El Draque: Patriot or Pirate? Quiz

Answer: John Hawkins

The oldest of twelve children, Drake was apprenticed to a neighbor who owned a sailing vessel that was used in trade with France as well as in coastal trade; when he died, Drake inherited the ship! After he sold his inheritance, Drake made his first voyage to North America with Hawkins, who was already an experienced overseas sailor, gaining notoriety for capturing a Portuguese slave ship and trading slaves in the Caribbean, making a tidy profit for his investors. Together they brought slaves to the Americas until a fateful battle with the Spanish; after the battle, Drake thought his ship was the only surviving one and went back to England. Hawkins, however, did survive and accused Drake of desertion.

They did not work together again until the defeat of the Spanish Armada; afterwards they sailed to America together once more; both died before returning to England. Hawkins died in January of 1595 and Drake died a year later; both were buried at sea.

Answer: Elizabeth I

Both Hawkins and Drake were Elizabethan Pirates, or seadogs; they had permission to raid and attack the Spanish, even though Spain and England were not always at war. Being given letters of marque enabled seadogs to work legally as privateers, an honorable profession, rather than pirates, who were unlicensed. Queen Elizabeth I stood to gain much wealth if the seadogs were successful.

When Drake returned from his circumnavigation voyage, half of what he brought home belonged to the queen. It is said that her share of the cargo was worth more than her other income revenues combined that year. On Drake's famous circumnavigation voyage, the return was £47 for every £1 invested!

Answer: New Albion

Although some people claim that Drake was able to sail as far north as British Columbia, his journal tells the true story. It is believed that when he landed in present-day California, Drake claimed the land for England, calling it New Albion. In order to keep Drake's discoveries a secret, Queen Elizabeth I proclaimed that the logs and records would become part of the "Queen's Secrets of the Realm", and all members of the returning crew were sworn to secrecy. Unfortunately this secrecy does not help in today's search for Drake's port; in 1698, all of the primary sources records from the voyage were destroyed in a fire.

Incidentally, Albion is the oldest name on record for the island of Great Britain.

Answer: True

It is extremely difficult to translate sixteenth century monetary standards into today's currency. However, for this situation it is interesting to do so. By modern standards the amount is about £4 million, or $6.5 million. This is a testimony to the incredible amount of wealth that Drake was taking from Spain.

It is said that just one of the galleons captured had approximately 37,000 ducats of Spanish money, while another was carrying 80 pounds of gold, 26 TONS of silver, and a various of precious artifacts; these are just two of many raids on Spain conducted by Drake.

Answer: It is still preserved and on display today.

When Drake was preparing to enter the Straits of Magellan, he renamed The Pelican after the crest, the golden hind, of one of his principal patrons, Sir Christopher Hatton. Upon its return to England, the ship was kept on display for approximately one hundred years; eventually it rotted and was broken up. There are a couple of pieces of furniture in existence today which are said to have been made from its wood.

Drake left England for the expedition with five ships and 164 men; he added another ship after capturing a Portuguese merchant ship. After landing in Argentina, two ships were destroyed due to the number of men that were lost in crossing the Atlantic; it was here that Drake tried his co-commander, Thomas Doughty and executed him on charges of witchcraft, mutiny, and treason. Another ship was scuttled due to rot; a fourth ship was destroyed in a storm, and the fifth returned to England. After three years, the Golden Hind returned to England with 56 men and a valuable cargo.

In the 20th century, four replicas of the Golden Hind were made. The first two were not a success. The third is moored in Brixham, Devon, and the fourth is in usually moored in Southwark. In 1974-75 this fourth replica sailed from Plymouth to San Francisco and has also circumnavigated the globe.

Answer: Tierra del Fuego was not part of a continent to the south.

Because Drake and his men found that the islands of Tierra del Fuego were not connected to a continent to the south, they opened up the possibility of a new trade route, the Cape Horn route that was discovered a few years later in 1616.
(Ferdinand Magellan had discovered and name Tierra del Fuego in 1520; and that it was not connected to the continent of South America. Francis Drake )

Of course, Bartholomew Diaz reached the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, and Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope sailed to India in 1497. Vasco Núñez de Balboa is given credit for being the first European to see the Pacific Ocean in 1513, and the European discovery of Australia occurred in 1606.

Answer: The Drake Jewel

It is said that upon Drake's return to England, Queen Elizabeth I dined with him on board the Golden Hind at Deptford (near London), and subsequently knighted him. He gave her a gift that he had taken while raiding Spanish settlements on the western coast of North America.

It was described as a "jewel token" that was enameled gold decorated with an African diamond and a ship with an ebony hull. The queen gave Drake a piece that is known as the Drake Jewel. On one side is a miniature portrait of the queen, while on the other side is an onyx cameo with busts of a woman and an African male. Today the Drake Jewel can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Answer: Vice Admiral

Drake was vice admiral under the command of Lord Howard of Effingham when the English navy fought the Spanish Armada. Although he was given the job of leading the English fleet with a lantern in the dark, he pursued the "Rosario", a ship which was known to be carrying funds to pay the Spanish army in the Low Countries.

After extinguishing his light, he was able to capture the ship, its crew, and the loot!

Answer: Cadiz

As hostilities with Spain escalated in the 1587, Drake occupied the Spanish harbors of Cadiz and Corunna, during which time he is said to have destroyed thirty-seven Spanish ships. Perhaps, more importantly, he claimed to have destroyed 1600-1700 tons of barrel staves, enough to make over 25,000 of the precious containers desperately needed for storing provisions.

This action delayed the launching of the Armada for a year. When Spain launched its Armada in 1588, supplies were placed in barrels that made of wood that was not properly seasoned; as a result some crews had putrid, green drinking water ...

While Madrid is located inland, Barcelona and Cartagena are both ports on the Mediterranean Sea.

Answer: He helped to organize fire-ships.

Apparently this was an idea of Drake's. However, it had to be approved by Lord Howard. During the night of July 29, 1588, fireships were launched, which caused the Spanish captains to break formation and sail out to sea. This was a technique that had been used since ancient times; it is possible the oldest account was made by Thucydides in 415 BC-413 BC when the Athenians repelled an attack by the Syracusans.

After that the technique was used in China, Russia, and the Byzantine Empire, as well as Europe.

A ship would be filled with combustibles and set on fire, with the intention of creating panic and confusion. On the following day, Drake was also present at the Battle of Gravelines, where many of the Spanish ships were destroyed or captured.