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22. Elizabethan England’s Most Enterprising Hero Was Also Its Most Enterprising Pirate
Sir Francis Drake (circa 1540 – 1596) was Elizabethan England’s most celebrated and enterprising seaman. A privateer and admiral who led an adventurous seafaring career, Drake became his era’s greatest pirate, and earned a fearsome reputation for preying upon Spanish shipping and coastal settlements. He was the second man to circumnavigate the globe after Magellan’s expedition, during which endeavor he combined exploration with opportunistic plunder. A few years later, in 1588, he played a leading role in defeating the Spanish Armada.
Drake went to sea at an early age. In his teens, he was enlisted by his relatives, the Hawkinses, a clan of privateers who preyed upon French coastal shipping. By the 1560s, Drake had risen to command his own ship and entered the slave trade, smuggling shackled captives illegally into Spain’s New World possession. During one such trip, Drake was cornered by the Spanish coast guard. He managed to escape, but only with heavy loss of life among his crew. That experience left Drake with a lifelong hatred of Spain.