Francis Drake is the epitome of a hero to the British, yet considered a terrible enemy by the Spanish. Indeed, he was both, and the more he became an enemy of the Spanish, the greater a hero he was to the English.
On this day April 4th, in 1581, Francis Drake was knighted after completing his circumnavigation of the world. Queen Elizabeth herself knighted him. He is documented as the second person in history to have successfully traveled around the world. Drake was the eldest of twelve sons, and by the age of 23, he decided to make his first voyage to the New World. It was from then on that his life would be consumed by the open sea.
Drake went on to raid many Spanish provinces and take their possessions for himself and the crown. Drake went on to capture Spanish ships and treasure throughout his long illustrious career as a pseudo sanctioned pirate. Phillip II placed a bounty on his head equaling about $6.5 million by today’s currency. During the 1588 Spanish Armada, Drake was placed second in command of the British fleet. Bound to be overtaken by the Spanish, he was miraculously saved a strong tide destroying nearly the entire Spanish fleet.