1543?-1596

English Navigator

Sir Francis Drake was an English seaman and explorer who made the second circumnavigation around the world and later led the English in defeating the Spanish Armada in an historic battle in 1588. At the time of his death, Drake was an internationally acclaimed figure known throughout the world for his privateering, pirating, and geographical knowledge.

Francis Drake was born in the town of Tavistock in Devonshire, England. He was one of 12 sons born into a modest family, almost all of who became seaman. In his teens Drake was apprenticed to a shipmaster, and in 1566 he was employed as a seaman on English ships engaged in the slave trade between Africa and the Caribbean.

On his return to England in 1569, Drake reported Spanish and Portequese attacks on English ships to Queen Elizabeth I. Due to the great rivalry between England, Spain, and...