Sir Francis Drake was born in Devonshire, England around 1540- 1544. No real birth records have been found for Drake. He was the oldest of 12 sons. His parents were Mary Mylwaye and Edmund Drake, a farmer on Lord Francis Russell 's estate. Sir Francis Drake is known as the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Era. Drake grew up in Plymouth to the Hawkins family. The Hawkins family worked as merchants and privateers . Around the age of eighteen Drake went to sea for the first time on the Hawkins family fleet. Drake earned command of his own ship in the 1560s and named it the Judith.
In 1567 Drake traveled to Africa with his cousin, John Hawkins, and a small fleet to join a fledgling slave trade. Together Drake and Hawkins sailed to New
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This excursion was cursed from the beginning with a rivalry between Drake, Thomas Doughty , and John Wynter over the task of sharing command. After arriving in the country of Argentina Drake accused Doughty of plotting a mutiny . Doughty was then arrested, put on trial, and later beheaded because of the accusation. After this event occurred, the fleet was caught in a storm. Two ships were lost in the storm and Wynter reversed his ship 's course back to England. Another ship disappeared. All that was left from the original fleet of five ships was Drake 's 100-ton flagship, the Pelican. He later changed the name to the Golden Hind. He sailed to Chile and Peru to plunder unprotected Spanish merchant ships filled with bullion. Drake was said to have landed near what is now San Francisco and claimed the land around it, naming the land New Albion for Queen Elizabeth. Drake 's ship was the only barge to reach the Pacific in October of …show more content…
Sir Francis Drake helped expand our knowledge about the geography of the world around us through his circumnavigation of the world. Sir Francis Drake is known to many as a hero and one of the greatest early European navigators. Drake’s accomplishments as an explorer are some of the most important accomplishments and are not to be forgotten. Sir Francis Drake’s accomplishments are lesser known to those in the United States but are still in effect. One way Drake’s legacy continues on in present times is through a road named after him. A major east-west road in Marin County, California was named Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The road connects Point San Quentin on San Francisco Bay with Point Reyes and Drakes Bay. The end of each road is near a place that is considered to be Drake’s landing place during his