SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
Probably the greatest hero in all Great Britain's naval history is Sir
Francis Drake, who carried England's flag to the uttermost corners of
the earth and made it glorious when Queen Elizabeth was on the English
throne.
Drake was the oldest of a family of twelve sons and was born in
Devonshire in 1539. He was an active and adventurous boy, fond of all
athletic games and early showing a taste for the sea that seemed to run
in his family, for his father had served in the navy in the time of
Henry the Eighth, and his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, was sailing to the
coast of Guinea to bring back slaves.
The talent that Drake had for the sea was soon observed by the
keen-eyed Hawkins, and before long Drake became his apprentice, and
quickly learned the ins and outs of seamanship. He rapidly made a name
for himself as a brave and skilful sailor, and before long accompanied
Hawkins on his trips to Guinea after negro slaves--trips in which Drake
was always in the fore when any adventure of a particularly dangerous
nature was undertaken. The slave trade was a perfectly honorable
calling in those days, and Drake succeeded in it beyond his hopes,
amassing much money with which he helped his younger brothers and did
many kindnesses for his family.
But the slave trade itself soon grew too small to satisfy Hawkins, who
sought a field for broader adventures. All the western ocean lay open
to him, and mustering a squadron he offered Drake the command of one of
the vessels, which were to go to the West Indies and engage in trading
or fighting with the Spaniards, who had at that time almost a monopoly
of the waters where Columbus had sailed some seventy years before.
Spain and England were not openly at war when Hawkins was planning this
voyage, but in unknown waters all law stopped; and it was not
infrequent for Spanish and English vessels to fall afoul of each other
with little or nothing said about it afterward in the Courts or
Embassies. Queen Elizabeth hated the Spaniards and was glad to do them
all the mischief she could, but she did not dare to go to war with them
at that time or to give too open encouragement to her sea captains.
They knew, none the less, that the sight of Spanish gold under English
hatches was pleasant to good Queen Bess, and likely to result in honor,
wealth and preferment for themselves.
It was on Drake's first expedition to the West Indies that he conceived
a hatred for the Spaniards that was to last all his life as the result
of the black treachery they played on Hawkins. After cruising along the
western coast of what is now Florida, and being unable to find a proper
harbor there, Hawkins set sail for Mexico and dropped anchor at a
Spanish port in that country. While he was riding at anchor a large
fleet of Spanish vessels arrived, and finding the English in possession
and holding a strong position, agreed to let them sail away unmolested.
Later, however, when the English had consented to these terms and after
the Spanish Admiral had entertained the English officers in his own
cabin, the Spaniards treacherously attacked the English, killing a
number that had gone ashore before they could regain their boats and
engaging in a sea fight with Hawkins' squadron, in which the English
lost all but two of their ships, the _Judith_, Drake's vessel, and the
_Minion_, on which Hawkins happened to be when the fight commenced.
These two ships escaped and made their way back to England separately,
Drake vowing vengeance against the Spaniards. And indeed they had made
a dangerous enemy in this bold sailor, who very shortly paid them in
full for the base treatment they had given him.
As soon as he was in England Drake commenced fitting out two vessels as
raiders for the purpose of harrying Spanish ships in the waters of the
West Indies, and if possible to capture the Spanish holdings on land
and place them beneath the English flag. Particularly did he desire to
get his fingers into the rich heaps of gold that were conveyed by great
Spanish ships or galleons back from the New World to the treasury of
King Philip.
With these ends in view, Drake landed his men secretly on the coast of
Central America near the present location of the Panama Canal; and by a
bold surprise attack captured the Spanish town named Nombre de Dios. He
was finally compelled to abandon the town, because he was greatly
outnumbered by the Spaniards, who, through a mishap in his plans, were
enabled to collect their forces and advance against him, but Drake made
good this check by another daring plan that was skilfully executed, and
that caused great discomfiture to the Spanish officials.
This was nothing less than to ambush and attack the Spanish treasure
trains that carried gold and jewels across the Isthmus of
Panama,--riches wrung from the natives by Spanish greed. Leaving a
small number of men in charge of his ships, Drake advanced into the
wild and tropical country of Central America along the route that the
treasure trains traveled. When the tinkling of the bells on the
harnesses of the pack animals warned him of the approach of the
Spaniards who guarded the treasure, Drake concealed his men at the side
of the road, and rushing forward with a shout, attacked and captured
the train almost before the astonished Spaniards knew that there was an
enemy in the vicinity. Rich stores of gold and jewels were found in the
mule packs,--more, in fact, than the English men could carry back with
them, and with cheers and rejoicing, the little band of adventurers
made their way back to the harbor where they had left their ships.
When they reached it, however, no ships were to be seen. They feared
that the Spaniards had captured or destroyed their vessels and that
they were marooned in a hostile and dangerous country. But Drake, with
his characteristic boldness, formed a plan that delivered them from
their difficulty. From the logs on the shore he ordered his men to
build a raft, and with their hatchets they hewed out oars. A sail was
contrived from a large biscuit sack, and with a few of his best men
Drake put to sea on this strange craft, searching for his ships. The
raft had been built so hurriedly that at times he was up to his waist
in water, but he was rewarded at last by finding his two vessels safe
and sound in a little cove where they had been taken to avoid some
Spanish warships that were in the neighborhood.
Returning to his men at the helm of his own vessel, the treasure was
soon aboard, and with a large cargo of gold, silver and sparkling
jewels Drake headed for England, where a rousing welcome was given him.
Elizabeth, however, did not dare openly to approve of an act that
secretly brought her the utmost satisfaction. For the time at any rate
Drake got little thanks for his exploits--and there was even talk of
returning the captured treasure to the Spaniards.
Drake then engaged in a war in Ireland, where he proved himself almost
as good a soldier as he was a sailor; but even while enjoying his
congenial occupation of fighting he longed to set forth on another
great adventure, the idea of which had come to him while in the Central
American jungle from which he had first set eyes on the far-off waters
of the Pacific Ocean.
This idea was to carry the English flag through the Strait of Magellan
and bear the colors of Queen Bess to waters where they had never been
seen before. Up to that time only the Spanish had rounded South America
and brought their civilization to its northwestern shores, and the new
venture, if successful, would mean much to England. But Drake feared
that the Queen would not approve of the idea, and for a time cherished
it only in his own mind, waiting a more favorable opportunity to lay it
before the Queen.
In the meantime he fell in with an English army officer named Thomas
Doughty, who became his close friend. Doughty was greatly interested in
Drake's idea of sailing the Pacific, and promised to get Sir
Christopher Hatton, one of Elizabeth's most influential advisors, to
intercede for Drake with the Queen. Hatton talked with Drake and
cordially approved the plan; and in a short time, in command of a
squadron of five tight little vessels Drake sailed westward, while the
trumpets blared and the cannon boomed in his honor.
Drake himself was in command of a little ship which he called the
_Golden Hind_, and Doughty was his second in command over the entire
squadron. The ships were admirably fitted out for those times, with
every necessity and every comfort and luxury. Drake and his officers
dined from silver dishes on the choicest food and wines. His stores
included materials for trading with the natives, as well as all the
scientific instruments then applied to the art of navigation.
After sinking some unimportant Spanish ships, the English squadron
captured a large Portuguese galleon, from which they took a valuable
treasure. The Portuguese had been unfriendly to the English on more
than one occasion, and this was Drake's way of informing them that such
had been the case. And after a long voyage he came to the mouth of the
River de la Plata in South America, dropping anchor at the entrance to
that great stream. Fires blazed on the shore and weird figures were
seen dancing around the flames. They were the savage natives, praying
to their heathen gods for the shipwreck of Drake's party, for they
believed that by their prayers and fires a host of devils would alight
upon the English vessels and destroy them. Drake himself was too eager
to continue his voyage to think of landing, and pointed his prows
southward, bound for the Strait of Magellan.
After a battle with the gigantic and savage Patagonians, in which Drake
saved his men from massacre by his usual quick decision and energy, he
continued his voyage until trouble that had developed in his crew
compelled him to take action against his friend and lieutenant,
Doughty. It seems that even before they sailed from England, Doughty
had become jealous of Drake and had commenced to work for his undoing.
And now proofs were only too evident that he had tried to provoke a
mutiny in the crew.
He was called before a court consisting of Drake's officers and was
found guilty. And then Drake, in spite of his grief that he had been
deceived by his most trusted friend, decided that stern measures were
necessary to preserve his authority over the men. He told Doughty that
he had but one course to take and that was to punish him for his crime.
But he gave him the choice of three fates,--to be executed then and
there, or put ashore to fend for himself among the savages, or to be
cast in chains into the hold of the ship and tried by his peers on the
return to England.
The unhappy Doughty asked time to think over what he should choose, and
this was granted. On the following morning he was taken before Drake
and with courageous mien declared that he preferred to be executed
rather than be left among the savages or taken home as a prisoner. And
in a few hours and before the entire company Doughty met his fate, but
he did not place his head upon the block until he had sat at dinner
with Drake himself and shared communion with him. And after this Drake
continued his voyage, until he found himself at the southernmost part
of South America.
Beating his way through the dangerous Strait of Magellan, Drake tried
to sail northward, but was driven back by severe gales and contrary
winds until it seemed as though the spirit of the new ocean had arisen
in wrath, forbidding his further progress. He was even driven south of
the strait to Cape Horn, where he landed and looked from the
southernmost pinnacle of the cape to the mysterious southern sea,
declaring triumphantly that he had been farther south than any man in
the world and had placed his foot on the extreme of the new continent.
Then all at once the weather changed and Drake sailed rapidly up the
coast.
By this time only one ship remained to him, for storms had scattered
his squadron and he had destroyed one of his own ships, thinking he had
too many to hold together. Another basely deserted him in the Strait
and sailed back to England. In the _Golden Hind_, however, he himself
met all obstacles and continued his voyage where no English keel had
ever cut water before.
Coming to the northern part of South America, Drake was given word by
the natives that a Spanish galleon with a cargo of treasure lay near at
hand, and swooping down on the great vessel before the Spaniards were
aware of his presence he captured it and transferred the treasure to
the _Golden Hind_. He then got news of a second galleon which he
pursued, and when he boarded her discovered that she too bore rich bars
of gold and silver destined for the treasure house of the King of
Spain. He had now accomplished his purpose and sailed in the Pacific.
He had beneath his hatches a treasure that would have gladdened the
heart of Midas--a harvest of the yellowest gold and whitest silver--of
sparkling gems, rich silks and spices, and many costly curios that he
had gathered in his voyage. He believed, however, that the Spaniards
would be watching the Strait and Cape Horn to intercept him, and
planned to try to find a passage around the northern part of the
continent. In sailing north he dropped anchor at a harbor not far from
the Golden Gate, and here he had his first experience with North
American Indians.
He found these savages very different from the treacherous natives of
South America. They greeted him with the utmost ceremony, treating him
as a god and bringing him a profusion of gifts of various kinds. With
Indian guides, the English hunted and slew the deer with which the
region abounded and shared the wigwams of the redskins in ceremonial
gatherings. When they finally took their departure the savages made
bitter lamentation and stood on the hilltops waving their farewells
until the sails of Drake's little ship had sunk beneath the horizon.
Drake had now altered his plan of sailing north and had conceived the
bolder project of sailing directly across the Pacific Ocean to the Far
East, from which he could proceed to the Cape of Good Hope and skirt
the Coast of Africa. So he resolutely turned his prow into an unknown
sea, and after sixty-eight days sighted land.
Again the savages crowded around his ship in their canoes, but they
were far different from the Indians of California. These men were naked
with blackened teeth and sullen looks. Finding the ship not to their
liking, they loosed a shower of stones, to which Drake responded by
firing one of his cannon, which frightened them until they fell out of
their canoes into the water, and remained there until the _Golden Hind_
had sailed away.
Drake stopped at many islands and traded with the natives he met there.
He visited the Philippines and an island called Terenate, where he
received a native king who called on him with the utmost pomp and
ceremony. This potentate was surrounded with grave old men with white
beards, who believed in the Mohammedan religion, and they welcomed
Drake as though he himself were a mighty king.
At the court of the King of Terenate Drake discovered a Chinaman, who
professed to be of royal blood, and gave him a courteous invitation to
visit the Emperor of China. But Drake was eager to get home and
continued his voyage as quickly as possible. He stopped at Java, and
then made for the Cape of Good Hope--which his followers declared was
the fairest and most goodly cape in all the world, and the most welcome
to set eyes on. Rounding the Cape, he directed his course for Sierra
Leone and the Coast of Guinea, and, coming into waters that he knew, he
continued northward until the shores of England were sighted from his
masthead. And at last he dropped anchor triumphantly in Plymouth harbor
after a voyage that had lasted three years.
He had suffered from tempest, battle and shipwreck, and on one occasion
had run his vessel on the rocks while in Asiatic waters. He had taken a
princely fortune from the Spaniards and engaged in fierce combats with
them. He had accomplished more as a geographer and navigator than any
Englishman up to his time, and had taken the English flag where it had
never been seen before. And as a result of these exploits all England
rang with his fame, songs were composed in his honor and he was
considered to be more than human by many people who held that only by
magic could he have accomplished a voyage so miraculous.
Elizabeth did not receive him with open favor at first; but her heart
was high within her at Drake's success. At last she informed him that
it was her pleasure to dine with him on the _Golden Hind_, which you
may be sure was scoured and garnished for the occasion as never before.
In the ship's cabin Elizabeth and her courtiers feasted with Drake and
his officers, and at the end of the dinner she asked the Captain for
his sword--a sword that she herself had presented to him before his
departure for the west, and tapping him with it on the shoulder as he
knelt before her, she knighted him, and left his ship, while Drake
himself remained on board to rejoice at the honor that had been
bestowed on him.
The dauntless skipper had returned in the nick of time to be of further
service to his country, for England at last went openly to war with
Spain, and Drake was put in command of a fleet to harry Spanish
commerce. There were rumors of a great fleet that was being gathered by
King Philip to invade England, but Drake met them more than half way
and sailing into Spanish harbors inflicted such a blow on King Philip's
navy that it took more than a year for him to get his ships again in
such a condition that he could sail against English shores. As we have
already told you in the last chapter, the King of Spain did at last
send a mighty fleet of more than one hundred and fifty great galleons
to invade England and conquer the country. It was the proudest array of
ships that the world had ever seen up to that time, with Spain's
greatest sailors and generals in command and a force of veteran
soldiers aboard that was thought to be irresistible.
Drake was at a game of bowls with Sir Walter Raleigh and Martin
Frobisher when word was brought to him that the Spanish fleet had been
sighted. The others quickly left their sport and were hurrying toward
the harbor when Drake called after them and brought them back.
"There's plenty of time to finish the game and beat the Spaniards
afterward," he said, laughing.
He was as good as his word, and as one of the chief commanders of the
English navy, he did more than any other man to humble Spain's great
fleet and weaken her power on the sea. While the great Spanish galleons
were huddled in confusion the swift English vessels bore down on them
and raked them from stem to stern with musketry and cannon fire,
sinking a great many vessels and throwing the entire fleet into
hopeless disorder. The English also deftly maneuvered so that the
Spaniards would be driven upon dangerous reefs, and shipwreck complete
the havoc in the ranks of the hostile _Armada_. Drake's fire ships,
like roaring furnaces, bore down on the Spaniards under full sail, and
the light of the flames was reflected against the clouds as the
galleons blew up and burned.
A terrible gale completed what the English began and the Spanish ships
drove on the rocks by scores, where their crews were dashed to pieces
or were killed or captured after making their way to shore. Spain's
dream of conquering England was at an end and Spain's supremacy upon
the seas was ended also in favor of her younger rival.
This was the crowning point of Drake's career and greatness. He was,
most naturally, a national figure, the darling of the people and the
court. Later he engaged in further voyages, but did not meet with his
earlier success, and in 1596 he died at sea not very far from the scene
of his first victories and the location of the modern Panama Canal. He
was buried with high honors, and his coffin was lowered into the sea
draped in the English flag, while English guns thundered a salute in
honor of the great naval hero.
All England mourned when they heard of his fate, and the _Golden Hind_
was ordered by the Queen to be preserved with scrupulous care in memory
of the marvelous journey it had made. When it, too, grew old and had to
be broken up, a chair was made from its planks and sent to Oxford
University, where it can be seen to the present day as a memorial of
Drake's mighty achievements,--feats that stand in a class by
themselves, and that will be hard to duplicate to the end of time.