Sir Francis Drake was hands-down the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Age. Born in England, Drake’s father abandoned the family and young Francis was brought up among relatives in Plymouth who combined vocations as merchants and pirates. He enlisted in the family fleet by the time he was 18 and participated in the seizing and plundering of ships off the French coast. By his late 20s, Drake was in command of his own ship involved in slave-trading in the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean. Not the most honorable of starts in the world, his lowly beginnings would forever make him disrespected by his other “well-born†contemporaries. A couple of bad experiences with the Spanish during Drake’s voyages to the West Indies made him vow for revenge and retribution; the Spanish would become his archenemies forever. This brought him to the attention of the Queen who would finance his next voyage and give him implicit permission to plunder away. Drake set sail for America set on Panama where he successfully attacked a silver-bearing mule train which made him both famous and rich. On this trip he also viewed the Pacific Ocean from Panama and became intent upon sailing an English ship on those seas. In 1577 he was chosen to lead a circumnavigation expedition financed by the Queen Elizabeth herself which he also used as a successful pirating adventure that made his future fortune permanent. He would return three years later in 1580 on his ship the Golden Hind (nee Pelican) and Queen Elizabeth came aboard to knight him. He was also made mayor of Plymouth. As hostilities broke out again with Spain, Elizabeth would call on him to “impeach the provisions of Spain.†With a fleet of 30 ships, Drake stormed the Spanish harbor of Cádiz and destroyed critical vessels and supplies meant for the Armada. This action would weaken the Armada in their later battles with the English, thus helping the English to defeat them. In summary, Drake was a fearless if ethically questionable man. It’s no surprise that the Spaniards referred to him as Franciscus Draco, or ‘Francis the Dragon.’
