Timeline of Circumnavigation Flashcards
what happened on 15 Nov 1577?
set out from Plymouth but a storm forces them back for repairs
what happened on 13 Dec 1577?
five ships set sail again.
what happened after the fleet had officially set sail?
- Near the Cape Verde islands, Drake captured Portuguese merchant ship the Santa Maria which was renamed the Mary; they took maps, a rutter, an astrolabe & the captain Nuno da Silva who had knowledge of safe anchorage & the Americas to find land & water
- the fleet was scattered by storms off the Brazilian coast
what happened in May 1578?
fleet reassembled after being scattered by storms off the Brazilian coast and damage was assessed; Drake decided to streamline, so sank the Swan and abandoned the Christopher
what happened after Drake streamlined the fleet?
- they sailed further south along the argentinian coast to the Bay of San Julian where they spent winter waiting for better weather to sail around Cape Horn
- the relationship with the crew became strained
what happened on 2 July 1578?
Doughty questioned drake’s authority & his acts of provocation against the spanish so drake accused him of mutiny & treason. there was a ship-board trial & doughty was sentenced to death & was beheaded
what happened in Aug 1578?
the marigold, the elizabeth, & the golden hind set off south to pass through the strait of magellan & into the pacific (they had left the mary behind after taking its valuables, as it was no longer seaworthy)
what happened during the passage through the strait of magellan?
surprisingly quick (only took 16 days) but they faced fierce storms; the golden hind was blown south into a vast expanse of ocean which led to the drake passage
what was the ‘drake passage’?
the discovery of a wide channel between Cape Horn and Antarctica
what happened after the fleet passed through the ‘drake passage’?
storms caused much damage; the marigold (smallest ship), with its captain John Thomas, was lost in storms & never seen again & the 80-ton Elizabeth was so badly damaged that the crew begged Captain John Wynter to give up. after waiting several weeks for favourable winds, and fearing a mutiny, he did
what happened as the Golden Hind sailed up the Pacific Coast, after passing through the Drake Passage?
- the golden hind sailed north as it was a small ship, but seaworthy and well-armed
- spanish settlements were virtually defenceless as they believed their remoteness protected them from attack
- drake captured spanish ships at Valparaiso & more accurate navigation charts & a ship carrying silver at Arica
- at Mocha Island, their ship was attacked by indigenous Mapuche people, who had resisted spanish conquerence for a long time, & drake & diego were wounded
what happened during the lightning raid on Callao, the port of Lima?
- Drake learned that a great spanish treasure ship, Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, had just set sail for Panama
- Drake pursued it & boarded it easily; they found over £480 mill (in today’s money) of treasure which took 16 days to transfer it to the golden hind
- showed courtesy to prisoners of high rank (dined with officers, put them ashore, & gave each a gift & letter of safe conduct)
what happened on 4th april 1579?
- intercepted a spanish ship off Guatamala coast and took an enslaved woman, maria
- maria was sexually abused by the crew and Dec 1579 was abandoned, pregnant, on a small heavily-wooded island in indonesia
how did the fleet begin their return to England?
- to get back they needed to re-provision, repair, clean & so needed safe, sheltered anchorage
- headed north beyond boundaries of New Spain (San Diego) & came across another spanish ship & took their charts & information from the officers who had experience of crossing the pacific to the phillipines
- western coast of north america was little known to english sailors - drake sailed further north than just a safe harbour - he may have been looking for the strait of anian but he met heavy weather & cold so turned south
what happened in June 1579, while they were in North America?
- found protected harbour (Northern California) & met indigenous Miwok people living on the coast (friendly encounter)
- named it Nova Albion & claimed the land for Liz
- spent several weeks preparing the golden hind
