Francis Drake Completes England's First Circumnavigation
An English captain sails around the world raiding Spanish treasure ships along the way, and comes home a knight instead of a pirate
Quick facts
- Commander
- Francis Drake
- Ship
- Golden Hind
- Sponsor
- Queen Elizabeth I of England
- Return
- 26 September 1580, Plymouth
What happened
Francis Drake left Plymouth in 1577 commanding a small fleet, intending to raid Spanish colonial holdings in the Americas as much as to explore. His ship Golden Hind, renamed mid-voyage in honor of his patron Christopher Hatton, carried at least 16 cannons. On 1 March 1579, Drake's crew captured the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, seizing the largest treasure taken to that date, including 26 tons of silver and half a ton of gold. Drake continued west across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, becoming only the second commander after Magellan's expedition to complete a full circumnavigation, and arrived back at Plymouth on 26 September 1580. Queen Elizabeth I knighted him aboard the Golden Hind, over the furious objections of the Spanish ambassador, who considered Drake a pirate.
Why it matters
Drake's voyage combined exploration with open plunder of Spanish shipping, and Elizabeth's decision to knight him rather than disavow him signaled England's willingness to challenge Spanish dominance of the Americas directly. It marked England's entry as a genuine maritime rival to Spain and Portugal after decades of being shut out of the routes those two crowns had already divided between themselves.
How we know
The World History Encyclopedia's article on Drake's circumnavigation details the capture of the Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, the treasure's size, the return to Plymouth, and Elizabeth's knighting of Drake despite Spanish protests.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Francis Drake's Circumnavigation of the Globe · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Smithsonian Magazine. In 1577, an English Explorer Set Out to Circumnavigate the World · Reputable sourcesmithsonianmag.com · The domain "smithsonianmag.com" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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