History of Plymouth Page 1

Sir Francis Drake

Probably Plymouth's most famous seafaring son was, and still is, Sir Francis Drake. He was born at his grandparent's farm in Crowndale in approximately 1540 - 1542AD and was the oldest of twelve sons. The family moved to Kent, where lived near the sea in the hulk of an old ship and Edmund, his father, made his living from preaching to sailors in the navy. Francis left home however, as a young boy in the 1550s and became an apprentice on a small coastal freighter. He did so well on the ship that the owner left the vessel to him when he died.

When he was twenty, Drake set sail to Guinea, West Africa to buy slaves with his cousin Sir John Hawkins. Hawkins then promoted him and asked him to command one of his ships. Drake and Hawkins were together when the Spanish attacked them off the coast of Mexico. Drake lost nearly all of his personal possessions in the attack and all of the ships in the fleet were lost apart from two. Drake then devoted the rest of his life in revenge on Spain because of their treachery on this occasion and because of the way that they treated English prisoners. He made three profitable trips to the New World after this, during which many Spanish settlements and ships were plundered.

Drake's Round The World Voyage

One of Drake's further voyages took him completely around the world, although this was partly through necessity rather than by prior planning. This adventure, started in 1577 and finished in 1580 and was secretly financed by Queen Elizabeth I.

After leaving Plymouth Sound, Drake rounded the coast of South America, and found himself alone as the other vessels in the party were forced to turn back, or were lost in the rough waters. He then raided some Spanish settlements in Peru and Chile before he went northwards to 'claim' the coast of California for his beloved Queen. Because of these raids, he thought that it would be unsafe for his ship, the 'Golden Hind', to return southwards back past the coast of South America, so the only option left was to sail back to England by going round the world! So Drake set sail across the Pacific and Indian Oceans and eventually came round the south coast of Africa.

On his return to England in November 1580 he was warmly welcomed by the Queen, who shared out the treasure that Drake had brought back. In 1581 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I and then became Lord Mayor of Plymouth as well. He was also made Vice Admiral of the English Fleet and was then responsible for more destruction against the Spanish during the war against them in 1585.

Drake and the Spanish Armada

Drake's trips involved the destruction of Spanish settlements in the West Indies and the raiding of ships in the Spanish port of Cadiz. So many of their vessels were destroyed, that the Spanish had to call off the Spanish invasion of England that they were planning.

When the Spanish Armada finally came sailing up the English Channel in 1588, legend has it that Drake was playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe as he waited for them to attack. It was largely thanks to his leadership that England managed a successful defence of its coast.

Drake married twice but did not have any children, and he died at sea in 1596. When he was not at sea he lived at Buckland Abbey, a former monastery. This is now a museum, which records his life.