Full name: Francis Drake Born: Between 1541 and 1543 Place of Birth: Tavistock, Devon Occupation: Sailor and Navigator Died: 28th January 1596

The Elizabethan sailor and navigator, Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to sail around the world.  Born in Tavistock, Devon sometime between 1541 and 1543, Drake moved with his family to Chatham in Kent at a young age and lived on an old ship. 

Drake first went to sea at the age of around 12 years old and he became an apprentice on a trading ship.  After acquiring the ship himself, Drake and a relative, John Hawkins moved back to Devon and took part in assisting the first English slave voyages from Africa to the western world.

Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to sail around the world.  The voyage is thought to have occurred in order to attack Spanish ports and ships and involved five ships.  Drake sailed on a ship called the 'Pelican', which was later renamed as the famous 'Golden Hind' after he decided to order the other ships to either turn back  or be destroyed due to a concern that the ships could become separated. 

Francis became the first Englishman to navigate the Straits of Magellan on voyages to the West Indies during which, he acquired Spanish treasure and discovered rich information about the geography of the world.  It was previously believed that land to the south of the Magellan Strait was another Southern Continent but Drake discovered that it was a group of islands. 

Drake was commissioned on an expedition by Elizabeth I to seek out Spanish colonies on the Pacific coastline of America and successfully took over Spanish ports in Chile and Peru and captured ships laden with treasure.  After travelling up the West coast of America, where he claimed the land of 'New England' for the Queen.  Drake sailed across the pacific via the West and East Indies to South Africa and eventually arrived back in Britain with valuable Spanish treasures and spices after a trip around the world. 

As a result, Francis Drake was knighted and continued completing further expeditions.  In 1585, Drake and an army of men attacked Santiago, Cape Verde and later claimed Santo Domingo.  In 1587, a war between the British and Spanish broke out and Drake descended on the Port of Cadiz, where he destroyed around 30 Spanish ships and delayed the attack of the Spanish Armada.  A year later, Drake became vice admiral of the fleet of ships which destroyed the Spanish Armada but a final expedition in the West Indies was fatal and Francis Drake died at sea on 28th January 1596.