On 15 November 1577, Francis Drake began a circumnavigation which would last for 1046 days. Before this journey, only a single expedition had completed a circumnavigation, one pioneered by Ferdinand Magellan. On Drake's voyage, Drake was the first Englishman to navigate out of the south Atlantic Ocean and during the journey, he established the first overseas possession claims executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. At its completion, this was the longest voyage humans had made to date.
Ideas of this journey arose amidst cold war tensions between Spain and England. During this time, Drake formed the idea to plunder Spanish ships in the Pacific Ocean and John Dee developed a formal proposal for English circumnavigation. After Dee submitted his proposal to Elizabeth's Privy Council, Elizabeth and Drake met at her Greenwich palace in 1577 where they finalized written details of such a voyage. In the plan, Elizabeth directed Drake to pass through the Strait of Magellan and sail north, up the coast of Chile, to 30° south latitude. There was also the unwritten understanding, one too dangerous to record on paper, that Drake was to raid Spanish property. He was to return home by the same route. During the ensuing circumnavigation, an uncertain number of English sailors were lost at the cost of zero Spanish lives.
From Plymouth Sound, England, Drake navigated into the Atlantic and then the Pacific, successfully plundered Spanish ships and settlements, and eventually departed from the original plan when he continued north of 30° south latitude to what is now Guatulco, Mexico. Due to treacherous sailing conditions in and around the Strait of Magellan and the possibility that Spaniards would be searching for him along the coast of South America, Drake abandoned the notion of returning to England by reversing his route. Instead, he sailed northward since he believed the quickest way home could be through the hypothetical Strait of Anian. Failing to find the supposed waterway, Drake eventually circumnavigated home. The expedition returned to England in September 1580 with one ship, Golden Hinde, which was laden with treasure. The fleet's chaplain, Francis Fletcher, and impressed pilot, Nuno da Silva, both kept logs of the journey. Drake's log was lost in the Whitehall Palace fire of 1698.
Drake's successful circumnavigation led to him being held with high regard as a sailor and explorer by his contemporaries and he became famous throughout Europe. The value of the treasure deposited in the Tower of London, £264,000, eclipsed the revenue collected by the English Parliament each year. Drake's feat resulted in his knighthood, attempts to the strengthen Spanish defenses, and along with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, upset the geopolitical balance of power.
1577 Date Location Details Ref(s) Plymouth Sound, England In what would prove to be a false start, Drake's five ship fleet sails from the sound at five o'clock in the afternoon. The ships are Pelican (150 tons/18 guns), commanded by Dake; Elizabeth (80 tons/16 guns), commanded by John Wynter; Marigold (30 tons/16 guns), commanded by John Thomas; Swan (50 tons/5 guns), commanded by John Chester; and Benedict (15 tons/1 gun), commanded by Tom Moone. Drake's brother, Thomas Drake, and cousin, John Drake, are among the crew.
The ships hold four pinnaces which await final assembly should they be needed. The crews, who total 164 men and boys, include common sailors, artisans, and gentlemen. The expedition is supplied with a chaplain, Francis Fletcher, who records the most complete surviving account of any who serve on this journey. The crew believes they are on a voyage to Alexandria, Egypt. The mix of social classes will eventually lead to problematic tensions.16 November – 27 November O.S. (all following dates O.S.)Falmouth, EnglandA gale forces the fleet to seek safe harbor here. Even so, Marigold and Pelican lose masts within the harbor. 28 November – 13 DecemberPlymouth Sound, England The fleet returns to the journey's starting point and effects repairs. Amidst embarrassment and castigation in the awkward situation, Drake dismisses James Sydae for unsatisfactorily provisioning the ships for the voyage. The dismissal leads to spoken displeasure from Thomas Doughty, to carpenter Edward "Ned" Bright, about Drake's command. Additionally, Doughty makes other private comments describing his influence and authority in terms as equal to that of Drake's. Drake sails from Plymouth to the coast of north-west Africa. 25–31 DecemberMogador Island, Morocco Running south-westerly with favourable winds along the Moroccan coast, the crew realises they are not bound for Alexandria. Although some discontent was later recorded, no resentment is chronicled in expedition narratives at the time. A mile off the mainland and north-northwest of the island, Drake's crew casts anchor for the first time since leaving England. Here they assemble a pinnace.
On the island, crewman John Fry is kidnapped. Drake organizes efforts to locate and rescue Fry but they are unsuccessful. Fry is released after the expedition sails and eventually finds passage home on an English merchant ship.
1578 Date Location Details Ref(s) Cape de Guerre, Morocco After progress is impeded by contrary winds and weather, the fleet follows the African coast to de Guere which is only 53 nautical miles south of Mogador. They encounter three canters, a type of Spanish fishing boat. The English sailors use the recently assembled pinnace to seize the boats which are forced to join the fleet. 13 January O.S. (all following dates are O.S.)Rio del Oro, Morocco Here, in what is currently southern Morocco and just under the Tropic of Cancer, Drake releases the three canters. Using the pinnace, they take a caravel. 15 JanuaryCape Barbas, Morocco Under the high cliffs of this cape, Marigold seizes another caravel. 16–21 JanuaryCape Blanc, Mauritania Here, the fleet takes a Spanish ship which was riding at anchor, her crew having fled. With her, they enter the harbor, anchor, and land. The crew cleans their ships and has friendly interactions with the local people. The local people offer to sell Drake a woman, a transaction he declines. Several locals, who are in need, try to trade for water. Drake refuses to trade; instead he simply gives them what they desire.
The Englishmen release all the captured ships except one for which they exchange the diminutive Benedict. Her name is recorded as Christopher. After six days, the expedition sets sail for the Cape Verde Islands. 28–30 JanuaryMaio, Cape Verde The fleet anchors on the western part of Maio, facing the nearby island of Santiago. Local inhabitants salt the wells and flee which forces Drake to send Wynter and Doughty, with of a detachment of 60 men under them, inland to procure food and water. A Portuguese pilot who had been impressed at Cape Blanc guides the men to the island's main settlement. 31 January – 2 FebruarySantiago, Cape Verde Drake anchors on the east shore of Santiago Island and lands. Following a set tradition of armed conflict between Portuguese and English seamen in these waters, Drake captures a ship, Santa Maria despite coastal shore fire from the Portuguese-claimed island, Maio. Santa Maria yields useful supplies, and Drake impresses Portuguese pilot Nuño da Silva with whom also comes invaluable charts. Wynter later distances himself from these actions as he fears a piracy charge. Drake renames the ship Mary and places Thomas Doughty in command. Drake sails west, into the Atlantic, with Nuño da Silva aboard. The impressed pilot will remain with the expedition for over a year.
Upon leaving Cape Verde, Fletcher wrote in anticipation of the journey ahead: "And so we take our farwell from the antient knowne parts of the world or earth, to travill into the new discovered partes of the world, by the Gracious Providence of God, the God of all the world, Who, hitherto, in His singular mercy and grace, has preserved us alive to see and behold more and more of his excellent workes, and to declare his power."
After departing Cape Verde—while sailing west in the Atlantic—a problem unfolds. Accounts differ as to the nature of trouble, but they agree that Drake intervenes when Doughty quarreled with sailors under his command. Drake relieves Doughty and takes command of Mary. End of FebruaryFernando de Noronha, Brazil This marks the completion of the expedition's trans-Atlantic journey. In da Silva's log—which is the only mention of this location in period records—the pilot records the date of arriving at the Brazilian island as "at the end of the month." With his charts, da Silva can be confident of the fleet's exact location. 10 MarchTodos os Santos, Brazil The fleet approaches a Portuguese settlement, Salvador, on the coast of Brazil. Da Silva cautions against entering the bay to seek food and water due to the presence of galleys. Wishing to avoid conflict and alerting authorities to English interlopers, Drake heeds the warning and continues to sail south along the coast of Brazil. Da Silva is the lone person to record this landfall. 5 April31 ½° and 33 ½° south latitude off the Brazilian coast At 31 ½°, Wynter records that the fleet fell with the coast of Brazil on this day. He observes that the land is flat with higher elevations within the country.
Fletcher assigns 33 ½° south latitude as the fleet's first landfall and also records it on this day. He describes the land in positive terms saying that it appeared to be a fair opportunity to perform much needed maintenance on the ship's hulls. He writes that a deadly fog prevents them from availing this location for those purposes. 6 April South of 33 ½° south latitude off the Brazilian coast In this region, the fleet encounters a violent storm. It is so strong that Christopher is lost and prevents any landing along the Brazilian coast. 14 April–8 MayRio de la Plata at the border of Argentina and Uruguay Here, a mountainous outcrop amidst a generally undistinguished coast alerts Drake that fresh water is likely to found nearby. The fleet anchors near Cape Joy in Rio de la Plata which today forms the border separating Argentina and Uruguay. Even though this body of water is identified as a rio, or river, in the name, it is best understood as a bay or estuary. This is the fleet's first anchorage after having crossed the Atlantic.
The sailors re-provision by hunting for meat, taking on water, and gathering wood under pleasant conditions. Here, Christopher rejoins the fleet after she had been lost from the fleet during turbulent weather encountered while sailing south along the Brazilian coast. Drake gives the cheerful name to the cape as recognition of this reunion. The fleet anchors at various points within the bay here: Isla de Flores, Arazati, and Cape San Antonio. 8 May South of Rio de la Plata in the Atlantic along Argentina's coast The expedition sails south, and Swan is quickly separated from the fleet. Later, on 8 May, a storm cuts Mary from the fleet. Among the Mary's crew is Drake's brother Thomas and da Silva.12–15 May Cape Blanco and Banco Bryon (named Cape Hope by Drake), Argentina Drake comes upon Banco Bryon, and anchors along the bank's seaward edge where he is temporarily reunited with Swan. Drake names nearby land Cape Hope while anchored well off the shore from the rocky bay. As he takes a boat into the bay with other crew to sound for depth, a thick, misty storm overtakes and threatens the men. They are saved when Captain Thomas sails Marigold and rescues them. Threatened further when the ships drag their anchors, the fleet heads for open water. The next day is calm so Drake goes ashore to light fires to signal the scattered fleet to return. Except for Mary, they safely do. The crew has congenial interactions with the indigenous inhabitants.