Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer and privateer best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580. This was the first English circumnavigation, and third circumnavigation overall. He is also known for participating in the early English slaving voyages of his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, and John Lovell. Having started as a simple seaman, in 1588 he was part of the fight against the Spanish Armada as a vice-admiral.
Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English naval commander, naval administrator, privateer and slave trader.
Golden Hind was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as Pelican, but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden hind. Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake's world voyage. A full-sized, seaworthy reconstruction is in London, on the south bank of the Thames.
Athene Seyler, CBE was an English actress.
Thomas Doughty was an English nobleman, soldier, scholar and personal secretary of Christopher Hatton. His association with Francis Drake, on a 1577 voyage to raid Spanish treasure fleets, ended in a shipboard trial for treason and witchcraft, and Doughty's execution.
Fire Over England is a 1937 London Film Productions film drama, notable for providing the first pairing of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. It was directed by William K. Howard and written by Clemence Dane, nominally from the 1936 novel Fire Over England by AEW Mason. Leigh's performance in the film helped to convince David O. Selznick to cast her as Scarlett O'Hara in his 1939 production of Gone with the Wind. The film is a historical drama set during the reign of Elizabeth I focusing on England's victory over the Spanish Armada.
Sir Francis Drake is a 1961–1962 British adventure television series starring Terence Morgan as Sir Francis Drake, commander of the sailing ship the Golden Hind. As well as battles at sea and sword fights, the series also deals with intrigue at Queen Elizabeth's court.
Matheson Alexander Lang was a Canadian-born stage and film actor and playwright. He is best remembered for his theatrical performances in Great Britain in Shakespeare plays.
Events from the 1570s in England.
Drake's Venture is a 1980 film depiction of Francis Drake's voyage of circumnavigation. Produced by Westward Television to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the event, it nevertheless focuses on the voyage's most controversial aspect, the execution of the gentleman Thomas Doughty for mutiny. The film has only been aired twice: once in the UK on 28 December 1980, and once in the US, on Masterpiece Theatre, 27 March 1983.
The Battle of San Juan de Ulúa was fought between English privateers and Spanish forces at San Juan de Ulúa. The English flotilla of six armed merchant ships under John Hawkins had been trading along the Spanish Main with the cooperation of local Spanish officials. However the central Spanish authorities considered this to be illegal smuggling that violated the Treaty of Tordesillas.
Singeing the King of Spain's Beard is the derisive name given to a series of attacks by the English privateer Francis Drake against the Spanish in the summer of 1587, beginning in April with a raid on Cádiz. This was an attack on the Spanish naval forces assembling in the Bay of Cádiz in preparation for the planned expedition against England. Much of the Spanish fleet was destroyed, and substantial supplies were destroyed or captured. There followed a series of raiding parties against several forts along the Portuguese coast. A Spanish treasure ship, returning from the Indies, was also captured. The damage caused by the English delayed Spanish preparations for the Armada by at least a year.
Royal Cavalcade, also known as Regal Cavalcade, is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley, Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, W. P. Kellino and Marcel Varnel. The film features Marie Lohr, Hermione Baddeley, Owen Nares, Robert Hale, Austin Trevor, James Carew, Edward Chapman and Ronald Shiner as the Soldier in Trenches. The film was presented by Associated British Pictures Corporation.
The Sea Dogs were a group of English privateers and explorers authorised by Queen Elizabeth I to raid England's enemies, whether they were formally at war with them or not. Active from 1560 until Elizabeth's death in 1603, the Sea Dogs primarily attacked Spanish targets both on land and at sea, particularly during the Anglo-Spanish War. Members of the Sea Dogs, including Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake, also engaged in illicit slave trading with Spanish colonies in the Americas.
The Mill on the Floss is a 1936 British drama film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Frank Lawton, Victoria Hopper, Geraldine Fitzgerald and James Mason. It was based on the 1860 novel The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot.
Irish for Luck is a 1936 British comedy film, also known as Meet the Duchess. Made at Teddington Studios by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers, it was directed by Arthur B. Woods and starred Athene Seyler, Margaret Lockwood and Patric Knowles. Adapted from a novel by L.A.G. Strong, in the film an impoverished Irish Duchess tries to survive on her small income.
Drake of England is a British play by Louis N. Parker which was first staged in 1912. It is a pageant-like work celebrating the career of the Elizabethan sailor Sir Francis Drake, particularly his role in the defeat of the Armada of 1588. It was originally written for Sir Herbert Tree to play the role of Drake. It ran for 221 performances at His Majesty's Theatre in London's West End, produced by Herbert Tree. The cast included Lyn Harding as Drake, and also featured Philip Merivale and Phyllis Neilson-Terry, Amy Brandon Thomas.
Vice-Admiral Sir John Wynter or Winter (1555–1638) was an explorer and naval officer in the English Navy Royal. As a ship's captain in the Drake expedition of 1577-1580, he was the first European to cross the Strait of Magellan from west to east.
The Newfoundland Expedition also known as Bernard Drake's Newfoundland Expedition was an English naval expedition that took place during the beginning of the declared Anglo-Spanish War in the North Atlantic during summer and autumn of 1585. The area of conflict was situated mainly in an area known as the Grand Banks off present day Newfoundland. The aim of the expedition was to capture the Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets. The expedition was a huge military and financial success and virtually removed the Spanish and Portuguese from these waters. In addition the raid had large consequences in terms of English colonial expansion and settlement.
Francis Drake's circumnavigation, also known as Drake's Raiding Expedition, was an important historical maritime event that took place between 15 December 1577 and 26 September 1580. The expedition was authorised by Queen Elizabeth I and consisted of five ships led by Francis Drake. Termed a 'voyage of discovery', it was in effect an ambitious covert raiding voyage and the start of England's challenge to the global domination of Spain and Portugal.
