What Was Sir Francis Drake's Motive in Sailing Around the World?
Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe during his famous voyage between 1577 and 1580. Spain was the world's super power at the time, and Drake's prime objective was to rob the rich Spanish ships returning from the New World in the Americas.
Other People Are Reading
-
Wealth
-
Drake set sail from Plymouth, England in 1577 with a total of five ships, manned by 164 seamen. The mission was to sack wealthy Spanish ports and ships. The crew believed they were sailing to the Mediterranean but found themselves heading for America.
Revenge
-
The Spanish attacked a British fleet owned by the Hawkins company in the port of San Juan de Ulua, Mexico in 1568. The ship's crews were slaughtered and among those tortured and burned to death was Drake's cousin, Robert Barrett. Drake had invested in the company and lost all his money. Drake's hatred of Catholic Spain was reinforced after the events of San Juan de Ulua.
-
Fame
-
Drake knew that the only ship to previously circumnavigate the globe was that of the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan himself did not live to see the voyage's end; he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines in 1521. Drake realized his place in history as well as a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth I on board the Golden Hind in 1581.
-
