Reflections on Drake's big voyage 4
March 17th 2007 21:16
Raiding up and down the Peruvian coast was almost a comedy of errors for Admiral Drake. The Spaniards had no known enemy so they did not guard their ships all that well. They had little idea that a bold English corsair would find his way around the Horn with such an intense need to prove himself the master of the seas. Each town, village or port he came to, ships fell to his pirates. There was no need to board in the midst of powder an shot with blood curdling screams and brandished cutlasses. Just being able to sail up to his victim and fire off a few shots from the arquebus was at the time enough to send the men on guard scurrying away or allow themselves to be captured and put themselves at the mercy of “El Dracco”.
In one instance he was chased, by two ships, full of fighting men. They however were not keen to close with him as they were only armed with small arms, fowling pieces and the like. Drake on the other hand had cannon that could fire nine pound balls for long distances. In this competition he could conceivably stand off and batter his opposition to pieces. There is no account however of how well his men were practised in the use of the cannon.
By the time Drake found the Galleon bound for Lisbon he already had raided enough ships to have paid off his backers and retire with a tidy profit. He was making his point along the coast that Spain no longer had dominance of the sea. The English had arrived and were going to help themselves as they damn well pleased. Remember at this stage there was no state of war between England, Spain or any other country (except for the rebel Irish). What Drake was doing was pure piracy. He was an ambassador of the Queen of England but in the capacity of what is known as a “nod and a wink”. I can’t imagine Elizabeth actually doing that but she did put up a thousand pound of her own money as an investment.
In one instance he was chased, by two ships, full of fighting men. They however were not keen to close with him as they were only armed with small arms, fowling pieces and the like. Drake on the other hand had cannon that could fire nine pound balls for long distances. In this competition he could conceivably stand off and batter his opposition to pieces. There is no account however of how well his men were practised in the use of the cannon.
By the time Drake found the Galleon bound for Lisbon he already had raided enough ships to have paid off his backers and retire with a tidy profit. He was making his point along the coast that Spain no longer had dominance of the sea. The English had arrived and were going to help themselves as they damn well pleased. Remember at this stage there was no state of war between England, Spain or any other country (except for the rebel Irish). What Drake was doing was pure piracy. He was an ambassador of the Queen of England but in the capacity of what is known as a “nod and a wink”. I can’t imagine Elizabeth actually doing that but she did put up a thousand pound of her own money as an investment.
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