Drake, Francis

DRAKE, Francis, mariner (b circa 1540, Devonshire, England; d 28 Jan 1596, on board ship off Panama). An English sea captain and privateer, he commanded a fleet of 5 ships during 1577–80 on a voyage around Cape Horn into the Pacific. The crew explored the coast of S America, harassed the Spanish there and tried to locate a northern sea passage back to the Atlantic. By the time Drake reached the Pacific, only one ship remained, his own Golden Hinde. After looting the Spanish he sailed north,...

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