Francis Drake was born in 1540 in Tavistock. An English sailor and privateer in the age of Elizabeth I, Drake made his name raiding Spanish ports and treasure ships in the Caribbean and on the Pacific coast of the Americas, for which the Spanish regarded him as a pirate. Between 1577 and 1580 he sailed around the world in the Golden Hind, the second expedition to complete the voyage and the first led by an Englishman, and Elizabeth knighted him on his ship on his return. As a vice admiral he played a leading part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. He died of dysentery in 1596 during an expedition against Spanish territories in the Caribbean and was buried at sea off Panama.
Before and after
- 12 October 1537Birth of Edward VI of England
- 6 August 1538Founding of Bogotá
- from 1539 to 1572Origins of Vilcabamba
- from 18 July 1539 to 6 August 1539Siege of Castelnuovo
- 1540Birth of Francis Drake
- 1540Construction of Westminster Abbey
- 1541Founding of Santiago
- 1 October 1541Birth of El Greco
- from 20 October 1541 to 1 November 1541Algiers expedition
More in Exploration & discovery
- 22 February 1512Death of Amerigo Vespucci
- 2 December 1547Death of Hernán Cortés
- 24 September 1557Death of Jacques Cartier
- 28 January 1596Death of Francis Drake
- 1603Birth of Abel Tasman
- 24 November 1605Janszoon voyage of 1606
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.