Sir Francis Drake Research Paper

With the inspiration of Christopher Columbus, Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world for a second time in 1580. Which undoubtedly laid the frame work for English colonization.

Spain under King Philip the second, was the most powerful nation in Europe at the time and sought to weaken Elizabeth’s reign and have her replaced. So, for the Queen to keep her power and avoid open conflict with Spain, England engaged in an “aggressive para-naval policy towards Spain; and sought to counter Spanish expansion in the New World. Privateering expeditions were under the guise of seeking new channels for English trade, but in fact the expeditions mainly attacked Spanish colonies in the New World. The English privateer John Hawkins, was one of the first hired and supported by England to attack Spanish colonies and trading vessels. Hawkins was the first Englishman to trade slaves in the New World, however he employed “warlike” methods of forcing trade and engaged a and defeated a Spanish fleet in the harbor of Vera Cruz. Another famous privateer who was utilized by the English government was Sir Francis Drake. Drake obtained a privateering commission from Queen Elizabeth in 1570, to strike at Spanish trading vessels and port cities. In the years that followed, he sacked the Spanish towns of Nombre de Dios and Panama, which in the process he captured a Spanish sliver mule train. Under Elizabeth's orders, Drake sent sail on December. 13, 1577, where he sought to raid Spain's Pacific colonies he knew were hardly defended. He circumnavigated the globe in the process and

On December 13,1577 Drake started his voyage around they world. This is probably his most famous voyage. He brought 160 men with him and they headed for land in the Pacific Ocean. He hoped to find Australia. He was also looking for a western outlet of the Northwest Passage. Drake and the queen planned to rob Spanish ships and colonies along the Pacific coast of South America. The ships went down the tip of South America through the Magellan strait. They sailed up the coast of South America robbing a few more ships and colonies. Sailing the Pacific coast of north America he stopped for supplies and met some people that were really nice and treated them good so they decided to claim it for England and share it with these people( they did not specify what culture they were).

In 1585 he settled about 100 men on Roanoke Island, but they did not settle and returned a year later. In 1587 he sent another group to settle that included a number of women and children. A supply ship was sent to the settlers but was delayed by the attack of the Spanish Armada on England in 1588. Help did not arrive until 1590, but it was too late and there was no one to be found. The attack of the Spanish Armada was spurred by King Phillip the 2nd. His motives were religious as England seemed committed to Protestantism as well as for economic and political reasons. An English fleet of 197 ships were able to conquer the invasion and led to Spain no longer being able to prevent the English from settling in the New World.

In 1600, although the Spanish had most control in Central and South America, they have almost no control in North America. From 1577 to 1580, English navigator, Francis Drake, circumnavigated the globe and was knighted by Elizabeth I on the ship after attacking and pirating Spanish ships for gold. However, the English failed embarrassingly at their earlier attempts at colonization in the Americas. In 1594, Sir Walter Raleigh explored South America but failed to find the legendary Seven City of gold El Dorado, which was his original motivation. During his journey, he also tried to plunder a Spanish outpost; this caused him to be arrested and executed by the Spanish after his return to England in 1618. The Roanoke Island Colony, also known as “The Lost Colony,” was established on Roanoke Island by Elizabeth I as a permanent English settlement; but it disappeared during Anglo-Spanish War with no significant reason. In 1588, Spain sought revenge for Francis Drake’s attack and dispatched the Spanish Armada to attack the Britain but was defeated. This gave the British a chance to cross the Atlantic Ocean and explore the

The project was originally organized and funded by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, until he met an untimely death in 1583 during an aborted attempt to colonize St. John’s, Newfoundland. It was then handed down, by the Queen, to Sir Humphrey’s half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh.

As an adult he moved to Cadiz and became a Squire, he was taught to hunt and handle weapons such as swords and Spanish guns that looked like rifles. Because of this he was recruited to fight against the Moors in Granada from 1487 to 1492. Nevertheless he was considered of a person without importance when he took his first expedition in 1493 on Christopher Columbus’s second voyage to the new world. This voyage started in the harbor of Cadiz and led to the Canary Islands, which is where the last touch of land was had before amassing the large body of water that is the Atlantic which eventually led to Espanola. This particular voyage took roughly twenty two days to cross the Atlantic. Aurelio Tio, a historian of the time from Puerto Rico describes Juan Ponce De Leon before he began his journey, “He [Juan Ponce] was a squire without a source of wealth, a veteran of the Conquest of Granada, in search of fame, honor, adventure, and fortune, like the

These natural circumstances prevented the English ships from being able to leave the harbor. There was almost nothing the English could do but wait for the tide to turn. If fact, Drake and Howard finished playing a game of bowls even after they got the news that the Spanish Armada was approaching. Their inability to leave the port set them at a disadvantage; however, the Spanish did not take the opportunity to attack them while they were practically defenseless. Instead, they kept on sailing towards Flanders. This lack of aggression on the Spanish part is due to the fact that the Armada did not have many offensive military strategies. If the Spanish were more prepared to fight a sea battle, they most likely could have sailed into Plymouth Harbor and attacked without much opposition. Nevertheless, that was not the case, so the Armada kept sailing and was forced to miss what could have been an opportunity for an easy and effective

Finally, Bradford reached Plymouth, Massachusetts, in December 1620, aboard a tiny ship named the Mayflower. This ship was falling apart, almost ready to sink. Bradford faced many hardships, such as the trip to America, the death of his wife, and the fierce winters where many of his friends died. William Bradford became the governor of

Ponce de Leon was a Spanish soldier who had accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second journey to Hispaniola (present-day Haiti). There, Ponce de Leon became a military commander and a deputy governor of the island. He explored the rumors of large gold deposits on the nearby island of San Juan Bautista (Puerto Rico) and discovered it for Spain. On the Spanish king’s orders, Ponce de Leon later returned to the island to colonize and establish gold mines using the natives as slave labor, being appointed as the Spanish governor. He was later removed from office and so set out to explore the rumor of the fountain of youth and discovered Florida. The Spanish conquistador returned to Puerto Rico and reestablished Spanish order in the chaotic country. News of the Spanish king’s passing reached his ears, and he returned to Spain to secure his businesses. His last return to Florida resulted in him being shot with a poison arrow to the thigh, which he later died from.

Gold became his journey's fleece and grail. A few days before departure he was still tracking rumors about "an exceedingly great quantity of gold" in Hispaniola, "where he could get it for nothing." That search continued on all four of his voyages, but the Indies never yielded him much treasure (William Howarth).

Starving Time: In June 1609, eight ships and five hundred colonists set sail from Plymouth Sound bound

In the year 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail and landed in what is now known as Bahamas, claiming it for Spain. He

Sir Francis Drake was an explorer who lived from approximately 1540 to 1596 A.D. He sailed for England, specifically Queen Elizabeth I, and had a deep hatred toward Spain for the majority of his life. Drake is best known for being the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and for his contribution in defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588. He was one of the most famed sailors of his time.

1598 with four other heavily armed ships. Their mission was to go to the Moluccas to