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Francis Drake's expedition of 1572–1573

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Coordinates: 8°40′N 80°0′W / 8.667°N 80.000°W / 8.667; -80.000
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Drake's expedition of 1572‍–‍1573
Part of Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)

Sir Francis Drake (c.1540–1596),
of the Kingdom of England
in Central America,
c.1573
Date24 May 1572 – 6 August 1573 (1572-05-24 – 1573-08-06)
Location
Isthmus of Panama
(Central America)
8°40′N 80°0′W / 8.667°N 80.000°W / 8.667; -80.000
Result Anglo-French privateer victory
Belligerents
  Spain
Commanders and leaders
  • Spain Luís de Rojas / Gov.
  • Spain Francisco Bahamonde de Lugo / Gov.
  • Spain Álvaro de Mendoza
  • Spain Martín de Mendoza
  • Spain Antonio Juárez de la Concha
  • Spain Jorge Nuñez de Prado
  • Spain Juan Juárez de Castilla
  • Spain Nicolás López
  • Spain Cristóbal Monte
  • Spain Anton Couto
Units involved
  • England Pascha3 / 70 t. 47 men Francis Drake capt.
  • England Swan4 / 25 t. 26 men John Drake capt.
  • England Lion / c. 20 t.
  • England Bear / c. 20 t.
  • England Minion / c. 20 t.
  • England barque / 30 men Raunce capt. Overy mstr.
  • Havre5 / 80 t. 70 men
  • sm. craft / 30 cimarron men
 Spain Santa Catalina / Couto capt.
Strength
  • 203 men / 103 in 1572 / 173 in 1573
  • 3 ships
  • 3 pinnaces
  • 1 barque
  • sev. sm. craft
  • vars. infantry units
  • vars. naval units
Casualties and losses
  • > 4 killed
  • > 30 deaths / illness
  • vars. wounded
  • 1 to 3 detained
  • 11 to 14 killed
  • vars. wounded
  • > 14 vessels surprised / cargo seized / crews detained, impressed, or marooned
  • > 6 settlements surprised
  • c. 100,000 pesos in gold lost
  • 1 aka Raunse, Rance, Ranse
  • 2 aka Hickson
  • 3 aka Pascha, Pasca, Pasco
  • 4 aka Swanlet
  • 5 aka New Haven
  • 6aka Chief Pedro

Sir Francis Drake's expedition of 1572‍–‍1573 was an uncommissioned privateer profiteering sea voyage by Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540–1596), of the beginnings of the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of England (island of Great Britain), (under its monarch Queen Elizabeth I (the Great) (1533–1603, reigned 1558–1603). It was a precursor to the continuing long-term hostilities in the subsequent Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), in the western and southern quarters of the Caribbean Sea, east of Mexico and Central America of the Kingdom of Spain and their Spanish Empire's larger colonial Viceroyalty (province) of New Spain, and adjacent to the West Indies chain of islands further east in the Americas.

Prelude

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Drake's 1571 cruise of the West Indies islands and the Caribbean Sea had proved quite successful, earning him and his crew immense profits of over £100,000 (100 thousand) English pounds sterling. Consequently, upon his return to the English Channel port of Plymouth that year, Drake determined to repeat his feat, assembling, with his brothers John and Joseph Drake (privateer), a larger privateering English fleet of two light ships and three pinnaces-style smaller ships (carried in disassembled kit form as cargo).[1][n 1]

Expedition

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Departure

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Drake and company departed the port city of Plymouth in England on the English Channel (aboard the ships Pascha and Swan of their small English fleet) on 24 May 1572, crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a southwestward direction of slightly over a month long voyage. Landing in the Americas of the Western Hemisphere on the southern coast of the island of Dominica on 29 June 1572. Here, the crew refreshed their provisions and fresh water, and on 1 July set out for Port Pheasant (Zapzurro Cove, 35 leagues west of the island Tolú), which they reached in 11 days sailing (on 12 July). The following day, Drake was joined by James Raunse and his additional 30 men in the other vessel.[2][n 2]

Nombre de Dios, 1572

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Insvlæ Americanæ, 1634 published antique Holland / Dutch map of the legendary Spanish Main (showing Kingdom of Spain and its western Spanish Empire of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, with outlined southern portion of North America continent – showing Hudson Bay and attached southern Florida peninsula, eastern portion of Mexico and Central America to the west / left, with the connecting Isthmus of Panama, to the northern portion of South America continent), and the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea and adjacent West Indies islands to the east / right and Atlantic Ocean),/ 1634 Holland/Dutch map by Willem Janszoon Bleau (1571–1638),/ via LC/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

At Port Pheasant, Drake and Raunse's men built a log palisaded fort and sheds for protection, so as to allow the ships' carpenters time to assemble Drake's stored cargo of three smaller pinnace boats[3]

On 20 July, the pinnaces having been assembled and rigged for sailing, the little Drake‍–‍Raunce English fleet set sail for Isla de Pinos (not the Cuban isle), where they surprised, attacked and captured two Royal Spanish naval warships frigates out of the port town of Nombre de Dios, (on the north & east / Caribbean Sea coast of Colon Province of modern Panama).The frigates' (enslaved) crews of foreign sailors were freed and furnished the English Drake party with fresh intelligence and additional manpower regarding the said Spanish port, whereupon Capt. Drake (with 53 of his men aboard Drake's threesome pinnaces) and master's mate Raunce (with 20 of his men aboard a Spanish captured prize shallop boat) set sail for Nombre de Dios, making landfall near there in the evening of 29 July.[4]

At 3:00 am that night, the Englishmen stole into the port aboard rowboats, but were nonetheless espied by a 60-tonne Spanish merchantman vessel in the harbour. Drake and company still managed to land, however, and they surprised and took the town's small six-gun artillery battery without opposition. They now began dismounting its ordinance and ammunition, which endeavour however unfortunately still stirred the vecinos out of slumber. Upon hearing the warning bells and war drums, Drake and Raunce split their company‍–‍ a dozen men to guard the shore, John Oxenham and 16 others to circle around behind the plaza, while Drake led the rest (46 men, with Raunce) noisily up the town's main thoroughfare. In the plaza, the Drake detachment were greeted by the amues, fuses sing descriptive 'a jolly hot volley of shot,' from the remaining Spaniards but they nevertheless eventually scattered the impromptu local defending militia, and thereby secured the city for themselves. Before the crew could loot the treasury, however, a sudden rainstorm drenched the men's matches, fuses and gunpowder, and (coincidentally), Drake fainted from loss of blood, having sustained a minor gunshot wound earlier during the militia volley. The English and their small armada hastily retreated to nearby Bastimentos (at dawn, on 30 July).[5][n 3]

Spanish Main, 1572

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While Drake was recuperating at Bastimentos, Paunce took his leave (on 6 August). Drake (now with only his 73 men) set out upon the Spanish Main, sighting Carthagena by the evening of 13 August. That night, the men seized the Pasha, a 240-tonne merchantman. This was followed by the seizure of two merchant ships the next day. As his crew was now stretched thin across two ships, three pinnaces, and three Spanish prizes, Drake burned one of the prizes, and scuttled the Swan.[6]

Shortly thereafter, the crew set up a camp, christened Port Plenty, in the Gulf of San Blas (ie Darien). From this base, (Francis) Drake and company spend the next five or six weeks raiding settlements along the Main as far east as the Magdalena River, while John Drake endeavoured to befriend the Panamanian cimarrones.[7][n 4]

John having cemented an alliance with the cimarrones (by 24 September), the company relocated Port Plenty, and spend the next two weeks fortifying it. On 7 October they were once more cruising off Cartagena. On 17 October, Oxenham and the Swan seized a 50-tonne barque, marooning its 10 men and 5 slaves. On 20 October, the fleet intercepted a 58-tonne and a 12-tonne merchant, likewise stranding their crews. Having noticed the fleet, on 22 October (at dawn), two frigates from Carthagena engaged Drake. They had a difficult time of it, however, the bay proved too vast to corner the Englishmen. Drake's fleet finally quit Carthagena for the Magdalena River on 3 November, their provisions running dangerously low.[8][n 5][n 6][n 7]

The fleet reached Magdalena on 5 November, but found the settlements deserted and the herds withdrawn inland (Spanish authorities having forwarded the vecinos). They continued on to Santa Marta, reaching that town within a week. Here they also found the Spanish prepared, as they were prevented from watering by hidden snipers on shore. They seized a 90 tonne vessel w victuals here on 12 Nov, and detained crew for a day. They next set for Curaçao, landing there on 13 November. A couple of days later, Drake detached Oxenham's pinnace "Minion" to sail directly back and advise his Panamanian base of his imminent return, while he scoured the Main with his own pinnace and prize. Upon refreshing for a few days, Drake renewed his raids towards the Main, while Oxenham (aboard the Minion) was dispatched to the recently-relocated Port Plenty, to advise the crew there of Drake's upcoming return.[8][n 8]

Drake followed Oxenham to Port Plenty within the fortnight. Upon his 27 November arrival, he discovered his brother John had died. Drake now decided to postpone further raids, so as to renew his efforts upon the Panamanian treasure train the coming year. His remaining brother, Joseph, succumbed to a fatal fever that December.[9][n 9]

Venta Cruces, 1573

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On 30 January, upon cimarron allies' intelligence, the Lion reconnoitred Nombre de Dios, intercepting a Spanish frigate there, which confirmed (the cimarrones' information) that the Spanish plate fleet had arrived. Consequently, on 3 February, Drake and Oxenham, with 16 Englishmen and 30 cimarrones, trudged through the jungle and over the Cordilleras to intercept the treasure train. On 14 February, the party approached Panama City, whereupon a cimarron in disguise stole into the settlement, returning that evening with news of an upcoming 14-mule treasure train (from Lima, to Nombre de Dios, via Venta de Cruces). The rovers set up an ambush near Venta Cruces (on Chagres River). Robert Pike, a drunken crew-mate, was discovered by a Spanish traveller en route to Venta Cruces, whereupon the treasure train was forestalled. They nonetheless managed to seize a few silver-loaded mules, and make a hasty retreat to Venta Cruces, which they easily occupied for some time, reaching base camp on 22 February.[10][n 10]

Veragua, 1573

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Undaunted, Drake determined to cruise off Veragua (aboard the Minion), finally desisting on 19 March, having gained a frigate and its Genoese pilot. In the meantime, Oxenham cruise eastwards (aboard the Bear), where he seized a well-provisioned frigate out of Tolú, heading back to camp by 21 March.[11][n 11][n 12]

The men celebrated Easter at Port Plenty, on 22 March. The next day, Drake ventured out (aboard his Spanish prize and the Bear). On 25 March, they chanced upon Guillaume Le Testu (and his 70 men aboard an 80-tonne ship), who agrees to join Drake and the cimarrones in an attempt against the treasure train.[12][n 13]

Nombre De Dios, 1573

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On 31 March, Drake (with 20 men), Le Testu (with some 20 men), and a number of cimarrones, rendezvous at the mouth of the San Francisco River, from where they advance (this time towards Nombre de Dios) to intercept the treasure train. On the morning of 1 April, the rovers (successfully) ambushed a treasure train of some 160 mules and 45 armed guards. The Spaniards guards engaged the rovers, mortally wounding Le Testu in the process. As their treasure summed nearly 30 tonnes of silver and gold, the surviving crew hid half of the booty before hastily making their escape, planning to recuperate the loot later on. They arrive at the rendezvous point on 3 April, only to find seven Spanish pinnaces at the river's mouth, and none of their own vessels (one prize and two pinnaces, which had been blown off-course some 12 miles by a strong westerly wind). Drake and three 'brave companions' venture out, in a shoddy raft, to retrieve their craft, which they do by nightfall, returning with the Bear and the Minion. The rovers hastily returned to base camp, where the loot was divided and the each contingent parted ways, their enterprise having proved a success.[13][n 14][n 15]

Return

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In late April, Drake departed Port Plenty, now with a 30-man crew. The crew provisioned themselves at the Magdalena River (with 250 turtles and a Spanish merchantman). The crew set anchor at Plymouth on 9 August, bringing the expedition to an end.[14][n 16]

Timeline

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Timeline of the 1572‍–‍1573 expedition.[15][n 17]
Flr. Clg. Place Event Parties Notes
24 May 1572 (1572-05-24) 24 May 1572 (1572-05-24) Plymouth Departure
  • Pascha
  • Swan
/ Drake 73 men 		–
29 June 1572 (1572-06-29) 29 June 1572 (1572-06-29) Dominica Arrival
  • Pascha
  • Swan
/ Drake 73 men 		Provisioned
1 July 1572 (1572-07-01) 1 July 1572 (1572-07-01) Dominica Departure
  • Pascha
  • Swan
/ Drake 73 men 		–
12 July 1572 (1572-07-12) 12 July 1572 (1572-07-12) Port Pheasant Arrival
  • Pascha
  • Swan
/ Drake 73 men 		Pinnaces Lion, Bear, Minion assembled
13 July 1572 (1572-07-13) 13 July 1572 (1572-07-13) Port Pheasant Arrival
  • barque
  • Sp. shallop
/ Raunce 30 men 		–
14 July 1572 (1572-07-14) 14 July 1572 (1572-07-14) Port Pheasant Cruise ? / Drake ? men
Santa Catalina / Couto ? men 		Santa Catalina seized /crew detained 40 days
20 July 1572 (1572-07-20) 28 July 1572 (1572-07-28) Isle of Pinos Cruise
  • Lion
  • Bear
  • Minion
/ Drake 53 men
Sp. shallop / Raunce 20 men 		2 Sp. frig. seized
29 July 1572 (1572-07-29) 30 July 1572 (1572-07-30) Nombre de Dios Sack
  • Lion
  • Bear
  • Minion
/ Drake 53 men
Sp. shallop / Raunce 20 men 		Sp. residents engage / 7 or 8 Sp. killed / 32 Sp. wounded / some Eng. killed / Sp. merchandise seized
6 August 1572 (1572-08-06) 6 August 1572 (1572-08-06) Port Pheasant Departure
  • barque
  • Sp. shallop
/ Raunce 30 men 		–
13 August 1572 (1572-08-13) 13 August 1572 (1572-08-13) Spanish Main Cruise
  • Pascha
  • Swan
  • Lion
  • Bear
  • Minion
/ Drake ? men 		Sp. ship seized / 240 t.
14 August 1572 (1572-08-14) 14 August 1572 (1572-08-14) Spanish Main Cruise ? / Drake ? men 2 Sp. frig. seized / 1 burnt / Swan scuttled
15 August 1572 (1572-08-15) 15 August 1572 (1572-08-15) Port Plenty Arrival
  • Pascha
  • Lion
  • Bear
  • Minion
  • Sp. ship
  • Sp. frig.
/ Drake ? men 		–
16 August 1572 (1572-08-16) 23 September 1572 (1572-09-23) Spanish Main Cruise ? / Drake ? men –
15 August 1572 (1572-08-15) 23 September 1572 (1572-09-23) Port Plenty Arrival ? / Pedro ? men Alliance est. by John Drake
24 September 1572 (1572-09-24) 24 September 1572 (1572-09-24) Port Plenty Arrival ? / Drake ? men Camp relocated
17 October 1572 (1572-10-17) 19 October 1572 (1572-10-19) Spanish Main Cruise ? / Drake ? men Sp. barque seized / 50 t. 10 Sp. 5 slaves / all marooned
20 October 1572 (1572-10-20) 21 October 1572 (1572-10-21) Spanish Main Cruise ? / Drake ? men Sp. ship seized / 58 t. / all marooned / Sp. frig. seized / 12 t. / all marooned
22 October 1572 (1572-10-22) 2 November 1572 (1572-11-02) Carthagena Cruise ? / Drake ? men
  • 2 frig.
  • 1 shallop
/ Mendoza ? Sp. men 		Sp. engage
3 November 1572 (1572-11-03) 3 November 1572 (1572-11-03) Carthagena Departure ? / Drake ? men –
5 November 1572 (1572-11-05) 5 November 1572 (1572-11-05) Magdalena Arrival ? / Drake ? men Sp. residents fled / herds withdrawn / Sp. frig. seized / no cargo
12 November 1572 (1572-11-12) 12 November 1572 (1572-11-12) Santa Marta Arrival ? / Drake ? men Sp. snipers engage / Sp. ship seized / 90 t. ? men / well provisioned / crew detained
13 November 1572 (1572-11-13) 13 November 1572 (1572-11-13) Curaçao Arrival ? / Drake ? men –
15 November 1572 (1572-11-15) 18 November 1572 (1572-11-18) Curaçao Departure Minion / Oxenham ? men –
15 November 1572 (1572-11-15) 26 November 1572 (1572-11-26) Spanish Main Cruise ? / Drake ? men –
27 November 1572 (1572-11-27) 27 November 1572 (1572-11-27) Port Plenty Arrival ? / Drake ? men And rest / John, Joseph die
30 January 1573 (1573-01-30) 30 January 1573 (1573-01-30) Nombre de Dios Cruise Lion / ? ? men Sp. frig. seized / crew interrogated
3 February 1573 (1573-02-03) 3 February 1573 (1573-02-03) Port Plenty Departure ? / Drake 17 men
? / Pedro 30 men 		Jungle march
14 February 1573 (1573-02-14) 14 February 1573 (1573-02-14) Panama Arrival ? / Drake 17 men
? / Pedro 30 men 		Ambush set up, but discovered / couple Sp. treasure mules seized 4 to 6 Sp. killed, inc. 1 friar / 1 Sp. settlement burnt
22 February 1573 (1573-02-22) 22 February 1573 (1573-02-22) Port Plenty Arrival ? / Drake 17 men
? / Pedro 30 men 		–
23 February 1573 (1573-02-23) 19 March 1573 (1573-03-19) Veragua Cruise ? / Drake 17 men Sp. frig. seized / Genoese pilot impressed
23 February 1573 (1573-02-23) 21 March 1573 (1573-03-21) ? Cruise Bear / Oxenham ? men
? / Pedro 30 men 		Due east of Veragua / Sp. frig seized / well-provisioned
23 March 1573 (1573-03-23) 30 March 1573 (1573-03-30) ? Cruise
  • Bear
  • Sp. frig.
/ Drake ? men 		–
25 March 1573 (1573-03-25) 25 March 1573 (1573-03-25) ? Meeting
  • Bear
  • Sp. frig.
/ Drake ? men
Havre / Testu 70 men 		Testu joins Drake
31 March 1573 (1573-03-31) 3 April 1573 (1573-04-03) Nombre de Dios Sack
  • Bear
  • Minion
  • Sp. frig.
/ Drake 20 men
? / Testu 20 men
? / Pedro ? men
mules / 45 Sp. men 		1 Eng. 1 cimarron 2 French killed / 1 cimarron captured / 1 French stranded / 3 Sp. mule trains seized {{{1}}}
7 April 1573 (1573-04-07) 22 April 1573 (1573-04-22) Nombre de Dios Rescue ? / Oxenham 11 men
? / Pedro 16 men 		Testu + guard presumed dead / remaining guard rescued / 13 silver bars + few quoits gold recovered
15 April 1573 (1573-04-15) 30 April 1573 (1573-04-30) Port Plenty Departure ? / Drake 30 men 1 Sp. vessel seized
9 August 1573 (1573-08-09) 9 August 1573 (1573-08-09) Plymouth Arrival ? / Drake 30 men –

Aftermath

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Drake and sea-faring company are thought to have profited at least £20,000 English pounds altogether in 1574 when they returned home to the British Isles (worth about £7.73 million British pounds sterling of current money 450 years later today in 2023). (However only one-fifth the amount of ill-gotten loot and much less than the previous £100,000 English pounds estimated to have been raked in from an earlier expedition a few years before). Some of this windfall treasure of gold and silver bullion, jewels and sold-off miscellaneous cargo, may have been forwarded to members of the English Royal government Privy Council, (close to the Crown and Queen Elizabeth I), who reportedly secured Captain Drake a pre-emptive pardon for his unauthorised naval mercantile expedition. Sir Francis himself may have used some of his share of Spanish treasure to later be known to have bought a piece of property on Notte Street, in Plymouth, where he was listed two years later in documents as a merchant in 1576.[16]

In the first half of 1573, the Real Audiencia of Panama stationed 60 Spanish soldiers at the Nombre de Dios garrison, to bolster its defence, and further petitioned the Crown in Madrid to 'promptly to take measures necessary to the defence of this coast and kingdom, for it is considered certain that the corsairs who have now left will return in greater force, and it is even said that they announce that they will settle.' Later that year, Royal Spanish colonial authorities in Panama unfortunately retaliated with reprisals against Drake's cimarron native allies.[17]

The neighboring Real Audiencia of Guatemala likewise took steps to better defend its realm and eastern coast on the Caribbean Sea, planning – 'to settle some Indians in a location [in Golfo Dulce] such that they can send warning if any [pirate] vessels seek to enter.'[18]

Legacy

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This voyage has been considered Drake's first independent expedition, with its final raid on the treasure train deemed 'the most daring attack ever made upon Spanish-American treasure [up to 1573]'.[19]

Captain / Sir Francis Drake (or his crew member Oxenham) is further reputed as the first Englishman / men to have sighted both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans together (simultaneously) at the same time from Pedro Mandingo's mountain-top vista lookout point, (as did famous explorer Vasco Nuñez de Balboa (c.1475–1519), had done for the first time, sixty years before in 1513, purportedly from the same lookout point), and they were the first Englishmen to have cruised the Bay of Honduras along the western coast of the Caribbean Sea, (and possibly the eastern waters off-shore of the present-day Republic of Belize – former colony of British Honduras in Central America).[20]

An artisanal rum distillery, named after Pedro Mandinga, was established in Panama City in Panama in the late 2010s.[21]

See also

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Notes and references

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Explanatory notes

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  1. ^ It has been suggested that the 1572‍–‍1573 expedition was Drake's sixth one to the West Indies, making Drake's 1571 cruise his fifth, and further, that the former's aim was the capture of Nombre de Dios (Wright 1932, pp. xxxvii–xxxviii).
  2. ^ The pinnaces (Lion, Bear, Minion) had been brought from Plymouth dismantled and stored as cargo, aboard the two main vessels Pascha and Swan (cf previous citations). Drake had learnt of the small hidden cove, dubbed Port Pheasant, on a prior trip. Entrance to the cove was through a narrow channel in some reefs. The cove had a beach of about a mile in length, and water seven fathoms deep. At the cove, the crew noticed smoke rising from the jungle. Near this spot was found a lead plate with a message that read‍–‍

    Captain Drake, if you fortune to come to this port make haste away, for the Spaniards which you had with you here last year have betrayed the place and taken away all that you left here. I departed from hence this present 7 of July 1572.

    — Your loving friend, John Garrett [of Plymouth].
    (cf previous citations).
  3. ^ It has been suggested (no doubt, from other Spanish sources) that the gathered Spanish colonial militia did not, in fact, rapidly disperse, and that the invading English fleet made their escape only upon seeing the large armed defending congregation (rather than upon the captain's being injured) (Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 3, De la O Torres 2020, p. 281).
  4. ^ Port Plenty called Fort Diego in Wright 1932, p. xxxix, who further locates it on Slaughter Island, also in San Blas.
  5. ^ On 27 October, a Spanish merchant frigate ran aground in the bay, but Drake was prevented from taking it by the two military frigates which accompanied it. On 2 November, these were reinforced by an armed shallop, which engaged Drake (Marley 1998, p. 102).
  6. ^ During this cruise, 'Drake sought to do more or less honest business with the Spanish at Cartagena, where now he proffered for sale or barter tin, pewter, cloth and other merchandise. However, he found that King Philip had forbidden [the vecinos] to traffic with any foreign Nation; "no hope remained of any purchase to bee had in this place any longer" (Wright 1932, p. xl).
  7. ^ Best 2021, p. 49 notes that cimarrones had (almost) taken Nombre de Dios by surprise six weeks prior to Drake's arrival in Dominica or Port Pheasant, and further claims John or Francis Drake made contact at Isla de las Palmas.
  8. ^ An empty Spanish frigate was seized near Magdalena, and a 90-tonne vessel (with victuals) near Curaçao. The latter's crew were detained for a day (Marley 1998, p. 102).
  9. ^ John Drake had been 'sodenlie stroken with a gunne shott' during a 9 October attempt to board a Spanish frigate passing near Port Plenty. Joseph Drake died of a fever that December (cf previous citations). Wright 1932, p. xl suggests Joseph's death was part of a yellow fever epidemic in the crew's camp, which would have proved fatal to a number of the men. The crew's doctor, during Joseph's autopsy, had found no evidence of yellow fever. He nevertheless concocted an antidote, 'which he hoped would save other crew members,' but died upon trying his own medicine (Best 2021, p. 50).
  10. ^ On 11 February, the cimarron chief, Pedro Mandingo, lead Drake to a hilltop tree, from where the latter sighted both oceans flaking the isthmus, thereby (reputedly) being the first Englishman to do so. Drake is said to have prayed that God 'give him life and leave to sail once in an English ship in that sea' (Marley 1998, p. 102, Best 2021, p. 51).
  11. ^ At this point, the Lion was scuttled 'for lack of men' (Marley 1998, p. 103).
  12. ^

    In the month of February a little frigate sailed along the coast of Verague to the mouth of El Desaguadero [San Juan River]. She carried thirteen Englishmen. Her armament was eighteen small culverins and two larger pieces, all ready for action. They seized four frigates which had sailed from the province of Nicaragua (from the city of Leon and from the city of Granada) and were bound to Nombre de Dios to sell poultry, maize and such like. / On Holy Thursday, in the afternoon, these same English with a frigate and a pinnace and a skiff arrived at La Guanaja, which is an island close to the city of Trujillo. They were guided by Antonio Vaez, Portuguese, and two Spaniards whom they had made prisoners at Cape Cameron, where these men had been held captives among the Indians. Seven years before in company with Licentiate Ortiz they had gone to Tegucigalpa and there they had remained, lost. / These two gave the English to understand that they would persuade the Indians of the island to give them good supplies and what they might need. As soon as they reached land they made off among the Indians, who brought them in a canoe to Trujillo, where they now are. / From Trujillo forty soldiers set out in a small ship in search of the Englishman. They say they did not find him, and that he had sailed, steering a northerly course. / I had written to the town council to be on the alert to attack these English if they called; and I warned Puerto de Caballos to be ready, advising that I understood these people were going to do damage in that place. Similarly, they intended to enter Golfo Dulce and pillage certain Spanish establishments which are at the landing place, where there is a quantity of wine and merchandise.

    — Guatemala, 15 May 1573, Villalobos to Crown, trans. Wright (Wright 1932, pt. 1 doc. no 29).
  13. ^ Bergreen 2021, pp. 51–52 places the chance meeting as occurring off Cativas Island, and further dates it to 23 March 1573, though does not indicate whether the date is Gregorian or Julian.
  14. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 5 suggests that this raid netted Drake's company at least £20,000.
  15. ^ Le Testu, who had not died immediately upon his wounding, was left near the ambush site with two of his men. In mid-April, Oxenham, Thomas Sherwell, with 10 of their men and 16 cimarrones, returned to rescue Le Testu. To their dismay, they discover Le Testu and one of his men had been taken by Spaniards on the day of the ambush, along with most of the 15 tonnes of silver which had been hidden. Oxenham rescued the remaining Frenchman, and retrieved 13 silver bars and a few quoits of gold before rejoining Drake ( & Marley 1998, pp. 103–104).
  16. ^ Diego, the cimarron, joined Drake's crew (Bergreen 2021, cap. 1 sec. 'Drake did not expect to command ...' para. 9).
  17. ^ The accuracy of some of these dates has been called into question (Wright 1932, p. xli).

Short citations

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  1. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 2–3; Marley 1998, p. 101.
  2. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 3; Marley 1998, p. 101; Best 2021, pp. 48–49.
  3. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 3.
  4. ^ Marley 1998, p. 101; Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 3; Wright 1932, p. xxxviii.
  5. ^ Marley 1998, p. 101; De la O Torres 2020, pp. 268, 281; Wright 1932, pp. xxxvii–xxxviii; Best 2021, p. 49.
  6. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 4; Marley 1998, pp. 101–102; Wright 1932, p. xxxiv; Best 2021, pp. 49–50.
  7. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 4; Marley 1998, pp. 101–102; Best 2021, p. 50.
  8. ^ a b Marley 1998, p. 102.
  9. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 4; Marley 1998, p. 102; Wright 1932, p. xl.
  10. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' para. 4; Marley 1998, p. 102; Wright 1932, pp. xli–xliii; Best 2021, pp. 50–51.
  11. ^ Marley 1998, pp. 102–103.
  12. ^ Marley 1998, p. 103; De la O Torres 2020, pp. 281–282; Wright 1932, pp. xliii–xliv; Bergreen 2021, pp. 51–52.
  13. ^ Marley 1998, pp. 103–104; Wright 1932, pp. liv; Best 2021, p. 52.
  14. ^ Marley 1998, p. 104; Bergreen 2021, pp. 52–53.
  15. ^ Marley 1998, pp. 101–104; Wright 1932, pt. 1 docs. nos. 17–35; Wright 1932, pp. ????????; Best 2021, pp. 48–53.
  16. ^ Kelsey 2004, sec. 'Raids on the Spanish main' paras. 5–6; Wright 1932, p. xlv.
  17. ^ Wright 1932, pt. 1 doc. no. 25; Wright 1932, p. xlv, footnote no. 3.
  18. ^ Wright 1932, p. 75, pt. 1 doc. no. 29.
  19. ^ Wright 1932, pp. xxxvii, xlii.
  20. ^ Wright 1932, pp. xli–xlii; Best 2021, pp. 50–51; Winzerling 1946, pp. 19–22.
  21. ^ Arjona 2022, para. 1.

Full citations

[edit]
  1. Andrews, Kenneth R, ed. (1958). English privateering voyages to the West Indies, 1588–1595 : documents relating to English voyages to the West Indies from the defeat of the armada to the last voyage of Sir Francis Drake. Works issued by the Hakluyt Society ; 2nd ser., no. 111 (1st ed.). Cambridge: Published for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press. hdl:2027/mdp.39015026881832. OCLC 504851.
  2. Andrews, Kenneth R. (1968) [First published 1967 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson]. Drake's voyages: a re-assessment of their place in Elizabethan maritime expansion. Works issued by the Hakluyt Society,2d ser., no. 111. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. hdl:2027/mdp.39015026881832. OCLC 250607.
  3. Arjona, Esther M. (20 March 2022). "Los sabores de Pedro Mandinga". Estrella de Panamá. Panama City. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  4. Bergreen, Laurence (2021). In search of a kingdom : Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the perilous birth of the British Empire (1st ed.). New York: Custom House. OCLC 1193560224.
  5. Best, Brian (2021). Elizabeth's sea dogs and their war against Spain (1st ed.). Barnsley: Frontline Books. OCLC 1241107573.
  6. Bicheno, Hugh (2012). Elizabeth's Sea Dogs: How England's Mariners Became the Scourge of the Seas. Conway. ISBN 978-1844861743.
  7. Bradley, Peter T. (1999). British maritime enterprise in the New World : from the late fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth century. Studies in British history ; v. 57 (1st ed.). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press. hdl:2027/mdp.39015054149409. ISBN 9780773478664. OCLC 42290563.
  8. De la O Torres, Rodrigo Alejandro (November 2014). DE CORSARIOS, MARES Y COSTAS: EL CORSO EN LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DEL ESPACIO GOLFO-CARIBE. 1527-1620 (PhD). Mérida, Yuc.: Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social.
  9. De la O Torres, Rodrigo Alejandro (January–June 2016). "La presencia de corsarios franceses en el Golfo-Caribe entre 1536–1566 : una propuesta de análisis espacial". Historia 2.0: Conocimiento Histórico en Clave Digital. 6 (11): 36–56. ISSN 2027-9035.
  10. De la O Torres, Rodrigo Alejandro (July–December 2019). "Miedos y fenómeno de la piratería en el Golfo-Caribe durante el siglo XVI. Un ensayo de aproximación". Historelo revista de historia regional y local. 11 (2): 267–300. doi:10.15446/historelo.v11n22.73263. ISSN 2145-132X. S2CID 198778698.
  11. De la O Torres, Rodrigo Alejandro (2020). DE CORSARIOS, MARES Y COSTAS : El corso en la construcción del espacio y experiencias marítimas en el Golfo-Caribe, 1527–1620 (1st ed.). Ciudad Universitaria, Aguascalientes: Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes. OCLC 1280054563.
  12. Gasteazoro, Carlos Manuel; Araúz, Calestino Andrés; Muñoz Pinzón, Armando (1980). Tabla cronológica : (de hechos históricos, políticos, sociales, económicos, culturales y científicos) (1st ed.). Panamá: Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia. OCLC 12830207.
  13. Figueroa, Alejandro J.; Johnson, Erlend; Goodwin, Whitney A., eds. (2021). Southeastern Mesoamerica : indigenous interaction, resilience, and change (1st ed.). Louisville, Colorado: University Press of Colorado. OCLC 1226797442.
  14. Galvin, Peter Robert (1991). The Pirates' Wake: A Geography of Piracy and Pirates as Geographers in Colonial Spanish America, 1536–1718. (Volumes I and II) (PhD). Baton Rouge, Louis.: Louisiana State University.
  15. Hakluyt, Richard, ed. (1600). The principal nauigations, voiages, traffiques and discoueries of the English nation made by sea or ouer-land, to the remote and farthest distant quarters of the earth, at any time within the compasse of these 1500. yeeres: deuided into three seuerall volumes, according to the positions of the regions, whereunto they were directed. Vol. 3 (2nd expanded ed.). London: George Bishop, Ralfe Newberie, & Robert Barker. OCLC 252871354. ProQuest 2248550788.
  16. Howgego, Raymond John (1958). To 1800: a comprehensive reference guide to the history and literature of exploration, travel, and colonization from the earliest times to the year 1800. Encyclopedia of exploration to 1800 : a comprehensive reference guide to the history and literature of exploration, travel, and colonization from the earliest times to the year 1800 (1st ed.). Potts Point, N.S.W.: Hordern House. hdl:2027/mdp.49015002827245. ISBN 9781875567362. OCLC 52377840.
  17. Kelsey, Harry (23 September 2004). "Drake, Sir Francis". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  18. Marley, David F. (1998). Wars of the Americas : a chronology of armed conflict in the New World, 1492 to the present (1st ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. hdl:2027/mdp.49015002845379. ISBN 9780874368376. OCLC 39024726.
  19. Marley, David F. (2010). 1650-1685. Pirates of the Americas. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. OCLC 436030697.
  20. Marley, David F. (2010). 1686–1725. Pirates of the Americas. Vol. 2 (1st ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. OCLC 436030697.
  21. McDermott, James (23 September 2004). "Oxenham, John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21057. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  22. Williamson, James A. (1927). Sir John Hawkins : the time and the man (1st ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. hdl:2027/mdp.39015027905218. OCLC 3075296.
  23. Williamson, James A. (1938). The age of Drake. Pioneer histories, edited by V. T. Harlow ... And J. A. Williamson (1st ed.). London: Adam and Charles Black. hdl:2027/mdp.39015014588183. OCLC 1421005.
  24. Winzerling, E. O. (1946). Beginning of British Honduras, 1506–1765 (1st ed.). New York: North River Press. OCLC 1892890.
  25. Wright, Irene A., ed. (1929). Spanish documents concerning English voyages to the Caribbean, 1527–1568. Works issued by the Hakluyt Society ; 2nd ser., no. 62 (1st ed.). London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society. OCLC 2092435.
  26. Wright, Irene A., ed. (1932). Documents concerning English voyages to the Spanish main, 1569–1580. Works issued by the Hakluyt Society ; 2nd ser., no. 71 (1st ed.). London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society. hdl:2027/mdp.39015012306133. OCLC 1476408.
  27. Wright, Irene A., ed. (1951). Further English voyages to Spanish America, 1583–1594 : documents from the Archives of the Indies at Seville illustrating English voyages to the Caribbean, the Spanish Main, Florida, and Virginia. Works issued by the Hakluyt Society ; 2nd ser., no. 99 (1st ed.). London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society. hdl:2027/mdp.39015026881790. OCLC 1476734.
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