Sir Francis Drake
... the world in hope of finding a route to the East that was not controlled by the Spanish. Another reason for these voyages was to attack Spanish ships and take their treasures. On November 15, 1577, under the command of three captains, Sir Francis Drake, John Winter, and Thomas Doughty, the "Queen's Corsair" set sail from Plymouth to the Spanish-controlled Rock of Gibraltar. In secret original plans, Drake was intended to be the sole captain, however, upon leaving, the command was to be split three ways among Drake, Winter, and Doughty. The split of command cause trouble among the crew, but Drake proved himself as the true leader On September 26, 1580, Sir Francis Drake became the second man to sail around the world, and the first Englishman to accomplish this feat. This voyage around the world took three years from 1577 to 1580. Drake received £10,000 from the Queen for his accomplishment. Originally, the voyage was planned as a raid on Spanish ships and ports. Five ships, manned by 164 seamen, left Plymouth, with Drake himself sailing in the Pelican. After reaching America, Drake was worried that his ships might get separated from each other, so he gave orders for two of them to be destroyed. Then the Marigold was lost, with all her crew, and the Elizabeth turned back and sailed home. By October 1578, as the company started up the western coast of South America, there were just 58 left, all on the Pelican. Drake renamed his ship the Golden Hind. During the voyage, Drake discovered that Tierra del Fuego was not part of a southern continent. This meant that if the American continent was not connected to a southern continent. The Pacific and the Atlantic oceans met at Cape Horn. It should be possible to sail ships around the bottom of South America, south of Tierra. This was the Cape Horn route, eventually discovered in 1616. Later, Drake sailed through...