Page 6 - Sir Francis Drake

Before attempting the Strait of Magellan, there
was fighting between the gentlemen and mariners. In order to prevent mutiny, Drake preached the sermon at a religious ceremony. Here he laid down new rules of conduct: sailors and gentlemen were to work together as equals, apart from those who were officers. This change aided the success of the voyage.
On August 20, 1578, the ships began to cross the Strait of Magellan, and successfully navigated the treacherous route in16 days. Unfortunately, they encountered violent storms after they entered the Pacific and
the Elizabeth, under the command of John Winter, became separated from Drake, and returned to England.
In the Pacific, the Spaniards were not prepared for Drake’s attacks. The Pacific shores of South America had been exclusively in their hands for two generations, and they had spent little on defense. Because of this, Drake took huge amounts of treasure without much resistance.
Drake sailed along the coast of Chile, raiding the harbor of Valparaiso, seizing gold there. On February 15, 1579, he arrived in the harbor of Lima, the Peruvian capital. They were virtually defenseless, and Drake had news of a treasure ship which had sailed 12 days previously for Panama. Drake set out in pursuit and overtook the ship. Her captain did not expect an enemy and mistook the Golden Hind for a friendly Spanish vessel and found himself as Drake's prisoner. His ship was Drake's richest plunder.
Next Drake explored the coast of California, which he claimed for England and named New Albion and then sailed north, perhaps as far as Vancouver Island, searching for the elusive Northwest Passage. Supposedly Drake encountered
ice so he sailed south to San Francisco Bay. Drake and his crew stayed in near San Francisco repairing his ship and making friendly contact with the Indians. On July 23, 1579, the Golden Hind began her voyage across the Pacific and on October 16, Drake sighted land in the Philippines, On January 9, 1580, the Golden
Hind sailed first to Java, then across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope, and back home to Plymouth (Sept. 26, 1580). So as not to anger King Philip, there was no public celebration of Drake's return and Queen Elizabeth swore all of the crew to secrecy, taking Drake’s maps and logs of the trip. They have never been found. The huge treasure he brought back earned his investors $4,600% profit and the queen was able to pay off all foreign debts and still have a lot left over. Elizabeth had Drake knighted for his job well done.
https://youtu.be/ WEnz8 T ws4wo