Drake Facts Flashcards
How was Drake perceived by the Spanish?
He was dangerous and feared, sometimes being thought of as a demon, being Protestant. He had almost mythical status. Some viewed him as cunning and forgiving having encountered him.
How was Drake perceived by the English?
He was revered by the public as a hero, having rose from being a lower class son of a farmer to defeating the most powerful overseas empire.
Some upper classes citizens, like Lord Burghley, thought he was little more than a lucky pirate.
Why was England opposed to Spain?
It became Protestant in 1534 and Spain was Catholic.
What had the Portuguese being doing in Africa?
Enslaving African peoples.
What happened in the Caribbeans for the Spanish and Portuguese?
Sugar and gold mining increased so they sent slave labour there to do the work.
Who did Francis Drake live with in his early life?
The Hawkins family.
What did Hawkins do off of the West African coast in 1562?
He captured 300 enslaved people captured by the Portuguese in Sierra Leone and exchanged them for leather, sugar, ginger and pearls with the Spanish.
What did Hawkins do in 1564?
He took a larger fleet to capture 400 enslaved Africans.
He sold these people to the Spanish.
What did Hawkins and Drake do in 1566?
They went on another slaving voyage but didn’t make much profit.
How many voyages did Hawkins go on between 1562 and 1567? How many people did he enslave?
He went on 3 voyages to Guinea and Sierra Leone and enslaved 1200-1400 Africans.
What did Drake plan to do in 1568?
He would set sail for the Americas with John Hawkins. He would take the fleet to West Africa, capture people and sell them in the Caribbean.
What was Drake and Hawkins’ fleet going to San Juan de Ulúa?
The Judith and seven ships, two of which were provided by Queen Elizabeth I
What did Francis Drake and John Hawkins do in West Africa in 1568?
They allied with local chieftains - Sheri and Yhoma in Sierra Leone near Freetown, capturing 250 men, women and children.
Where did Drake and Hawkins anchor at in 1568?
The Spanish port of San Juan de Ulúa.
What happened when Drake and Hawkins anchored at San Juan de Ulúa?
They were attacked by Spanish warships and only two ships escaped.
What happened as a result of the attack at San Juan de Ulúa?
There was a general deterioration in Anglo-Spanish relations.
The English switched to raiding Spanish colonies.
Hawkins and Drake had strong desires for revenge.
What did Drake plan to do in 1572?
Attack Spanish controlled Panama at the port of Nombre de Dios, as ships loaded with gold and silver were leaving the port.
What did Drake get at Nombre de Dios in 1572?
He seized tons of gold with French privateers.
He also met a former slave called Diego, enslaved by the Spanish.
Drake took Diego as a crew member.
How did the former slave Diego help Drake?
His knowledge of the local area and connections with the Cimarrons were indispensible.
Who were the Cimarrons?
Former enslaved Africand who escaped Spanish captors.
They were expert scouts who knew the local terrain.
What happened in August 1573?
Diego returned to England with Drake.
His success was kept quiet due to a truce between King Philip II of Spain and Queen Elizabeth I.
What was Drake’s plan for the expedition between 1577 and 1580?
He planned to explore the Atlantic Coast of South America before sailing through the straits of Magellan and up the Pacific Coast.
He would trade, conquer and settle these areas before returning to England the way he came.
He had to not upset Spanish colonies in South America to prevent a war.
What was the foreign policy of Elizabeth by the time of Drake’s expedition?
Spain was pursuing an aggressive policy in the Netherlands, angering Elizabeth.
English interest went from Central to South America.
What were the prospects in South America?
In Brazil and Peru there was the prospect of trade and a market for English cloth, as well as the possibility of establishing English colonies.
They could also seize defenceless ships and their cargoes.
Why were people intrigued by the Strait of Anian?
The prospect of a northwest passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific could shorten trips to the Pacific coast of North America. This could lead to more trade in East Asia in spice and silks.
Who claimed they had found the Strait of Anian? When was this?
Martin Frobisher claimed he had found it in 1576.
Who backed Martin Frobisher in 1576?
Earl of Leicester and Francis Walsingham.
What did Drake discover about the Strait of Anian?
It was mythical.
Who backed Francis Drake?
The Hawkins brothers.
Important members of the Privy Council, like the Earl of Leicester, Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir Christopher Hatton.
Queen Elizabeth also sponsored his expedition.
Who was anxious to support Drake?
William Cecil, Lord Burghley.
What did Drake tell his crew before the expedition?
They were travelling to Egypt to sell dried fruit.
Who was captain of the Elizabeth?
William Markham.
What was Drake’s flagship?
The 160-ton Pelican, renamed the Golden Hind after Sir Christopher Hatton.
What was Drake’s fleet?
The flagship, the Golden Hind, with a crew of about 80.
The Elizabeth, with a 45-man crew.
The Marigold, with a 25-man crew.
The Benedict
The Swan
Which ship did he capture off the coast of Morocco?
Drake captured a large Spanish ship and remamed the Christopher.
When did Drake first set sail?
15th November 1577.
When did Drake fully set sail?
13th December 1577, from Plymouth.
What did Drake do near Cape Verde?
He captured a Portuguese ship, the Santa Maria.
He took its collection of maps, a rutter and an astrolabe.
Who did Drake take with him from Cape Verde?
The captain of the Portuguese ship, Santa Maria named Nuno da Silva, who had considerable knowledge of navigation in the Americas and knew about safe anchorages.
What happened to Drake’s fleet off the coast of Brazil?
They were scattered by storms.
When was the fleet reassembled?
May 1578. He sunk the Swan and abandoned the Christopher.
Where did Drake spend the winter months of 1578?
The modern-day Argentinian coast to the Bay of San Julian.
What did Drake wait for at the Bay of San Julian?
The weather to ease to allow him to cross Cape Horn.
What did Thomas Doughty do?
He questioned Drake’s authority and his deliberate acts of provocation against the Spanish.
What happened to Thomas Doughty?
He was accused of mutiny and treason and after a short trial was sentenced to death.
When did Thomas Doughty die?
He was beheaded on the 2nd of July 1578.
When did Drake’s fleet sail through the Straits of Magellan?
August 1578.
How long did passing the Straits of Magellan take?
16 days
What happened when Drake entered the Pacific?
He was blown far south into the expanse of ocean between Cape Horn and Antarctica which hadn’t been discovered.
What was the strech of water between Cape Horn and Antarctica named?
The Drake Passage.
