Читать книгу A Beginner's History - William H. Mace - Страница 17

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23. The Quarrel between Spain and England. After John Cabot failed to find a new way to India, King Henry did nothing more to help English discovery. His son, Henry VIII, got into a great quarrel with the King of Spain. He was too busy with this quarrel to think much about America. But during this very time, Cortés and Pizarro were doing their wonderful deeds. Spain grew bold, seized English seamen, threw them into dungeons, and even burned them at the stake. Englishmen robbed Spanish ships and killed Spanish sailors in revenge.

Their sailors take up the quarrel

Why Drake hated the Spaniards

24. Sir Francis Drake. A most daring English seaman was Sir Francis Drake. From boyhood days he had been a sailor. His cousin, Captain Hawkins, gave him command of a ship against Mexico, but the Spaniards fell upon it, killed many of the sailors, and took all they had. Drake came back ruined, and eager to take revenge. Besides, he hated the Spaniards because he thought they were plotting to kill Elizabeth, the Queen of England.

In 1573 Drake returned to England with his ship loaded with gold and precious stones, captured from the Spaniards on the Isthmus of Panama.

Begins his most famous voyage

25. Drake's Voyage around the World. After four years Drake, with four small but fast vessels, sailed direct for the Strait of Magellan. He was determined to sail the Pacific, which he had seen while on the Isthmus of Panama. In June his fleet entered the harbor of Patagonia where Magellan had spent the winter more than fifty years before.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE

From the original portrait attributed to Sir Antonis van Moor, in the possession of Viscount Dillon, at Ditchly Park, England

After destroying his smallest vessel, which was leaky, Drake sailed to the entrance of the Strait. Here he changed the name of his ship from the Pelican to the Golden Hind, with ceremonies fitting the occasion.

The fleet passed safely through the Strait, but as it sailed out into the Pacific a terrible storm scattered the ships. One went down, and one returned to England, believing that Drake's ship, the Golden Hind, had been destroyed.

But Drake had a bold heart, good sailors, and a stout ship. After the storm he sailed north to Valparaiso, where his men saw the first great treasure ship. The Spanish sailors jumped overboard, and left four hundred pounds of gold to Drake and his men. Week after week Drake sailed northward until he reached Peru, the land conquered by Pizarro.

DRAKE'S CHAIR, OXFORD UNIVERSITY

It was made from the timbers of the "Golden Hind"

Capturing treasure ships on the Pacific coast

Another great treasure ship had just sailed for Panama. Away sped the Golden Hind in swift pursuit. For a thousand miles, day and night, the chase went on. One evening, just at dark, the little ship rushed upon the great vessel, and captured her. What a rich haul! More than twenty tons of silver bars, thirteen chests of silver coin, one hundredweight of gold, besides a great store of precious stones.

The "Golden Hind" winters in California

The little ship continued northward. Hoping for a northeast passage to the Atlantic, Drake sailed along the coast as far as what was afterward known as the Oregon country. But the increasing cold and fog and the strong northwest winds made him turn southward again. Sailing close inshore, he found a small harbor, just north of the great bay of San Francisco. Here his stout little ship came to anchor. The natives believed that Drake and his men were gods, and begged them to remain with them always. Drake named the country New Albion and took possession in the name of the queen, Elizabeth. When he had refitted his ship for the long voyage home, Drake set sail, to the great sorrow of the natives.

Drake crosses the Pacific and Indian oceans

Week after week went by, until he saw the very islands where Magellan had been. He made his way among the islands and across the Indian Ocean until the Cape of Good Hope was rounded, and the Golden Hind spread her sails northward toward England.

Drake given a title by Queen Elizabeth

Drake reached home in 1580, the first Englishman to sail around the world. The people, who had given him up as lost, shouted for joy when they heard he was safe. Queen Elizabeth visited his ship in person, and there gave him a title, so that now he was Sir Francis Drake. Years after, a chair was made from the timbers of the famous Golden Hind and presented to Oxford University, where it can now be seen.

QUEEN ELIZABETH MAKING DRAKE A NOBLEMAN

After the drawing by Sir John Gilbert. It pictures the scene that took place on board the "Golden Hind" at the close of the great voyage. Queen Elizabeth visited Drake in his ship and conferred knighthood on him for his great services to England

He goes to find the Gold Fleet

26. Drake Again Goes to Fight the Spaniards. Drake soon took command of a fleet of twenty-five vessels and two thousand five hundred men, all eager to fight the Spaniards (1585). He sailed boldly for the coast of Spain, frightened the people, and then went in search of the Gold Fleet, which was bringing shipload after shipload of treasure from America to the King of Spain.

THE SPANISH ARMADA

More than one hundred twenty-five vessels sailed from Lisbon to conquer England, but only about fifty returned to the home port

In the West Indies

No sooner had Drake missed the fleet than he made direct for the West Indies, where he spread terror among the islands. The Spaniards had heard of Drake, the "Dragon." He attacked and destroyed three important towns, and intended to seize Panama itself, but the yellow fever began to cut down his men, so he sailed to Roanoke Island, and carried back to England the starving and homesick colony which Raleigh had planted there.

Singeing the King of Spain's beard

The Spanish king was angry. He resolved to crush England. More than one hundred ships, manned by thousands of sailors, were to carry a great army to the hated island. Drake heard about it, and quickly gathered thirty fast ships manned by sailors as bold as himself. His fleet sailed right into the harbor of Cadiz, past cannon and forts, and burned so many Spanish ships that it took Spain another year to get the great fleet ready. Drake declared that he had "singed the King of Spain's beard."

Spain aims to crush England, but is badly defeated

27. The Spanish Armada. The King of Spain was bound to crush England at one mighty blow. In 1588 the Spanish Armada, as the great fleet was called, sailed for England. There were scores of war vessels manned by more than seven thousand sailors, carrying nearly twenty thousand soldiers. Almost every noble family in Spain sent one or more of its sons to fight against England.

When this mighty fleet reached the English Channel, Drake and other sea captains as daring as himself dashed at the Spanish ships, and by the help of a great storm that came up, succeeded in destroying almost the whole fleet. No such blow had ever before fallen upon the great and powerful Spanish nation.

From that time on her power grew less and less, while England's power on the sea grew greater and greater. Englishmen could now go to America without much thought of danger from Spaniards.