Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake, Vice Adm, (c. 1540 – January 28, 1596) was an English privateer, navigator, naval pioneer, naval raider, politician, and civil engineer of the Elizabethan period. He was the first Englishman (and the first captain of a non-Spanish ship) to circumnavigate the globe. He was second in command of the English fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Final years

Drake's seafaring career continued into his mid fifties. In 1595, following a disastrous campaign against Spanish America, during which he suffered several defeats in a row, he unsuccessfully attacked San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Spanish gunners from El Morro Castle shot a cannonball through the cabin of Drake's flagship, but he survived. In 1596 he died of dysentery after a new defeat while again attacking San Juan, where some Spanish treasure ships had sought shelter. He was buried at sea in a lead coffin near Portobelo in Panama.

Related Topics:
1595 - San Juan, Puerto Rico - El Morro Castle - 1596 - Dysentery - Portobelo - Panama

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