On the 13th of December 1577, a fleet of five ships slipped out of Plymouth under the cover of darkness, carrying a secret that would ignite a global war. The English explorer Francis Drake had been commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to lead a covert raiding expedition against the Spanish Empire, disguised as a trading voyage to the Levant. This was not merely an exploration of the unknown; it was a calculated act of piracy sanctioned by the highest office in England. The fleet, consisting of the Pelican, Elizabeth, Marigold, Benedict, and Swan, carried 164 men, including a diverse crew of sailors, gentlemen adventurers, and a formerly enslaved African named Diego, who served as an interpreter and shipbuilder. The true nature of the mission was known only to a select few, including Elizabeth's Secretary of State, Francis Walsingham, and the Queen's own courtiers. The voyage was designed to strike at the heart of Spanish power in the Pacific, a region Spain considered its exclusive domain under the Treaty of Tordesillas. Drake's ambition was to plunder Spanish treasure ships, disrupt their trade routes, and establish a foothold for England in the New World. The stakes were incredibly high, as any failure could result in treason charges and execution, while success would bring immense wealth and international notoriety. The expedition began with a storm that damaged the Pelican and Marigold, forcing a return to Falmouth for repairs, but the delay only added to the tension and uncertainty that hung over the crew. As they finally set sail, the men aboard had no idea that they were embarking on a journey that would change the course of history, challenging the dominance of Spain and Portugal and setting the stage for England's rise as a maritime power.
The Trial of a Traitor
By the 2nd of July 1578, the mood aboard the Pelican had turned from excitement to terror, as Francis Drake ordered the execution of his former friend and co-commander, Thomas Doughty. The trial was a spectacle of political maneuvering and personal vendetta, with Drake accusing Doughty of being a conjurer, a seditious person, and a mutineer. The evidence against Doughty was flimsy, consisting largely of testimony from the ship's carpenter, Edward Bright, and Doughty's own admission of having told Lord Burghley, a vocal opponent of agitating the Spanish, of the voyage's true intentions. Despite the lack of concrete proof, Drake insisted on a guilty verdict, and on the 2nd of July, Doughty was beheaded. Drake held up the severed head, declaring, 'behold the head of a traitor,' a grim reminder of the consequences of dissent. The execution did not quell the tensions among the crew; instead, it fueled a simmering resentment that nearly led to mutiny. Drake, sensing the danger, delivered a powerful sermon, laying down rules of conduct and asserting his sole command. The effect was immediate and profound, silencing any further talk of rebellion. The loss of Doughty was a heavy blow to the expedition, but it also solidified Drake's authority, allowing him to push forward with the mission. The trial remains one of the most controversial episodes of the voyage, with historians debating whether it was a necessary act of discipline or a personal vendetta. The execution of Doughty haunted Drake for the rest of his life, and his brother John later sought legal recourse, though the action was dismissed on a technicality. The incident also highlighted the brutal realities of Elizabethan naval command, where the captain's word was law, and dissent could be met with death.
After passing through the Strait of Magellan in just 16 days, the Golden Hind, formerly the Pelican, entered the Pacific Ocean, only to be battered by violent storms that nearly shattered the remaining ships. The Marigold was lost with all hands, and the Elizabeth, separated from the fleet, was battered to the point that its crew demanded a return to England. Drake, now commanding a lone ship with less than half of the 170 men that had set out, pressed on to Tierra del Fuego, where he engaged in skirmishes with local indigenous people, becoming the first Europeans to kill indigenous peoples in southern Patagonia. The Golden Hind then sailed north along the Pacific coast of South America, encountering the Mapuche people on Mocha Island. The initial encounter was friendly, with the Mapuche providing food and water, but the reception turned hostile when an eleven-man boat came ashore for water. The Mapuche killed two Englishmen and captured two more, wounding Drake and his interpreter, Diego. The fate of the two captured men was death in ritual cannibalism, a grim reminder of the dangers that awaited the English in the New World. Drake's raids on Spanish settlements along the coast of South America were brutal and effective, plundering towns like Valparaíso and Callao, and capturing the rich galleon Nuestra Señora de la Concepción. The treasure aboard the galleon was immense, worth around 360,000 pesos, and included silver bars that replaced the Golden Hind's ballast. The crew's morale soared as they unloaded the treasure, and Drake's leadership was tested as he navigated the ship through the treacherous waters of the Pacific. The Golden Hind's journey northward to Nova Albion, in present-day California, was a feat of navigation and endurance, as Drake sought a shortcut back to England via the hypothetical Strait of Anián. The expedition's success in the Pacific was a testament to Drake's skill and determination, but it also marked the beginning of a new era of English maritime power and colonial ambition.
The Crown of Nova Albion
On the 17th of June 1579, the Golden Hind made landfall at South Cove, just south of Coos Bay, and later at Drakes Bay, where Drake claimed the land in the name of Queen Elizabeth I as Nova Albion, or New Britain. The English crew established a small fort and tents ashore, and Drake met with the Coast Miwok people, who greeted them with friendly interactions and exchanged gifts. In a significant gesture, a large assembly of Coast Miwok descended on the encampment and honored Drake by placing chains around his neck, a sceptre in his hand, and a crown of feathers on his head, as if he were being proclaimed king. This uncertain, seemingly voluntary surrender of sovereignty by its owners provided England with a presumed legal authority to the territory. Drake claimed the land in the name of the Holy Trinity for the English Crown, choosing the name Nova Albion for two reasons: the white banks and cliffs reminded him of the English Channel coast, and Albion was an archaic name for Great Britain. To document and assert his claim, Drake is said to have an engraved Drake's Plate of Brass, one which contained a sixpence bearing Elizabeth's image, attached to a large post. The plate, which claimed sovereignty for Elizabeth and every successive English monarch, was later discovered in Marin County, California, though it was declared a hoax. The relations between the Coast Miwok and the English were peaceful and friendly, and when Drake and the crew left New Albion on the 23rd of July, the Miwok seemed to exhibit distress as the Golden Hind sailed away. Drake's claim to Nova Albion was a bold assertion of English power in the Pacific, and it would later become a cornerstone of British geopolitical considerations, influencing the Nootka Crisis with Spain in 1789 and the 1846 Oregon Treaty. The precise location of the port was carefully guarded to keep it secret from the Spaniards, and several of Drake's maps may have been altered to this end. The claim of Nova Albion occupied a significant place in British geopolitical considerations for centuries, and its influential assertions came in the Nootka Crisis with Spain in 1789 and also negotiated the 1846 Oregon Treaty which extended the border of Canada along the 49th parallel to the Pacific.
The Spice Islands and the Return
After leaving Nova Albion, the Golden Hind sailed west to continue the Pacific crossing, reaching the Caroline Islands by the 13th of October. The crew encountered hostility from the natives, who came in canoes in the hundreds, leading to some trouble and the English firing rounds that killed or wounded some twenty before sailing off. A week later, a Portuguese carrack was sighted, and a running battle ensued until the carrack moved in amongst some shoals. Drake, with his ship heavily laden with goods, dared not enter for fear of running aground and so veered off continuing Westwards. The expedition then reached the Moluccas, known as the Spice Islands, where Drake was able to dock and the crew were warmly welcomed by Sultan Babullah in Ternate. The Sultan controlled a number of other islands and traded mostly in cloves. Drake proclaimed himself no friend of the Portuguese and expressed an interest in trading for spices. After negotiations, Babullah sent a sumptuous meal to Drake and his men, and Drake was able to trade for around ten tonnes of exotic spices, most of which were cloves. The Golden Hind stayed for a further five days before sailing away, and the crew was rewarded with silver, which boosted their morale. The expedition then sought a place to trim and water the ship, and soon arrived off the Celebes islands, where they became caught on a reef. The grounding led to a confrontation between Drake and Francis Fletcher, who suggested that their recent woes resulted from the execution of Doughty. Drake had Fletcher chained to a hatch cover and solemnly excommunicated him. The crew waited for expedient tides and eventually freed the ship after three days. The expedition then sailed to Java, where they made contact with the rajahs and exchanged courtesies and commodities. The Portuguese were familiar with Java's northern coastline, but Drake was the first European to navigate the southern shores and to prove that Java was not part of the continent of Terra Australis. The Golden Hind then entered the Indian Ocean, and after rounding the Cape of Good Hope on the 15th of June, they sailed north, reaching the Western tip of West Africa. The crew encountered elephants for the first time and an 'oyster-tree', which had no leaves on it, but multitudes of oysters. The ship was repaired, and they left two days later heading for the English Channel. The return journey was a testament to the crew's endurance and skill, as they navigated the treacherous waters of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, eventually arriving in Plymouth on the 26th of September 1580 with 59 remaining crew members and a rich cargo of spices and captured Spanish treasures.
The Queen's Dragon Knight
On the 4th of April 1581, Queen Elizabeth I knighted Francis Drake aboard the Golden Hind in Deptford, performing the dubbing with a French diplomat, Monsieur de Marchaumont, who was negotiating for Elizabeth to marry the King of France's brother, Francis, Duke of Anjou. The knighting was a political masterstroke, as it gained the implicit political support of the French for Drake's actions. After receiving his knighthood, Drake unilaterally adopted the armorials of the ancient Devon family of Drake of Ash, near Musbury. The venture raised an enormous amount of money for the nation's coffers, and the Queen declared that all written accounts of Drake's voyages were to become the 'Queen's secrets of the Realm'. Drake and the other participants of his voyages were sworn to their secrecy on the pain of death, as Elizabeth intended to keep Drake's activities away from the eyes of rival Spain. Drake presented the Queen with a jewel token commemorating the circumnavigation, taken from the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, made of enamelled gold and bearing an African diamond and a ship with an ebony hull. For her part, the Queen gave Drake a jewel with her portrait, an unusual gift to bestow upon a commoner, and one that Drake sported proudly in his 1591 portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts. The 'Drake Jewel', as it is known today, is a rare documented survivor among sixteenth-century jewels, conserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. All investors, including Walsingham, were rewarded handsomely, with some receiving a return of some 5000 per cent. Drake himself became incredibly rich, officially allowed to keep £24,000 of the purloined treasure for himself and his crew, and likely helped himself to considerable additional treasure. Drake became Mayor of Plymouth in September 1581 and then went on to become a member of parliament in 1581 and 1584. The execution of Doughty nevertheless continued to haunt Drake afterwards, and his brother John later sought legal recourse, though the action was dismissed on a technicality. The circumnavigation was also a propaganda success that had lasting consequences, as the personal stories of the seamen surviving the uncharted perilous waters of the unknown world and the lure of such adventures was an important element in the exploration of trade in the East in the late sixteenth century. The voyage inspired other expeditions, including those of Thomas Cavendish, Ralph Fitch, Walter Raleigh, and James Lancaster, and began a period of British maritime and colonial dominance that lasted until the 20th century.
The Spanish Fury and the War
After Drake's successful voyage, the Spanish now felt vulnerable in their colonies, and Francisco de Toledo, the Viceroy of Peru, realized the weakness and wanted to build a series of fortifications on the coast for protection against foreign pirates. He also established 'la Armada del Mar del Sur' (the Southern Fleet) in the port of El Callao. The majority of investment, however, was for defences and lookouts in the Strait of Magellan. In order to seal the passage, having feared they were under English control, Toledo sent a squadron with two ships under Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa not only to explore but also take the region as a possession for Spain. They scrupulously explored the strait, trying to catch out any English they thought were hiding, though none were there. They also surveyed where to build fortifications. Gamboa then directly proceeded to Spain to inform Philip II of the dangers of a seaway open to his European enemies. Once this had been done, approval was given for remedial action, and in 1584 an expedition was launched. This, however, achieved very little; two settlements, including Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe, were doomed to failure. Gamboa was captured by English privateers two years later. The biggest repercussion from the voyage, however, was the relationship between Spain and Portugal. The capture of the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción by Drake proved a shock, as it provided evidence that the Spanish had been active in the Far East, which had already been a Portuguese concession from the Pope as stated in the 1494 Tordesillas treaty. As a result, this became one of the reasons for Philip to launch a Spanish invasion of Portugal, which led to the Iberian Union. Drake's two expeditions had increased the annoyance of Philip II, and Anglo-Spanish relations continued to deteriorate, eventually moving towards open war. War between England and Spain officially began in 1585 with English involvement in the Dutch Revolt and the later execution of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587. The Queen ordered Drake to lead the next expedition to attack the Spanish New World in a kind of preemptive strike. Drake sailed to the West Indies and in 1586 captured Santo Domingo, Cartagena de Indias, and raided St. Augustine. News of this reached Spain and further buoyed an invasion of England by Philip. Philip's project to send an invasion 'Armada' against England soon became known; Drake was to lead yet another preemptive strike on Spanish ships being prepared for it in Cadiz in April 1587. A number were destroyed, and the raid, which Drake described as his 'Singeing the King of Spain's Beard', delayed the Armada for a year. This allowed the English to mobilise their defence, and Drake was also a leading player during the Armada campaign. Drake's ability to attack England's Catholic enemies made him a hero at home and the terror of the Spanish, who called him 'El Draque' (The Dragon). King Philip put a price of some 20,000 ducats for anyone who could eliminate Drake.