Drake and the Golden Hinde

When Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth in 1577 he did not plan to circumnavigate the world. His instructions were to go to the Pacific coast of South America, plunder all the treasure he could from the Spaniards and return home the way he had come. So successful was his piracy that he feared swift retribution from the enraged Spaniards if he were to return the same way, and he decided, after making a brief sortie to the north in search of the legendary "North West Passage," to continue west across the Pacific. He reached England again in 1580, loaded with treasure, and with the distinction of being the first Englishman to have sailed round the world. Queen Elizabeth I knighted him as "the master thief of the unknown world." This primary source portfolio illustrates Drake's life from his childhood among Henry VIII's ships on the Medway, through his flamboyant career, including his most famous exploit "singeing the King of Spain's beard" in Cadiz harbor to his death from dysentery after an unsuccessful attack on Panama in 1596. Life on board the Golden Hinde is described, including the fears and superstitions of 16th century seamen. Plans, pictures, and contemporary quotations bring details about Drake's voyages in the new ships, the galleons of Elizabeth I's time. The legend of the Golden Hinde is brought up to date with plans and photographs of a modern reconstruction of Drake's famous ship which set sail in 1974 to follow Drake's route to San Francisco. This portfolio includes a Study Guide with reproducible student activities. 11 Primary Source Documents: * Sir Francis Drake, the man * Drake's streamlined men o'war: how the galleons were built * The Golden Hinde reborn, and The Modern Golden Hinde * The World as it was imagined to be before Drake sailed around it * Perils of the deep: the sea-monsters that Drake's seamen feared * Life on board * Draft plan for Drake's voyage of 1577 and part of the treasure list on his return in 1580 * Francis Drake's circumnavigation depicted on a contemporary map "seen and corrected by the said Signeur Drack" * Francis Drake, empire builder: Drake's plate of brass * "The Master Thief of the Unknown World" Drake's backers and colleagues, with a modern map comparing his circumnavigation to the voyages of Magellan and Cavendish * "Singeing the King of Spain's beard" The chart Drake used when he raided Cadiz in 1587, and pictures of the Spanish Armada