What did the English pirate Francis Drake discover?

The famous English pirate Francis Drake took part in pirate adventures at the age of 26, in 1567. Even in his youth he was one of the members of the Hawkins expedition. Drake on May 24, 1572, went from Plymouth to another voyage. He decided to implement it on his own ship "Savan". The younger brother of Francis, John, was entrusted with the management of another ship, Pasha. Drake during this campaign and other voyages made pirate raids in the Caribbean Sea off the island of Pinos (today it is the island of Juventud) and off the coast of Cuba.

Francis returned after numerous "feats" to England on November 3, 1580. Queen Elizabeth met him with great honors. She even gave the pirate a sword, on which was the inscription that if Drake hit, it means that the whole kingdom was struck. Elizabeth granted Francis the title of Sir. He became the admiral of the British fleet and a member of parliament. It's strange, is not it? However, all this Francis Drake got deservedly. In the autumn of 1580, he returned not just from a pirate campaign. Francis made a round-the-world trip. After reading this article, you will find out what Francis Drake discovered and what the results of his expedition were. We will also dwell in detail on how this famous journey passed.

Interestingly, no one instructed him to carry out a circumnavigation, and the pirate himself did not plan it. In those days, many geographical discoveries were made accidentally, as a result of unforeseen circumstances.

Preparation for swimming

Francis Drake in the fall of 1577 completed the preparation of the pirate campaign. He planned to go to the Pacific (western) coast of South America. Preparation was accomplished not without the help of influential patrons, among whom was Queen Elizabeth herself. The idea of the campaign was simple: the Spaniards do not expect an attack on the west coast of South America, either from the sea or from the land. Consequently, it is possible to plunder coastal settlements and ships with impunity.

Exit to the sea, stop in San Julian

The ships of Francis Drake (there were 4 of them) at the end of 1577 left Plymouth. Already in April of the following year, pirates reached the mouth of the river. La Plata. After a short stop, they went to the south. Pirates followed along the shores of Patagonia. This is the name of part of modern Argentina, stretching from the Straits of Magellan to the riverbed. Rio Negro. In the Bay of San Julian, located in the south of Patagonia, the fleet of Francis decided to make a stop. By the way, it is known that it was in this bay that Magellan wintered in June-October 1520.

Difficulties faced by the team

After this stop the flotilla went further, though, already in the composition of three ships. The fact is that one ship became defective and was burned by order of Drake. Soon the travelers reached the Strait of Magellan. His tortuous and complex channel was barely able to overcome in 20 days. The sailors suffered from the cold. It was July, and this is the coldest month in the Southern Hemisphere. Finally, the team went to the Pacific Ocean and continued to move north to the tropics. Suddenly, the pirates were caught by a severe storm. One ship of three disappeared without a trace. Most likely, he crashed and drowned somewhere in the ocean. Another vessel again entered the Strait of Magellan. Pirates, sailed on this ship, managed to return to England. Only one ship remains. It was Francis Drake's flagship "Golden Lan".

How did Drake discover

The ship after the storm was far to the south. Francis Drake noticed that Tierra del Fuego ends here. To the south of it is a vast ocean. So, incidentally, an important geographical discovery was made. It became clear that Tierra del Fuego is an island. Previously it was believed that this is part of the Unknown Land. What Francis Drake discovered was very important. Later the strait between Antarctica and South America deservedly began to be called the Drake Channel.

Attacks on Spanish ships, rich prey

The ocean has finally calmed down, and the weather has improved. Noticing this, Francis Drake decided to continue the expedition begun. The pirate sent his only ship to the north. Feeling the proximity of the subtropics, the team cheered up. The sailors began to forget the hardships of the journey that they experienced in the area of Tierra del Fuego, after the first Spanish ships appeared. As a result of attacks on them, the holds of the Golden Lani gradually began to be filled with jewels and gold.

Drake without acute necessity did not deprive the lives of those who robbed. Because of this, his pirate operations took place almost without losses in his team. Drake established almost friendly relations with the Chilean Indians. The accessibility of wine, food and women from local tribes, rich booty became a reward for the adversity and dangers experienced before. Drake captured the Spanish galleon, which transported jewelry and gold from the colonies of America to the Spanish treasury. Not every pirate could boast of such luck. The extracted wealth was so great that they had nowhere to ship. It was necessary to return home, but how?

Return trip

Of course, Francis did not know, and he could not even know about the plans of the Spaniards. However, being an experienced captain, he was able to foresee that the Spanish ships, intending to destroy it, will travel across the Straits of Magellan towards. So it happened. It was necessary to save people, themselves and the stolen jewels. And what did Francis Drake do? He decided to go north, moving along the west coast of America. The length of this path is amazing. Drake passed by the sea from Tierra del Fuego (of course, stopping several times on the shore) along the coast of Peru and Chile, past the lands of Mexico and Central America, along the west coast of the modern US. In the end, he reached the 48th degree N, that is, he reached the US border with the current Canada. In total, the length of this path is at least 20 thousand km, as the ship moved not strictly along the meridian. The ship skirted the banks of the Americas.

Farther and farther west, the shore deviated. Fleeing from persecution, Francis was ready, probably, to reach the Atlantic Ocean, skirting North America. However, it was impossible to do this, since the pirate did not know if there was such a way. There was only one way out - to turn to the west, being in the vast Pacific Ocean. Heading southwest, Drake reached the Mariana Islands 3 months later. His ship in another 1,5-2 months already moved between the islands of the Moluccan archipelago. Drake in this area could well meet with Portuguese or Spanish warships. However, he was lucky to avoid these meetings.

The final stage of the trip

The next stage of swimming of the famous pirate can also be called unique in its kind. Drake's ship departed from the island of Java across the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope. The travelers, skirting this promontory, moved north. They decided to swim along the west coast of Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. After a while, the pirates reached the Bay of Biscay. In Plymouth, they arrived at the beginning of November 1580. Thus, a trip of 3 years was round-the-world.

The merits of Francis Drake

Pirate Francis Drake is the second captain after F. Magellan, who managed to make a round-the-world trip. However, he was much more fortunate than his predecessor. After all, Magellan did not get to Portugal. He died in a skirmish with the aborigines that occurred in the Philippine Islands. After 1.5 years after his death, the only surviving ship was brought to Lisbon by the members of the team who managed to survive.

The achievements of Francis Drake were not only that he managed to save his life in a dangerous and long journey. He brought back most of the sailors of the ship "Golden Lan". In addition, Galleon Francis Drake under the personal command of the captain was brought to the port of Plymouth (England). In addition, the ship was a large load of gold and various jewelry.

Immediately after this voyage (1577-1580), Francis Drake, from a simple pirate as he was a few years ago, turned into a respected admiral of the British Navy. The Queen herself gave him all the honors. The discoveries of Francis Drake were appreciated.

After that, Francis went to sea many times. He fought with Spanish ships. Francis in 1588 participated in repulsing the attack of the Spanish Invincible Armada. The battle ended with the victory of the British. The famous pirate died in 1596, a year earlier on his next trip. In the Caribbean islands, he died of dysentery.

Drake Passage

And today the wide strait that connects the South Shetland Islands and Tierra del Fuego is named after this pirate. An ignorant person may think that this is some kind of misunderstanding or a historical curiosity. But now, when we know all the circumstances of this case, we can say with confidence that there is no mistake. That's right, Drake did a lot for his homeland. But not only for her. What Francis Drake did for geography is no less, and perhaps more important.