Sir Francis Drake

Born in 1540, Sir Francis Drake went to sea at about age 12 and, after Spaniards attacked an English trading fleet that included his ship at San Juan de Ullua in Mexico, began raiding Spanish ships and coasts. Over a quarter-century career, he attacked Panama, the west coast of South America, the Caribbean, and the coast of Spain, and he served as second in command of the English fleet during the Spanish Armada Campaign. Queen Elizabeth, challenging the world dominance of Spain's King Philip II in the late 16th century, relied on mariners such as Drake in state-sanctioned raiding efforts after the Spaniards excluded England from New World trades, and Drake became an instrumental figure in that campaign. In 1578, he sailed into the Pacific in the Golden Hind, a small war galleon he owned, to raid the west coast of South America, captured a treasure ship off Ecuador, sought the Northwest Passage, found no strait in Oregon, then turned south and landed at Drakes Bay to prepare to cross the Pacific and claim the land for England. In September 1580, Drake and his remaining crew returned to England with the riches gathered during the expedition, and he was knighted in 1581 for his voyage of circumnavigation before dying at sea on January 27, 1596.

Larkspur, California · United States