A pirate licensed by a government to attack and plunder the enemies of that government is a privateer. In exchange for a letter of marque and reprisal, or a privateering license, the privateer launches a one-ship or one-fleet crusade against their government's enemies, growing richer off the spoils.
The English privateers were quite successful and quite numerous during the English war with Spain, which began in 1585. In fact, an average of 150 privateering expeditions set sail from England each year after the start of the war. And the annual value of prizes brought back to England by privateers commonly topped £200,000, which was about the yearly income of the Crown during Elizabeth’s early years as Queen.
The returns of some of the most famed privateers of the day were sometimes even greater. It was not unheard of for a privateer, such as Sir Francis Drake, to return with goods valued at half a million pounds or higher!
Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake was born in Tavistock, Devon, and most likely was raised with the Hawkins family, where he learned to sail, pirate, and fight. In 1573, Francis Drake led a land attack on a mule caravan outside of Venta Cruces on the banks of the river Sagres. There, his combined force of Englishmen, Frenchmen, and ex-slaves won the day, and found that every mule was carrying about 300 pounds weight in silver. The treasure from the mule train, and a few other smaller raids amounted to fifteen tons of silver ingots, and approximately £100,000 in gold coins.
He followed up this smashing debut with his famous taking of Señora de la Concepción, nicknamed Cacafuego due to the fact that it was so heavily armed, from which he won prizes that would be worth beyond £12,000,000, today.
Drake Sails Around the World
Sir Francis Drake made numerous other raids in the Caribbean, some successful and some not, during the 1570s, winning himself further acclaim. But it was what he did in 1580 that truly impressed. Sir Francis Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, and the first ship’s captain ever to do so (Magellan had died before his journey’s completion). He returned to England to a hero’s welcome, and Queen Elizabeth knighted him.
Cadiz, and the Spanish Armada
To slow down the building and outfitting of Spain's Armada, Drake led a stunningly successful raid on Cadiz in 1587, where he burned almost 40 Spanish ships. The sacking of Cadiz slowed down Spain’s Armada efforts for an entire year. When 1588 did come around, and the restored Spanish Armada started closing in, Drake would join the fight, although his independent and sometimes insubordinate actions during it would damage his reputation somewhat.
Sailing northeast, the Spanish Armada consisted of 130 ships. Its goal was to slip through the English Channel, transporting its troops to the Netherlands, from where they would launch a land attack on England. On the English side, Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham, a cousin of Elizabeth’s, led the fleet against the Spanish. Although Howard was less experienced than Drake, Drake behaved rashly, desired to meet the Spaniards head on, before they reached English waters, and, also, Drake was not of noble blood. Putting him in command might cause jealousy and insubordination amid captains of a higher social rank.
Nevertheless, Drake played an important role in 1587 and 1588: after Drake’s attack on Cadiz, and various logistics problems, the Spanish Armada was delayed repeatedly. So too, though, were delayed the English plans for a preemptive attack on the armada while it harbored in Lisbon. In the end, the Spanish made it up to the English Channel, but the English were ready for them.
Gaining the wind advantage, the English fleet used its superior maneuverability to pepper the Spanish fleet repeatedly. When the Spanish reached Calais, poor planning and communications made conjunction with Spanish troops in the Netherlands impossible, and English fire ships dispersed them on August 7. A final skirmish the next day, off Gravelines, in addition to prevailing winds, forced the Spanish Armada into the North Sea. Medina Sidonia then had to sail his battered ships around the British Isles and back to Spain, only bringing home 2/3 of the ships he sailed out with: some 40 ships alone had been destroyed by gales and reefs during the journey around Scotland and Ireland.
The Death of Sir Francis Drake
The defeat of the Spanish Armada did not end England's war with Spain, and Drake continued fighting against them after 1588. Pirating into his mid-fifties, Drake eventually succumbed to dysentery in 1596. He was off the coast of Panama when he died, planning a raid on some Spanish treasure ships.
Sir Francis Drake remains an evocative cultural icon, into the present. He is one of England's national heroes, and speaks to adventurous souls all through the world. The man Queen Elizabeth called "my pirate," continues to excite and stimulate both historians and the public even now.
Sources:
Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among The Pirates. New York: Random House, 1995.
Hammer, Paul E. J. Elizabeth's Wars. New York, NY: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 2003.
Wagner, John A. Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World. Phoenix, AZ: The Oryx Press, 1999.
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