DRAKE'S FAMOUS VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD
"Call him on the deep sea, call him up the sound,
Call him when ye sail to meet the foe;
Where the old trade's plyin' and the old flag flyin',
They shall find him ware an' wakin', as they found him long ago!"
HENRY NEWBOLT.
Drake's famous voyage, as it is known to history (1577-1580), was
indeed famous, for although Magellan's ship had sailed round the world
fifty years before, Drake was the first Englishman to do so, and,
further, he discovered for us land to the south of Magellan's Strait
round which washed the waters of Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, showing
that the mysterious land marked on contemporary maps as Terra
Australis and joined to South America was a separate land altogether.
He also explored the coast of America as far north as Vancouver Island,
and disclosed to England the secret of the Spice Islands. The very
name of Drake calls up a vision of thrilling adventure on the high
seas. He had been at sea since he was a boy of fifteen, when he had
been apprenticed to the master of a small ship trading between England
and the Netherlands, and many a time he had sailed on the grey North
Sea. "But the narrow seas were a prison for so large a spirit born
for greater undertakings," and in 1567 we find Drake sailing forth
on board the _Judith_ in an expedition over to the Spanish settlements
in America under his kinsman, John Hawkins. Having crossed the
Atlantic and filled his ships with Spanish treasure from "the Spanish
Main," and having narrowly escaped death from the hands of the
Spaniards, Drake had hurried home to tell of the riches of this new
country still closed to all other nations. Two years later Drake was
off again, this time in command himself of two ships with crews of
seventy-three young men, their modest aim being nothing less than to
seize one of the Spanish ports and empty into their holds the "Treasure
House of the World." What if this act of reckless daring was
unsuccessful? The undertaking was crowned with a higher success than
that of riches, for Drake was the first Englishman to see the waters
of the Pacific Ocean. His expedition was not unlike that of Balboa
some sixty years before, as with eighteen chosen companions he climbed
the forest-clad spurs of the ridge dividing the two great oceans.
Arrived at the top, he climbed up a giant tree, and the Golden Sea
of which he had so often heard--the Pacific Ocean of Magellan, the
waters washing the golden shores of Mexico and Peru--all lay below
him. Descending from the heights, he sank upon his knees and "humbly
besought Almighty God of His goodness to give him life and leave to
sail once in an English ship in that sea."
[Illustration: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. From Holland's _Heroologia_, 1620.]
Jealously had the Spanish guarded this beautiful Southern Sea, now
her secrets were laid bare, for an Englishman had gazed upon it and
he was not likely to remain satisfied with this alone.
In 1573 Drake came home with his wonderful news, and it was not long
before he was eagerly talking over with the Queen a project for a raid
into this very Golden Sea guarded by the Spaniards. Elizabeth promised
help on condition that the object of the expedition should remain a
secret. Ships were bought for "a voyage to Egypt"; there was the
_Pelican_ of one hundred tons, the _Marygold_ of thirty tons, and a
provision ship of fifty tons. A fine new ship of eighty tons, named
the _Elizabeth_, mysteriously added itself to the little fleet, and
the crews numbered in all some one hundred and fifty men. No expense
was spared in the equipment of the ships. Musicians were engaged for
the voyage, the arms and ammunition were of the latest pattern. The
flagship was lavishly furnished: there were silver bowls and mugs and
dishes richly gilt and engraved with the family arms, while the
commander's cabin was full of sweet-smelling perfumes presented by
the Queen herself. Thus, complete at last, Drake led his gay little
squadron out of Plymouth harbour on 15th November 1577, bound for
Alexandria--so the crews thought.
Little did Drake know what was before him, as, dressed in his seaman's
shirt, his scarlet cap with its gold band on his head, he waved farewell
to England. Who could foresee the terrible beginning, with treachery
and mutiny at work, or the glorious ending when the young Englishman
sailed triumphantly home after his three years' voyage--the world
encompassed?
Having reached the Cape de Verde Islands in safety, the object of the
expedition could no longer remain a secret, and Drake led his squadron
boldly across the Atlantic Ocean.
On 5th April the coast of Brazil appeared, but fogs and heavy weather
scattered the ships and they had to run into the mouth of the La Plata
for shelter. Then for six weary weeks the ships struggled southward,
battered by gales and squalls during which nothing but the daring
seamanship of the English navigators saved the little vessels from
destruction. It was not till 20th June that they reached Port St. Julian
of Magellan fame, on the desolate shores of Patagonia. As they entered
the harbour, a grim sight met their eyes. On that windswept shore was
the skeleton of the man hung by Magellan years before.
[Illustration: THE SILVER MAP OF THE WORLD. From the medallion in the
British Museum, probably struck in 1581, showing the line of Drake's
voyage from England in 1577 westwards through the Magellan Strait to
California and New Albion.]
History was to repeat itself, and the same fate was now to befall an
unhappy Englishman guilty of the same conduct.
Drake had long had reason to suspect the second in command, Doughty,
though he was his dear friend. He had been guilty of worse than
disobedience, and the very success of the voyage was threatened. So
Drake called a council together and Doughty was tried according to
English law. After two days' trial he was found guilty and condemned
to die. One of the most touching scenes in the history of exploration
now took place. One sees the little English crews far away on that
desolate shore, the ships lying at anchor in the harbour, the block
prepared, the altar raised beside it, the two old friends, Drake and
Doughty, kneeling side by side, then the flash of the sword and Drake
holding up the head of his friend with the words, "Lo, this is the
end of traitors."
It was now midwinter, and for six weeks they remained in harbour till
August came, and with three ships they emerged to continue their way
to the Straits of Magellan. At last it was found and boldly they entered.
From the towering mountains that guarded the entry, tempests of wind
and snow swept down upon the "daring intruders." As they made their
way through the rough and winding waters, they imagined with all the
other geographers of their time that the unknown land to the south
was one great continent leading beyond the boundaries of the world.
Fires lit by the natives on this southern coast added terror to the
wild scene. But at the end of sixteen days they found themselves once
more in the open sea. They were at last on the Pacific Ocean. But it
was anything but pacific. A terrible tempest arose, followed by other
storms no less violent, and the ships were driven helplessly southward
and westward far beyond Cape Horn. When they once more reached the
coast they found in the place of the great southern continent an
indented wind-swept shore washed by waves terrific in their height
and strength. In the ceaseless gale the _Marygold_ foundered with all
hands and was never heard of again. A week later the captain of the
_Elizabeth_ turned home, leaving the _Pelican_, now called the _Golden
Hind_, to struggle on alone. After nearly two months of storm, Drake
anchored among the islands southward of anything yet known to the
geographers, where Atlantic and Pacific rolled together in one
boisterous flood. Walking alone to the farthest end of the island,
Drake is said to have laid himself down and with his arms embraced
the southernmost point of the known world.
[Illustration: THE SILVER MAP OF THE WORLD. The reverse half, showing
the route of Drake's voyage home from California in 1579-1580, through
the Spice Islands and the Indian Ocean. The end of the homeward track,
round the Azores, will be seen on the previous Silver Map
illustration.]
He showed that the Tierra del Fuego, instead of being part of a great
continent--the Terra Australis--was a group of islands with open sea
to east, south, and west. This discovery was first shown on a Dutch
silver medallion struck in Holland about 1581, known as The Silver
Map of the world, and may be seen to-day in the British Museum.
[Illustration: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, THE FIRST ENGLISHMAN TO SAIL ROUND
THE WORLD. After the engraving attributed to Hondius.]
Remarking that the ocean he was now entering would have been better
called "Mare Furiosum" than "Mare Pacificum," Drake now directed his
course along the western coast of South America. He found the coast
of Chili, but not as the general maps had described it, "wherefore
it appeareth that this part of Chili hath not been truly hitherto
discovered," remarked one on board the _Golden Hind_. Bristling with
guns, the little English ship sailed along the unknown coast, till
they reached Valparaiso. Here they found a great Spanish ship laden
with treasure from Peru. Quickly boarding her, the English sailors
bound the Spaniards, stowed them under the hatches, and hastily
transferred the cargo on to the _Golden Hind_. They sailed on
northwards to Lima and Panama, chasing the ships of Spain, plundering
as they went, till they were deeply laden with stolen Spanish treasure
and knew that they had made it impossible to return home by that coast.
So Drake resolved to go on northward and discover, if possible, a way
home by the north. He had probably heard of Frobisher's Strait, and
hoped to find a western entrance.
As they approached the Arctic regions the weather grew bitterly cold,
and "vile, thick, stinking fogs" determined them to sail southward.
They had reached a point near what we now know as Vancouver Island
when contrary winds drove them back and they put in at a harbour, now
known as San Francisco, to repair the ship for the great voyage across
the Pacific and home by the Cape of Good Hope. Drake had sailed past
seven hundred miles of new coast-line in twelve days, and he now turned
to explore the new country, to which he gave the name of New Albion.
The Indians soon began to gather in large quantities on the shore,
and the King himself, tall and comely, advanced in a friendly manner.
Indeed, he took off his crown and set it on the head of Drake and,
hanging chains about his neck, the Indians made him understand that
the land was now his and that they were his vassals.
[Illustration: THE _GOLDEN HIND_ AT NEW ALBION. From the Chart of
Drake's Voyages. 1589.]
Little did King Drake dream, as he named his country New Albion, that
Californian gold was so near. His subjects were loving and peaceable,
evidently regarding the English as gods and reverencing them as such.
The chronicler is eloquent in his detailed description of all the royal
doings.
"Before we left," he says, "our General caused to be set up a monument
of our being there, as also of Her Majesty's right and title to that
kingdom, namely, a plate of brass, fast nailed to a great and firm
post, whereon is engraved Her Grace's name and the day and year of
our arrival here, and of the free giving up of the province, both by
the people and king, into Her Majesty's hands, together with Her
Highness' picture and arms in a piece of sixpence current money. The
Spanish never so much as set foot in this country--the utmost of their
discoveries reaching only to many degrees southward of this place.
"And now, as the time of our departure was perceived by the people,
so did the sorrows and miseries seem to increase upon them--not only
did they lose on a sudden all mirth, joy, glad countenance, pleasant
speeches, agility of body, but with signs and sorrowings, with heavy
hearts and grieved minds, they poured out woeful complaints and moans,
with bitter tears and wringing of their hands, tormenting themselves.
And, as men refusing all comfort, they only accounted themselves as
those whom the gods were about to forsake."
Indeed, the poor Indians looked on these Englishmen as gods, and, when
the day came for them to leave, they ran to the top of the hills to
keep the little ship in sight as long as possible, after which they
burnt fires and made sacrifices at their departure.
Drake left New Albion on 23rd July 1579, to follow the lead of Magellan
and to pass home by the southern seas and the Atlantic Ocean. After
sixty-eight days of quick and straight sailing, with no sight of land,
they fell in with the Philippine Islands, and on 3rd November with
the famous Spice Islands. Here they were well received by the King--a
magnificent person attired in cloth of gold, with bare legs and shoes
of Cordova skins, rings of gold in his hair, and a chain "of perfect
gold" about his neck. The Englishmen were glad enough to get fresh
food after their long crossing, and fared sumptuously on rice, hens,
"imperfect and liquid sugar," sugar-canes, and a fruit they call figo,
with plenty of cloves. On a little island near Celebes the _Golden
Hind_ was thoroughly repaired for her long voyage home. But the little
treasure-laden ship was nearly wrecked before she got away from the
dangerous shoals and currents of these islands.
"Upon the 9th of January we ran suddenly upon a rock, where we stuck
fast from eight of the clock at night till four of the clock in the
afternoon the next day, being, indeed, out of all hope to escape the
danger; but our General, as he had always hitherto showed himself
courageous, so now he and we did our best endeavours to save ourselves,
which it pleased God so to bless, that in the end we cleared ourselves
most happily of the danger."
[Illustration: THE _GOLDEN HIND_ AT JAVA. From the Chart of Drake's
Voyages.]
Then they ran across the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope
in calm weather, abusing the Portuguese for calling it the most
dangerous Cape in the world for intolerable storms, for "This Cape,"
said the English, "is a most stately thing and the finest Cape we saw
in the whole circumference of the earth."
And so they came home. After nearly three years' absence Drake
triumphantly sailed his little _Golden Hind_ into Plymouth harbour,
where he had long ago been given up as lost. Shouts of applause rang
through the land at the news that an Englishman had circumnavigated
the world. The Queen sent for Drake to tell his wonderful story, to
which she listened spellbound. A great banquet was held on board the
little ship, at which Elizabeth was present and knighted Drake, while
she ordered that the _Golden Hind_ should be preserved "as a worthy
rival of Magellan's _Victoria_" and as "a monument to all posterity
of that famous and worthy exploit of Sir Francis Drake." It was
afterwards taken to pieces, and the best parts of wood were made into
a chair at Oxford, commemorated by Cowley's lines--
"To this great ship, which round the world has run
And matched in race the chariot of the sun;
* * * * *
Drake and his ship could ne'er have wished from fate
A happier station or more blest estate;
For lo, a seat of endless rest is given
To her in Oxford and to him in Heaven."
Sir Francis Drake died at sea in 1596.
"The waves became his winding sheet, the waters were his tomb,
But for his fame the ocean sea was not sufficient room."
[Illustration: "THE UNROLLING OF THE CLOUDS"--V. The world as known
after its circumnavigation by Sir Francis Drake in the years
1577-1580.]