Sir Francis Drake, 16th century English navigator mb-code RS-9377 published by Mattaeus Merian

published by Mattaeus Merian

Showing a man holding a ladder

September 1977 P002569

General view of one of the streets in the Theatre district of London's West End taken at night

Sir Francis Drake, 16th century English navigator mb-code RS-9377 published by Mattaeus MerianSir Francis Drake, 16th century English navigator, (1825). Drake (1540 1596) was the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Age. He circumnavigated the globe (1577 1580), commanded the attack on the Spanish fleet in Cadiz Harbour in 1587 (the 'singeing of the King of Spain's beard') and played an important role in defeating the Spanish Armada the following year. From Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth, published in 1825.