Francis Drake was an English 1. legendary sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver and 2. politician who lived during the Elizabethan Era. His journeys made him known as a hero to the English, but an enemy to the Spaniards; he was a man who brought joy to the English but pain to the Spanish. Francis Drake was born in Plymouth in the early 1540’s to Edmund Drake and Mary Mylawaye. He was the 3. oldest of twelve sons. The boy spent his time looking at the ships in Plymouth Harbour and talking to the seamen. They told him long stories about sea adventures. At the age of fifteen Francis was taken on a small ship where he worked for some years. The boy learned the duties of a 4. sailor very soon and did his work well. When Drake was twenty-five he became the mate on the ship.
In 1572, when Drake was 32 years, he organized the 5. first expedition to the shores of the New World, and began to rob Spanish ships and 6. settlements. He captured the Spanish “Silver Caravan" with thirty tons of silver. Drake returned to England in wealth and glory. He married Mary Newman in 1569. She died 12 years later, in 1581. In 1585 Drake married Elizabeth Sydenham. Even though he married 7. twice, he never had any children.
Being a privateer for most of his life and also being a 8. slaver, Francis Drake practically travelled all over the world.
Captain Drake was an accomplished explorer and sea captain who served Elizabeth 9. loyally and helped England become a major sea power. Elizabeth I of England 10 awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. In the same year he was appointed mayor of Plymouth. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588.
