The Golden Hinde- the Ship Sir Francis Drake Sailed Around the World In- London, Thames River, July 2016

Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1596) was a famous English sailor, explorer, pirate, and slave trader in Elizabethan England. He was the 2nd person to sail around the world (after Ferdinand Magellan) from 1577 to 1580. He was the 1st captain to complete the entire voyage- the Portuguese-Spanish sea captain Magellan (c.1480-1521) died before his ships completed the voyage.

The galleon ship that Drake used to sail around the world was the Golden Hinde (also spelled Golden Hind). This ship was originally called the Pelican, but Drake renamed it in 1578, in the middle of his voyage. The ship was renamed in honour of Drake's patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden "hind", or female deer.

An exact replica of the Pelican/Golden Hind is permanently docked on the south bank of the Thames River in London, between the Southwark Bridge and the London Bridge. The ship is surprisingly small, especially considering the fact that it originally had a crew of more than 80 men.

Besides sailing around the world, Drake was known for his role as a naval commander and a pirate or privateer under Queen Elizabeth I. He helped to command the English ships that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, and he attacked many Spanish ships and settlements around the world. For example, he captured the Spanish town of Panama at one point, and captured several Spanish treasure ships during his career.

Drake was at the Rathlin Island Massacre in Ireland in 1575, where English colonists killed 600 Scots and Irish men, women, and children after they surrendered. He accompanied some of the earliest English slave trading expeditions to West Africa with his relative Sir John Hawkins. During his voyage around the world, he executed his co-commander Thomas Doughty in 1578. Many saw Doughty's execution as unjust.

Drake died from dysentery off the coast of Panama in 1595, after a failed attack on the Spanish Caribbean colony of Puerto Rico.

Tags: London, Thames River, Sir Francis Drake, Elizabethan Era, Queen Elizabeth I, pirate, privateer, explorer, navigator, Golden Hind, Golden Hinde, Pelican, circumnavigation of the globe, Magellan, England, Spain, Portugal, France, Europe, Age of Exploration, Age of Expansion, slave trade, Atlantic Slave Trade, transatlantic slave trade, Africa, West Africa, Caribbean, Asia, West Indies, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spanish Main, treasure ship, galleon, buccaneers, Spanish Armada, Rathlin Island Massacre, Ireland, Sir John Hawkins, Thomas Doughty, dysentery, Sir Christopher Hatton, Southwark, Southwark Bridge, London Bridge

свернуть