Francis Drake (Drake Francis)

(ca. 1540-1596)
Born near Tavistock in Devon between 1540 and 1545. His father, a former farmer who became a preacher at Chatham, south of London. Probably, Drake sailed first to the coastal vessels calling at the Thames. Drake's family was linked by ties of kinship with the wealthy family Gaukinsov from Plymouth. So after a little-known first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean Drake got the position of captain of the vessel in the squadron, John Gaukinsa who trade in slaves and brought them from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies. Traveling 1566-1567 failed, because the Spaniards made a treacherous attack on British ships at the fortress of San Juan de Ulua in the port of Veracruz on the east coast of Mexico. Revenge for the attack became one of the reasons follow-piracy activities treasurer of the Navy Dzh.Gaukinsa and Captain F. Drake.
Circumnavigation. For several years, Drake committed pirate raids in the Caribbean Sea, which Spain considers its fiefdom, captured Nombre de Dios in central Panama, plundered the caravans of mules carrying loads of silver from Peru to Panama. His activities attracted the attention of Elizabeth I and a group of courtiers, including the state treasurer, Lord Burghley and the Interior Minister Francis Walsingham. Were collected funds for the expedition, which lasted from 1577 to 1580. Originally planned to hike to search for the alleged southern continent, . but it escalated - perhaps, . on the orders of the queen (although England and Spain have not been in a state of war) - in the most successful in the history of pirate raids, . revenue brought in 47 pounds for every pound invested,
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Drake sailed as captain of the ship 'Pelican' (later renamed the 'Golden doe') with a displacement of 100 tons. In addition, there were four smaller vessels, which, however, never completed the journey. After suppressing the revolt on a ship off the coast of Patagonia in Argentina, when he was punished by one of his officers, Thomas Doughty, Drake went to the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Magellan. Then his flotilla drifted southward to about 57 б° S, and as a result of Drake opened between Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Strait, now bears his name (though probably he had never seen Cape Horn). On the way to the north, he plundered ships and the harbor off the coast of Chile and Peru, and seems intended to return through the proposed Northwest Passage. Somewhere in the latitude of Vancouver (no logbooks are not preserved) because of bad weather, Drake was forced to turn to the south and anchor slightly north of modern San Francisco. Location, which he called New Albion, was established in 1936 with the discovery of copper plate with the date of June 17, 1579 approximately 50 km north-west of the Golden Gate Strait (now Drake's Bay). On the plate is stamped inscription declaring this the property of Queen Elizabeth. Then Drake crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the Molucca Islands of, then returned to England.

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Drake sailed around the world, demonstrating mastery of navigation. The Queen bestowed him the title of the knight as the first captain to circumnavigate the world swimming (Magellan's claims were disputed, as he died during the voyage in 1521). The story of Drake's voyages, drawn padre Francis Fletcher and published Heklutom still enjoys great popularity. Receiving its share of production, Drake purchased Buckland Abbey, near Plymouth, which now houses the Museum of Francis Drake.

The war with Spain. In 1585 Drake was appointed commander of the British fleet on their way to the West Indies, which meant the beginning of open war with Spain. His skill in the tactics of combined sea and land operations led to the capture sequence of Santo Domingo (in o.Gaiti), Cartagena (on the Caribbean coast of Colombia) and St. Augustine (Florida). Before returning home in 1586 he took with him the colonists (on request) from the valley r.Roanok (Virginia). Thus ended the existence of the first American colony, founded by Walter Raleigh, who was not just a settlement, but also a strategic base for pirate raids in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, in Spain, successfully finalized Invincible Armada to attack England, so in 1587 Drake was sent to Cadiz in the southern Atlantic coast of Spain. Audacity coupled with superior power allowed Drake to destroy ships in the port. Everyone expected that Drake will command the fleet in Plymouth to protect Britain from attack by the Spanish Armada in 1588. However, the Queen felt that because of low origin and the independent nature of the Drake can not appoint chief. Although Drake himself was personally involved in training and equipping the fleet, he humbly conceded by Lord Howard of Effingema and throughout the company remained his chief advisor on tactical issues.

Through skillful maneuvering of the English fleet broke into the sea and turned back the Armada. When the week-long quest for the Armada in La Manche, . Drake was appointed commander of the fleet on the 'Revenge' (a ship with a displacement of 450 tons with 50 guns on board), . but he rejected this proposal, . Spanish conquered the damaged ship 'Rosario' and brought him to Dartmouth,
. The next day, Drake played a decisive role in defeating the Spanish fleet at Gravlina (north-east of Calais)

. Drake's expedition against Spain and the siege of the city of La Coruna in the north-west coast, . undertaken in 1588 to destroy the remnants Armada, . turned into a complete failure, . mainly due to miscalculations in the logistics of the campaign,
. Drake fell into disgrace, though, and continued to actively participate in local affairs as mayor of Plymouth and member of parliament from the city. In addition, he founded the Chatham home for injured sailors. In 1595 he was again called into the navy, to lead an expedition to the West Indies, together with Dzh.Gaukinsom. The expedition ended in failure, Gaukins died off the coast of Puerto Rico, and Drake himself died of fever on Jan. 28, 1596 off the coast of Portobelo