands, the British rested and healed their wounds. Having met runaway slaves there, Drake managed to attract them to his side. The slaves informed him that in a few months a caravan with gold was expected in Nombre de Dios.

In anticipation of this event, the captain undertakes voyages along the coast of America, capturing Spanish ships along the way. In one of the skirmishes, one of his eleven brothers dies, then another dies of illness. But neither his own injuries nor the death of loved ones can stop Drake.

Together with a group of sailors and runaway slaves, he makes a multi-day trek across the Isthmus of Panama, preparing an ambush for a caravan with gold. During this campaign, he and his companions were the first among the British to see the “Spanish Lake” - the Pacific Ocean.

After days of travel in the twilight tropical forest, excited by the wonderful sight, Drake swore that he would “pass on a British ship across this sea.” He had no idea that a few years later he would actually do this...

But so far the captain is successfully carrying out a long-planned operation to capture a Spanish caravan and for the first time personally conquers rich booty. At the same time, he does not get lost in the most seemingly hopeless situations.

When, for example, the Spanish colonial authorities began to patrol the coast to prevent Drake from leaving with the loot, he ordered the construction of a wooden raft.

On it, he, along with several people, went to sea and, having managed to slip through the Spanish cordon, found his ships after six hours of sailing. At night they quietly approached the shore and took away the precious cargo.

The treasures Drake brought home in 1573 made him a wealthy man. Now he has ceased to depend on rich shipowners, and his confidence has increased.

Perhaps this was facilitated by his successes in public service, - Drake distinguished himself in suppressing the Irish uprising.

He attracted attention in high circles. And when, in preparation for the war with Spain, England began to develop a plan for naval expeditions, Francis Drake was called for consultations.

Having expressed his opinion that a blow should be struck against the Spanish possessions in America, he soon received a secret audience with the queen.

Elizabeth fully supported Drake's plans. Moreover, it was then that Drake's first deal at the state level apparently took place.

The Queen, expressing a desire to take personal part in the planned event, secretly contributed a significant amount of money. It is clear that this was done not only for patriotic reasons. Her Majesty was counting on a considerable personal share of the future booty captured from the Spaniards by the pirate she blessed.

In mid-1577, having received the rank of rear admiral, 32-year-old Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth with a flotilla of five ships and more than 160 crew. Knowing the tasks assigned to Drake, our imagination today cannot help but draw images of majestic huge sailing ships.
"Golden Hind" - Drake's permanent flagship
Galleon (Spanish galeón, also galion, from French galion) is a large multi-deck sailing ship of the 16th-18th centuries with fairly strong artillery weapons, used as a military and commercial ship.

But in fact, the length of the largest of the five ships, the flagship, which later received the name “Golden Hind,” was only 23 m with a width of less than 6 m! And on such and such a ship Drake was to spend, as it turned out, many months over the next three years.
Modern model of the galleon "Golden Hind" at Brixham

However, the admiral did not adhere to asceticism - even at sea. His cabin was decorated and furnished with great luxury. The privateer used dishes made of pure silver; While eating, musicians delighted his ears with their playing; a page stood behind Drake’s chair...

We know how the famous voyage took place thanks to the ship’s priest who compiled it. detailed description.

Having robbed several Spanish ships along the way, having traveled a long way from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere, in April 1578 the flotilla safely arrived on the shores of South America. Moving south along the eastern coast of Argentina, the British repeatedly met with the local indigenous people - the Patagonians.

They, as a witness to the events notes, “turned out to be good-natured people and showed as much compassionate sympathy for us as we had never encountered among Christians.”

This comparison is also interesting because soon an incident arose between Christians, that is, between members of the expedition, which ended with the execution of a noble and rich man, Thomas Doty. This was the decision of Admiral Drake, who, not without reason, suspected Doty of trying to disrupt the voyage.
In August, the flotilla entered the winding and difficult to navigate Strait of Magellan, the journey through which lasted two and a half weeks.

Finally, the vast expanses of water appeared, along which Drake had once dreamed of sailing on an English ship.

Note that one of the hypotheses about the origin of the name of the largest ocean on Earth is associated with the name of Magellan. Allegedly, precisely due to the fact that good weather favored the sailing of this Portuguese, the ocean was named accordingly - the Pacific. If this is true, then, it seems, if Drake had been here before Magellan, the ocean would have had a completely different name.

This is quite eloquently evidenced by the preserved memories of an eyewitness: “We had not even managed to go out into this sea... which turned out to be Mad for us, when such a frantic storm began that we had never experienced... The wind was so strong that it seemed that everything was blowing winds of the earth at the same time.

It also seemed as if all the clouds in the sky had gathered in one place to rain down on us. Our ship was either tossed like a toy on the crests of giant waves, or thrown with the same swiftness into the abyss of the sea.” The severe storm lasted 52 days with almost no respite and ended only at the end of October.

As a result, of the three ships that Drake had at his disposal at that time, one with its entire crew died, the other, thrown back into the Strait of Magellan by a storm, decided not to tempt fate any longer and, having got out into the Atlantic Ocean, returned to England. And what about the admiral himself?

It was Drake's ship that survived. Fate? It may very well be. But let's not forget that Drake was undoubtedly a sailor by vocation. He was very interested in books on shipping, with a particular passion for geographical maps. On each captured ship, the pirate's first prize was, first of all, maps and navigational instruments.

It is also interesting that he carefully studied Magellan’s book without parting with it. Perhaps all this played a role in the fact that the admiral’s ship did not suffer a tragic fate.

True, the ship was carried far south by the storm. But if this had not happened, Drake would not have made an important discovery. Realizing that people are exhausted and need rest, he stops for several days on one of the islands of Tierra del Fuego.
Tierra del Fuego (Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Spanish: Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego; literally " Big Island Tierra del Fuego") is an island off the southern tip of South America, from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan, as part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

This archipelago was discovered by Magellan. But it was the sailors of the English privateer who first noticed that “neither the mainland nor the island was visible in the southern direction, only the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea met in... free space.”

So Drake unwittingly discovered that Tierra del Fuego is the last land at the southern tip of South America and that beyond it lies the open sea.

Already in the 19th century, after the discovery of Antarctica, a passage between it and Tierra del Fuego, connecting the two most large ocean The planets - Atlantic and Pacific - were called the Drake Passage. Note that this is the widest (up to 1120 km) strait on Earth.

Unable to overcome the westerly winds prevailing in these latitudes, the admiral headed north. He hoped to connect with the missing ships of his squadron at a designated place on the western coast of Chile (in Valparaiso).

It was summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the ocean was calm, the sky was cloudless. But, as if in contrast to the tranquil nature, during one of the landings on the shore to replenish supplies fresh water and food, a group of sailors led by the admiral was suddenly attacked by Indians.

Two Englishmen were killed and the rest were wounded. Drake also suffered, receiving an arrow in the face. The admiral explained this unprovoked hostility by saying that the Indians mistook them for Spaniards. It is interesting that in the absence of a doctor on the expedition (he died), Drake himself began treating numerous wounded. Obviously, he was to some extent knowledgeable in the art of medicine...

The navigator continued his journey north, trying not to come into conflict with the local tribes, since he prudently hoped to attract them to his side in the fight against the Spaniards.

His hopes came true. Soon it was the Indians who showed the British the way to the harbor of Valparaiso, where peace, tranquility reigned... and a complete lack of vigilance. After all, ships other than Spanish have never been seen here before.

Therefore, at first they took the pirate ship as their own and even saluted it with flags and drumbeats. One can imagine the shock of the Spaniards when they were subjected to a daring and daring raid in their own “home”! The British quickly took possession of a Spanish ship stationed in the harbor and then plundered the city.

Having finished with the usual business, Drake ordered the release of all captured Spanish sailors. Judging by the descriptions of his adventures, he made such broad gestures many times. Sometimes he even gave gifts from the loot to opponents he had pardoned.

Obviously, this man with a tough, furious character, as his contemporaries described him, still had his own code of honor.

Maybe because of people like Drake, the expression “gentlemen of fortune” appeared. For, undoubtedly, far from being an angel, he did not correspond to the image of a bloodthirsty murderer...

The first attack on the Spaniards in the Pacific Ocean brought considerable profits to Drake, and he continued with inspiration the mission destined for him. The English descriptions of how the “expropriation of the expropriators” took place are extremely interesting. One day, the British found a sleeping Spaniard on the shore, next to whom lay ingots of silver.

The witness writes: “We didn’t want to wake him up, but, against our will, we caused him this trouble, since we decided to free him from care, which, for goodness sake, would not have allowed him to fall asleep another time, and left him, taking his burden so that it does not bother him any more and he can continue his sleep peacefully.”

In another case, regarding a meeting with a Spaniard driving a small caravan of animals loaded with silver, the Englishman remarks: “We could not allow the Spanish gentleman to turn into a driver, and therefore, without a request from him, we ourselves offered our services ... but since he couldn’t show the way well... we parted with him...” Which sophisticated style! How, it turns out, you can describe the most ordinary robbery in a florid way!..

Yes, Drake cannot be denied courage, which often turned into insolence... Having once visited one of the Spanish ports on the western coast of South America, the pirate managed, under the cover of darkness, to penetrate into the harbor where 30 enemy ships were moored.

Taking advantage of the fact that the teams were on the shore, Drake and his men “inspected” the ships.

At the same time, moving from ship to ship, he cut the anchor ropes, counting on the fact that the ships shifted by the tide would cause confusion in the enemy’s camp and enable the “Golden Hind” to escape to safe distance. This is what happened later...

Continuing his successful advance north, the English pirate admiral could not help but pay attention to the inaccuracy of the Spanish maps he had captured. Whenever Drake, guided by them, turned to the northwest, he lost sight of the coast. By making corrections to the maps, Drake “cut off” hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of non-existent territory.

His cousin John, on behalf of his boss, constantly made sketches of the shores of those harbors where the ship entered. As a result, it was after Drake’s voyage that South America took on more correct outlines on the maps, familiar to us today.

Meanwhile, rumors of "Devil Drake" spread throughout the coast. The Spaniards even tried to pursue the Doe, but it was elusive.

Continuing to search for his missing ships, the admiral visited all river mouths and bays. Finally coming to terms with his loss, he began to think about returning home. But there weren't many ways. Drake believed that the Spaniards would lie in wait for him at the Strait of Magellan (and so it was).

Most likely, the pirate thought, not without reason, and a meeting was prepared for him near the Moluccas Islands. We add that the Spanish authorities also sent warships to the Caribbean Sea.

This was done in case Drake, having abandoned his ship in the Pacific Ocean, decided to cross the Isthmus of Panama and tried to leave for England on any ship he had captured across the Atlantic.

So, since the roads to the south and west were, in all likelihood, closed, Drake chose the third, northern route, deciding to go around America where no one had ever gone by sea. The admiral informed the team about this.

At the same time, he made a completely patriotic speech, noting that such a decision was due not only to the desire to shorten the period of returning home, but also to the opportunity to bring glory to his country with new discoveries.

The further route of the “Golden Hind” ran along the coast of Central and then North America. At the same time, Drake acted according to his usual pattern, capturing and robbing ships he came across along the way.

The gloomy mood of the sailors was aggravated by the disgusting weather. Gradually it became very cold, it often rained and snowed. The gear was covered with a layer of ice, which made it extremely difficult to control the ship. Heavy winds blew in, and in calm weather thick fogs engulfed the ship; I had to stand in one place for a long time.

Let us add here the frequent inability to determine the location of the ship in bad weather. All this, of course, could not but give rise to doubts among the sailors about the chosen path. Only their leader, as always, remained calm and cheerful, encouraging the people.

But when it was reached, at latitude 48°, a place on the Pacific coast of North America where no European ship had been before, the fearless captain decided to stop moving north.

The idea to go around North America from the north was repulsed, and the British prepared to sail west. But first, having descended to more southern latitudes, in June 1579 at 38° N. latitude. they went ashore to repair the ship and rest the crew.

Here another meeting with local Indians took place. They did not show hostile intentions; moreover, they looked at the newcomers with amazement, clearly mistaking them for gods. The “gods,” while distributing gifts, tried to show with gestures that they needed food and water.

The next few weeks spent here by the British not only did not dissuade the Indians, but, on the contrary, further strengthened their conviction in the divine origin of the guests. In the end, it all ended with a very solemn ceremony of the voluntary transfer of power of the Indian chief to the “chief god” named Francis Drake.

Taking advantage of the current situation, the admiral decided to annex the country he had discovered to the English possessions, calling it “New Albion.” This was attested to in the text carved on a copper plate. The plate was fixed on a high pole. Instead of a seal, Drake inserted a silver coin into the pillar with the image of the queen and her coat of arms.

At the end of July, having said goodbye to America, Drake set course for the Moluccas. But he arrived there more than three months later. Along the way, the British had minor skirmishes with the islanders. However, unlike Magellan, who intervened in an internecine tribal war and died in the Philippine Islands, Drake was undoubtedly much luckier.

When entering the Indian Ocean, the English travelers faced another serious test. First, south of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, Drake wandered for a month in a labyrinth of small islands, reefs and shoals in search of a way out.

And when it seemed that the path had already been found, a terrible blow shook the Doe, which flew into an underwater rock. The situation was so serious that the entire team fell on their faces and a general prayer began.

What was Drake doing at this time? Did he, like his compatriots, decide to rely on the Lord? Nothing like this. The unperturbed admiral announced to the team that prayers would not help the matter, forced everyone to work - and finally managed to save the Golden Hind...

As if as a reward for courage, the entire journey of the British across the Indian Ocean took place with a fair wind and good weather. Having rounded the African Cape of Good Hope in mid-June, on September 26, 1580, Drake's ship approached his native shores.

Thus, two years and 10 months after sailing, the first English circumnavigation of the world ended. In addition, this was the first time in history that a captain who began a circumnavigation of the world was able to successfully complete it.

But the main success, from Drake’s point of view, was that, having caused significant damage to the Spanish crown, the owner of the English crown received enormous values. And he was not mistaken. Elizabeth could not help but be satisfied with the results of the “royal pirate’s” campaign, which turned out to be the most profitable of all the trips ever made. Of course, - 4700% profit!

This was a more than powerful argument for not giving Drake’s head to the Spanish king, as he furiously demanded. Moreover, the admiral became a national hero, applauded by all of England. People gathered in the streets every day to see him.

Poets wrote poems in his honor... The pinnacle of honors was the one that took place on board the Golden Hind. solemn ceremony, when, to the sounds of trumpets and the beat of drums, Elizabeth, lowering her sword on the shoulder of the kneeling Francis Drake, elevated the privateer to knighthood.

This was a very large award, which only 300 people had in England and which many powerful people in the country did not receive...

Naturally, in addition to fame and titles, Drake became the owner of a huge fortune. Soon his life, at least outwardly, began to be strikingly different from before. He took care of his estates, acted as mayor of the city of Plymouth, from time to time made trips to London to the Queen’s court, and visited the English Parliament as a member of the House of Commons...

But such a pastime was obviously not entirely in the spirit of a sea wolf who was in his prime. Therefore, in Drake’s subsequent biography one can find another outstanding event - his active participation in the famous defeat of the Spanish fleet during the hostilities of 1588, or, as it was called, the “Invincible Armada.” This victory became the crown of his glory.
Author Philip Jacob Lutherburg (1740–1812). Title English: Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588 Date 1796. Technique oil, canvas. Dimensions 214.63 × 278.13 cm

Sir Francis' subsequent military expedition to Lisbon in 1589 ended in failure. And immediately he felt how fragile the queen's favor was.

Elizabeth, accustomed to rich booty by Drake, did not want to forgive the pirate even a single failure. The recent military achievements of Drake, who actually commanded the English fleet during the defeat of the Spanish Armada, were not counted.

And, even more so, the treasures brought several years ago by Drake worth no less than 600 thousand pounds sterling were forgotten (while the annual income of the English treasury was 300 thousand pounds). The stingy Elizabeth was clearly angry that she not only did not receive a profit once again, but was also forced to incur some of her own expenses...

It seems that happiness really left Drake then, because a few years later the next expedition to the shores of America for new treasures became his last. From the very beginning, everything in this voyage was unsuccessful.

Warned and ready to fight back, the Spaniards were constantly ahead of the British, and they continually suffered losses in people. In addition, tropical fever and other diseases literally wiped out the crews of the ships. The admiral also became seriously ill with dysentery. Every day he grew weaker, but his iron will was not broken.

On the night of January 28, 1596, sensing the end was approaching, Sir Francis rose from his bed and asked his servant to help him put on his armor so that he could die like a warrior. At dawn he was gone. Surprisingly, this happened near Nombre de Dios, the same port on the Atlantic coast where Drake once began his path to world fame.

The military honors given to the knight after death are noteworthy. He, like everyone who died at sea, was buried at sea according to a long-standing tradition.

Usually a wreath and flowers are thrown onto the water; at Drake’s burial site, as a tribute to his memory, several captured Spanish ships were sunk. Truly, it is difficult to measure this man by the moral standards of our time...
Monument to Sir Francis Drake in Plymouth, England - the city where he first set foot on his native soil in September 1580 after traveling around the world.

Francis Drake - Corsair of Her Majesty Elizabeth of England

Francis Drake (Francis Drake) Years of life: ~1540 - 28.1.1596

Francis Drake - corsair, navigator, vice-admiral of the English fleet. The second after Magellan and the first among the English to circumnavigate the world in 1577-1580. A talented naval commander and organizer. He was one of the main figures in the defeat of the Invincible Spanish Armada by the English fleet. For his services, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I and became known as Sir Francis Drake.

The name Francis Drake is associated primarily with the word corsair. Many books have been written and films made about his exploits and adventures. Meanwhile, the scale of this historical figure is much higher than the image of an ordinary sea robber.

During the era of colonial conquests, almost all settlers and colonialists were bandits, robbers and slave traders. Francis Drake was no exception. He was just luckier and bigger than others.

The beginning of the biography of F. Drake

", BGCOLOR, "#ffffff", FONTCOLOR, "#333333", BORDERCOLOR, "Silver", WIDTH, "100%", FADEIN, 100, FADEOUT, 100)" face="Georgia">Francis Drake was from the middle class; his parents owned a farmstead. The father's name was Edmund and he had more than a dozen children, Francis was the eldest child. Already at the age of 12, Francis became acquainted with the sea. He is a cabin boy on a merchant ship of his distant relative. The boy managed to prove himself and liked the owner of the ship so much that he left Drake this ship as an inheritance. Thus, Drake, at the age of eighteen, becomes the owner and captain of his own ship. Fate itself connected him with the sea.

Why Drake decided to become a corsair

At the age of 27, Drake made his first long ocean voyage to African Guinea, then to the West Indies (as the lands discovered by Columbus were then called). He was the captain of one of the ships in the flotilla of his relative John Hawkins, and they were engaged in the slave trade. When the ships with black goods were already off the coast of Mexico, they were attacked by Spanish warships and sank almost all of them. Only Hawkins and Drake managed to escape. This was in 1567. Legend has it that the British demanded compensation from the Spanish (how?). They, of course, refused. Then Drake publicly declared that he himself would take from the Spanish crown whatever he saw fit. And then it began.

In 1572, when Drake was 32 years old, he organized the first conquest expedition to the shores of the New World, and began to plunder Spanish ships and settlements. The main success of this campaign was the capture of the Spanish “Silver Caravan” with thirty tons of silver. The chronicles claim that Drake returned to England in wealth and fame.

It is appropriate to recall here that Drake was not a pirate, he was a corsair (). That is, he had a state patent for robbing enemy ships, was “under the roof” of the English crown and, accordingly, gave a significant part of the loot to the state treasury.

After Francis Drake established himself not only as an outstanding sea wolf, but also as a patriot, he was favored in every possible way by Queen Elizabeth I, whom he served faithfully all his life, proving his devotion with concrete deeds for the benefit of England.

", BGCOLOR, "#ffffff", FONTCOLOR, "#333333", BORDERCOLOR, "Silver", WIDTH, "100%", FADEIN, 100, FADEOUT, 100)"> Under Elizabeth I (reigned 1559-1603), England embarked on the path of war to redistribute the world and seize new lands. This was the beginning of the formation of the British colonial empire and everything that would later make England the “mistress of the seas.”

The Queen commissions Drake to lead an important reconnaissance and conquest expedition to the New World. The official purpose of the expedition was research. In fact, Drake was instructed to conduct reconnaissance of the entire American Pacific coast, strike at Spanish settlements, loot as much valuables as possible and stake out new lands for the English crown, if any were discovered.

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Drake coped with the task brilliantly. An expedition of six ships started on November 15, 1577 from the English shores, descended to the south of the American continent, passed, and entered the Pacific Ocean. Here she was overtaken by a terrible storm, which drove the ships south of the islands of Tierra del Fuego.

And then Drake made the discovery that there was a waterway between South America and (yet undiscovered) Antarctica. This strait later received his name. That is what it is called to this day – Drake Passage.

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During this storm, all the ships of the squadron were missing, leaving only the flagship Pelican. After a miraculous rescue, the captain decided to rename it the “Golden Hind.” This is perhaps the only case in history of a ship being renamed during a voyage.

"Golden Hind" completes Drake's circumnavigation of the world

Luck accompanied Drake on this campaign as well. He climbed north along west bank South America, attacking all Spanish ports, robbed everything and everyone along the way. How he managed it with one ship, God knows.

", BGCOLOR, "#ffffff", FONTCOLOR, "#333333", BORDERCOLOR, "Silver", WIDTH, "100%", FADEIN, 100, FADEOUT, 100)"> Drake on the “Golden Hind” rose significantly north of the Spanish colonies, to the shores of modern California and Canada. Documentary evidence of his stay has not been preserved, but researchers believe that he reached the place where Vancouver is now located. The Pacific coast of what is now the USA and Canada was then completely “wild”, unexplored and not captured by anyone. Drake, as expected, staked out new lands for the English crown.

Drake crosses the Pacific Ocean

After resting, repairing and replenishing supplies, the expedition went west and reached the Moluccas (the famous Spice Islands). From there, Drake's ship headed home, went around and on September 26, 1580 returned to the English shores.

The spoils of Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the world

According to British scientific researchers, Drake brought gold, silver, spices and all kinds of stolen goods worth six hundred thousand pounds sterling in the holds of the Golden Hind! They (British scientists) claim that this amount was twice the then annual budget of the kingdom!

Drake was greeted as a national hero. Queen Elizabeth knighted him. From that moment on, he received the right to be called sir Francis Drake.

In addition to gold and various junk, Drake brought potato tubers from America, which took root well on European soil and, one might say, radically changed the diet of Europeans. For which the British and residents of other countries are very grateful to Drake, and not to Columbus, as is commonly believed in our country.

Drake continued his robber work for the benefit of his native fatherland. He attacked not only Spain's colonial possessions, but also its European ports, in particular Cadiz. The same Cadiz from which it started.

With his skillful and decisive actions, Drake caused significant damage to Spanish control of the seas. He played a key role in the defeat of the famous Spanish "Invincible Armada" in 1588. This event, we repeat, became the starting point in the emergence of England as a great maritime power.

", BGCOLOR, "#ffffff", FONTCOLOR, "#333333", BORDERCOLOR, "Silver", WIDTH, "100%", FADEIN, 100, FADEOUT, 100)"> Fate was favorable to Francis Drake all his life. And it only spoiled the picture a little at the very end - Drake did not die in battle, as befits a knight, but died of dysentery during his last predatory campaign in the West Indies in 1596. But our hero is buried at sea, as befits a real sea wolf.

And further. God did not give Drake children, and his entire fortune passed to his nephew. But the name of a most interesting and extraordinary man, a brave sea robber and a great patriot of his homeland, for which he worked all his life, remained in history.

Travelers of the Age of Great Geographical Discovery

Russian travelers and pioneers

Drake's famous ship - the galleon "Golden Hind"

If we briefly characterize this man, then his fate is very unusual. As a youth, he became a ship captain, and later a successful sea pirate. Then he became a navigator and made the second voyage around the world after Ferdinand Magellan. And after all this he was promoted to admiral and defeated the invincible Spanish Armada. We are talking about the legendary Francis Drake, an English navigator and vice admiral.

Admiral Francis Drake

Francis Drake was born in England in the village of Tavistock, Devonshire, into a farmer's family in 1540. Since childhood, the boy dreamed of long sea voyages and fame. Francis began the road to his dreams at the age of 13 when he hired a job as a cabin boy. The young man turned out to be a smart sailor and soon he became the captain's senior mate. Later, when Francis turned 18, he purchased a small barque, on which he began to transport various cargoes. But ordinary maritime transport did not bring much wealth, which cannot be said about piracy and the slave trade. They provided more profit, and therefore Francis Drake in 1567, as a ship commander in the flotilla of his distant relative John Hawkins, set off on a long voyage to Africa for slaves and from there to the West Indies, where sailors made a living by robbing and capturing Spanish ships. During this voyage, the young navigator gained extensive experience in robberies and attacks on merchant ships of the Spanish crown. Returning to England, they immediately started talking about him as a successful captain.

Soon, in November 1577, Francis Drake left the port of Plymouth on a ship and headed an expedition to the Pacific Ocean to the shores of America, the goal was to bring new lands under the English crown and also to take possession of Spanish ships and their valuable cargoes. This time there were already five ships under Drake's command. Drake's ship called "Pelican" was armed with 18 guns and had three masts. In terms of sailing, the hundred-ton ship was classified as a galleon. With comparatively small sizes, Drake's ship had good seaworthiness. Historians say that even Queen Elizabeth herself blessed these ships and presented memorable gifts.

The sea voyage began successfully. By the end of January 1578, Drake's ships arrived off the coast of Morocco, where the British captured the city of Mogadar. Having received a large number of various valuable goods as a reward, the sea pirates headed to the shores of America, where they engaged in robbery. During this, a mutiny brewed on several of Drake's ships. Some sailors decided to take up piracy themselves. However, the rebellion was suppressed. Leaving the two most leaky ships and re-forming the teams, Francis Drake set off for the Strait of Magellan. Having successfully passed the strait, the sailing ships entered the open ocean, where they immediately encountered a strong storm. Drake's scattered ships were never able to form a squadron. One ship crashed against the rocks, another was dragged back into the strait by the current, and its captain decided to return to England on his own. And Drake's ship, which by that time had received a new name for its excellent seaworthiness, drifted far to the south.

Drake's ship "Golden Hind"

Galleons as a type of vessel originated in the 17th century in Spain, when clumsy carracks and small caravels were no longer suitable for long sea voyages. The English galleon, like Drake's ship, was more spacious and had more powerful weapons. The aft superstructures were high, but more elegant due to their shape being strongly tapered at the top. Often, exits to open galleries were made from the aft rooms. The transom, as a rule, was created straight. The stern of galleons often had luxurious decoration in the form of gilded ornaments. The stem also had its own decorations. The galleon's sailing rig consisted of two rows of straight sails on the first two matches and a large lateen sail on the mizzen mast. As a rule, a straight sail called a blind was installed on the bowsprit. For the first time, ships like Drake's had gun decks located below the main deck. The hull of the ship was somewhat narrower than that of its predecessor, the karakka, and the contours of the ship were smoother, which contributed to improved maneuverability and increased speed.

Drake's ship"Pelican" was built at the Alburgh shipyard, and both weapons (sail and gun) were installed in her home town of Plymouth. Sailing ship had a length of 21.3 m, a beam of 5.8 m, a draft of 2.5 m and a displacement of 150 tons. Before long sea voyages, Drake's ship adopted the livery of a Spanish galleon, consisting of an ornament of red and yellow diamonds. Initially, at the stern of the ship there was a drawing of a pelican, but after the renaming, a figure of a doe, cast entirely in gold, appeared on the bow.

But let's return to the great geographical discoveries of Francis Drake. So, having successfully passed the Strait of Magellan, Drake's ship moved south. Without realizing it, he did important discovery. It turned out that Tierra del Fuego is not at all a protrusion of the known Southern continent, but is just a large island behind which the open ocean continues. Subsequently, this strait between Antarctica and South America was named after his name.

Then Drake's ship headed north, robbing and capturing coastal cities along the way. A particularly successful “treasure” awaited the English corsairs in Valparaiso. In this port, robbers attacked a ship in the harbor loaded with gold and rare goods. But most importantly, there was an unknown person on the Spanish ship nautical chart with a description of the west coast of North America.

Drake not only plundered the Spanish colonies, he walked along the coast of America much further north than the Spaniards. In mid-June Drake's ship moored to the shore for repairs and replenishment of supplies. And in the meantime, he decided to explore the area where the city of San Francisco is now located, declaring it the possession of the Queen of England, and called it New Albion.

The journey along the west coast of America turned out to be very successful. When Drake's ship was overloaded with a large amount of gold and jewelry, the captain thought about returning to his homeland. However, he did not dare to proceed through the Strait of Magellan, realizing the presence of Spanish ships there. Then Drake decided to set off on an unknown journey through South ocean and the weather was favorable to him in this. Soon Drake's ship reached the Mariana Islands. After standing for repairs for several days in the Indonesian Celebes, the captain continued sailing.

On September 26, 1580, Drake and his ship arrived safely at the port of Plymouth. Here he was greeted with honors. Even Queen Elizabeth herself came to the ship and right there knighted the fearless navigator. And this reward was well-deserved, because the corsair brought “booty” that was several times the annual income of the British treasury.

In addition to the title, Francis Drake was appointed mayor of Plymouth and became an inspector of the royal commission, which carried out regular inspections of the ships of the British navy. And in 1584 he was elected an honorary member of the House of Commons.

Between 1585 and 1586, Sir Francis Drake again commanded an armed British fleet against the Spanish colonies in the West Indies. It was thanks to Drake's prompt and skillful actions that the entry to sea of ​​the Spanish fleet of King Philip II was delayed for a year. And in 1588 he put his heavy hand to the final defeat of the invincible Spanish Armada. Unfortunately, this was the end of his fame.

The content of the article

DRAKE, FRANCIS(Drake, Francis) (c. 1540–1596), English navigator, pirate. Born near Tavistock in Devonshire between 1540 and 1545, his father, a former farmer, became a preacher in Chatham, south of London. Drake probably first sailed on coasting ships that entered the Thames. The Drake family was related to the wealthy Hawkins family of Plymouth. Therefore, after a little-known first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Drake received a place as captain of a ship in John Hawkins's squadron, which was engaged in the slave trade and delivered them from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies. The voyage of 1566–1567 ended unsuccessfully as the Spanish launched a treacherous attack on English shipping at the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa in the port of Veracruz on the east coast of Mexico. Revenge for this attack became one of the motives for the subsequent pirate activities of the Navy Paymaster J. Hawkins and Captain F. Drake.

Trip around the world.

For several years, Drake carried out pirate raids in the Caribbean, which Spain considered its territory, captured Nombre de Dios in central Panama, and robbed caravans transporting silver loads on mules from Peru to Panama. His activities attracted the attention of Elizabeth I and a group of courtiers, including the Treasurer of State, Lord Burghley, and the Home Secretary, Francis Walsingham. Funds were raised for the expedition, which lasted from 1577 to 1580. The expedition was originally planned to search for the supposed Southern Continent, but it turned out - perhaps at the direction of the Queen (even though England and Spain were not yet at war) - the most successful in history a pirate raid that yielded a return of £47 for every pound invested.

Drake sailed as captain of the 100-ton ship Pelican (later renamed the Golden Hind). . In addition, there were four other smaller ships, which, however, never completed the voyage. After quelling a mutiny on a ship off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina, when one of his officers, Thomas Doughty, was punished, Drake entered the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Magellan. Then his flotilla was carried south to approximately 57° S, and as a result, Drake discovered the strait between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica that now bears his name (although he himself probably never saw Cape Horn). On his way north, he plundered ships and harbors off the coasts of Chile and Peru and seemed to intend to return through the supposed Northwest Passage. Somewhere in the latitude of Vancouver (no ship's logs have survived), due to bad weather, Drake was forced to turn south and anchor somewhat north of modern San Francisco. The site, which he named New Albion, was established in 1936 thanks to the discovery of a copper plate with the date June 17, 1579, approximately 50 km northwest of Golden Gate (now Drake Bay). There is an inscription stamped on the plate declaring this territory possession of Queen Elizabeth. Drake then crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the Moluccas Islands, after which he returned to England.

Drake sailed around the world, demonstrating his mastery of navigation. The Queen knighted him as the first captain to circumnavigate the world (Magellan's claim was disputed as he died during the voyage in 1521). The account of Drake's sea voyages, compiled by the ship's chaplain Francis Fletcher and published by Haklut, is still very popular. Having received his share of the spoils, Drake purchased Buckland Abbey near Plymouth, which now houses the Francis Drake Museum.

War with Spain.

In 1585, Drake was appointed commander-in-chief of the English fleet heading to the West Indies, which meant the beginning of open war with Spain. His skill in the tactics of combined sea and land operations allowed him to capture successively Santo Domingo (on the island of Haiti), Cartagena (on the Caribbean coast of Colombia) and St. Augustine (in Florida). Before returning to his homeland in 1586, he took with him the colonists (at their request) from the Roanoke River valley (Virginia). Thus, the first colony in America, founded by Walter Raleigh, which was not just a settlement, but also a strategic base for pirate raids in the Caribbean, ceased to exist.

Meanwhile, in Spain the preparation of the Invincible Armada for an attack on England was successfully completed, so in 1587 Drake was sent to Cadiz on the southern Atlantic coast of Spain. Boldness combined with superior power allowed Drake to destroy the ships in this port. Everyone expected Drake to command the fleet at Plymouth to defend England from the attack of the Spanish Armada in 1588. However, the Queen felt that due to Drake's low birth and independent nature, Drake could not be appointed commander-in-chief. Although Drake himself was personally involved in preparing and equipping the fleet, he dutifully yielded leadership to Lord Howard of Effingham and remained his chief adviser on tactical matters throughout the campaign.

Thanks to skillful maneuvering, the English fleet broke through to the sea and turned back the Armada. When the week-long pursuit of the Armada began in the English Channel, Drake was appointed fleet commander on the Revenge (a ship displacing 450 tons with 50 guns on board), but he rejected this offer and captured the damaged Spanish ship Rosario. and brought him to Dartmouth. The next day, Drake played a decisive role in the defeat of the Spanish fleet at Gravelines (northeast of Calais).

Drake's expedition against Spain and the siege of the city of La Coruña on its northwestern coast, undertaken in 1588 to destroy the remnants of the Armada, turned out to be a complete failure, mainly due to miscalculations in the logistics of the campaign. Drake fell into disgrace, although he remained active in local affairs as mayor of Plymouth and member of parliament for that city. He also founded a shelter for wounded sailors in Chatham. In 1595 he was again called to Navy to lead an expedition to the West Indies with J. Hawkins. The expedition ended in failure, Hawkins died off the coast of Puerto Rico, and Drake himself died of fever on January 28, 1596 off the coast of Portobelo.