Drake's Spanish Main raids
Nombre de Dios, Panama
What happened
In 1572 the English captain Francis Drake sailed from Plymouth on his first independent expedition, a raid on Spanish silver routes around the Isthmus of Panama. Nombre de Dios was the Spanish port where silver and goods were loaded onto ships. With help from the Cimarrons, formerly enslaved people who had escaped from their Spanish owners, Drake's men took a mule train carrying treasure.
Why it matters
The raids made Drake a hero to the English, while the Spanish called him a pirate and nicknamed him El Draque, the Dragon.
What came next
A few years later, beginning on 13 December 1577, Drake sailed around the world.
Did you know?
According to Wikipedia, on 11 February 1573 Drake and John Oxenham climbed a high tree in the mountains of Panama and became the first Englishmen to see the Pacific Ocean.
Timeline
- 24 May 1572Drake leaves Plymouth with two small ships.
- 11 February 1573Drake and Oxenham see the Pacific from a tree, according to Wikipedia.
- 1 April 1573Drake's party surprises a Spanish mule train.
- 13 December 1577Drake begins his voyage around the world.