A Five-Letter Word

September 16, 1992

I was curious to confirm an anecdote by an English writer, so I did not pay much heed to my painful knees as we climbed the many steps up that picturesque promontory, Plymouth Hoe, overlooking the most historic of British harbors. Reaching the top and walking a short distance, there it was – the statue of a 16th century sea-captain forever facing the harbor he inscribed indelibly on history. Chiseled at the base of the statue was one five-letter word – DRAKE. There were no dates of birth and death, no brass plate listing his achievements, no indication that he was Sir Francis Drake, knighted by Queen Elizabeth, nothing to indicate that to the Spanish he was “the scourge of God.”

The writer who had stirred my interest noted that the reason for one word, DRAKE, was simply that no English man, woman, or child would need more than that five-letter word, because they all knew who he was, what he did, and why he was vital to England, not only keeping her safe from Spain, but also a prime mover in the establishment of British sea-power so important to the coming British Empire which produced the motto, a reality for centuries, “Britannia Rules The Waves.” Actually, the strategy of protecting the British Isles through sea-power began with Henry VIII who invested much money in ships.

Realistically, the writer’s explanation of the five-letter word is probably no longer accurate. Since World War II, the United Kingdom has experienced a large in-migration of persons from India, Pakistan, Thailand, the Near-East and other lands. Many of these thousands of immigrants probably need much more explanation than one five-letter word, DRAKE. So did I, although I knew of some of the exploits and adventures that carved Drake’s place in English history and legend. So I did a little digging in my favorite garden – history.

Francis Drake was one of ten children of a Puritan “hedge” preacher. In the short reign of Queen Mary (“Bloody Mary”) when Roman Catholicism was re-instituted and Protestants persecuted, the Drake family had to flee the home farm and possessions because Queen Mary would have burned the elder Drake at the stake if he had been caught. Then the family lived secretly on a rotting hulk on the Medway River.

Francis Drake learned the sea at an early age. When 10 years old he worked on river boats. He shipped out to sea at the age of 15. When he was 20 he commanded his own coastal sloop. Then he sold his ship and invested the proceeds with John Hawkins, his older cousin and famous freebooter. John Hawkins was a slave trader, buying slaves on the African coast and selling them to Spanish colonists in the Americas.

The historical context of that time was complex and muddled. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia, the most infamous of Popes) issued the “Bull of Demarcation” dividing all New-World discoveries between Spain and Portugal, forbidding all other nations any rights of discoveries, shipping and treasure. That “Bull” was global effrontery, of course.

(Such Vatican Global chutzpah still occurs. William Wilson, a Reagan-Bush appointee as an ambassador to the Vatican admitted “that in withdrawing U.S. funding for International Planned Parenthood, ‘American policy was changed as a result of the Vatican’s not agreeing with with our policy.’” Rather than go on for pages about that subservience of the Republican President to the Roman Pope, just a one sentence quote: “In view of the present rate of population growth, the attempt to export a Western standard of living to the rest of the world, even if, it was economically or politically feasible in the first place, would amount to a recipe for environmental disaster.” (Lasch – THE TRUE AND ONLY HEAVEN).

Back to our subject: Even though Queen Elizabeth had been excommunicated by Pope Pius V and “deprived of her pretended right to the Throne,” King Philip II and the Spanish interests gave tacit approval to the English slave-traders in spite of the “Bull of Demarcation.” In the ambiguous and complicated European mix of discovery, religious wars, treasure, commerce and shifting alliances, there was a time when Spain winked at English shipping because they feared the French freebooters. France, although nominally a Roman Catholic country, had a strong Huguenot (Protestant) movement. Furthermore, the Gallican Catholic church disputed Papal authority on a number of issues.

Drake was not interested in slave-trading. He [was in it] for loot, raiding the Spanish Main, capturing Spanish treasure ships bound for Spain. Spain protested vehemently about these acts of piracy, and Queen Elizabeth presented apologies. But that was just a formal gesture, because the Queen was a secret investor in the voyages of her Sea-Dogs. The wealth of this freebooting she needed to finance the Dutch in their war with Spain. Also, she loaned vessels of the Royal Navy to the freebooters, again sharing largely in the profits from the gold, silver and jewels Drake, Hawkins and the other captains brought back to her Realm.

Drake’s raids on the Spanish Main are too well-known to re-tell. But one example of his daring and innovative tactics was his raid on the Isthmus of Panama. He landed small forces, secured help from natives and captured gold, silver, and jewels being transported overland from the Pacific to the Atlantic. In modern times these methods would be called commando raids. Drake could not take back all the treasure he seized, so he buried tons of silver to make room for thirty tons of gold. Sadly for Drake, two of his brothers, John and Joseph were killed on this venture.

Drake never thought of himself as a pirate. In his unyielding Puritan faith he saw himself at war with Catholic Spain and the Pope. He was a blunt and decisive commander as well as master seaman, navigator and innovative warrior.

There was an unusual, unspoken affinity between Queen Elizabeth I and Drake. After the Panama and Cartagena raids, as Felix Reisenberg writes (GREAT MEN OF THE SEA, p. 6), “Drake was summoned to London for an audience with the Queen and her Court. Eager to voyage again, he told the Queen his dream of sweeping the Spanish towns along the Pacific coast. In the Court, the politicians shuddered. The Ambassador from Spain turned red.

“Queen Elizabeth admonished Drake: Spain was the ally of England, she reminded the captain. But when she presented him with a sword she said, ‘We do account that he which striketh at thee, Drake, striketh at us.’ The two redheads – Queen and mariner- exchanged an understanding smile.”

In 1577, Drake, aboard the “PELICAN” with three other ships, set sail for the Magellan Straits. The Queen had given her permission (but she did not consult or tell her closest councillor, William Cecil, Lord Burghley). There was no declared war between Spain and England. After all, King Philip II had been Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, although they had not seen each other for thirty years. But the Queen and Drake understood each other.

Drake, with his uncanny shrewdness, had chosen to sail into the Pacific because the Spanish had concentrated their naval might and defenses on the Spanish Main and Caribbean. On this history-making voyage, three of his small fleet were lost. Overhauling the “PELICAN” on a remote island, he renamed the ship, “THE GOLDEN HIND.” Sir Christopher Hatton, a favorite of the Queen had a golden hind woven into his coat of arms.

Surviving terrible storms in rounding Cape Horn, Drake looted and burned towns along the Pacific coast, seizing much treasure. The Spanish began calling him, “El Draque, the scourge of God.” Then sailing north, he went as far as Vancouver, turning back because of cold, mist and fog. Putting in at San Francisco Bay, he claimed the land for Queen Elizabeth, erecting a brass plate which was found in 1936.

Crossing the Pacific, Drake added spices to the cargo, returning to Plymouth Harbor nearly three years after the start of the voyage – the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. Drake’s first question: “Is the Queen alive and well?” The treasure on the “GOLDEN HIND” was valued at nearly 750,000 pounds – and the Queen’s profit from her secret investment was 163,000 pounds. The return for investors was 4700%.

Although war between England and Spain had not been openly declared, King Philip II began assembling the Armada in Cadiz. Drake believed that a swift strike at Cadiz could deter, even ruin the Spanish plans. There was a “peace party” among Queen Elizabeth’s councillors, and she withheld approving Drake’s plan. Finally, she gave a go-ahead and Drake rushed preparations. He had been warned that the Queen might change her mind. On board the flagship, “ELIZABETH BONAVENTURE”, Drake and his small fleet sailed out of Plymouth, April 2, 1587.

The Queen did change her mind; and a courier galloped to Plymouth only to find Drake long gone to sea. Was this another case of the intuitive relationship between the Queen and Drake? Did she know or sense that Drake would be at sea by the time her message revoking permission would reach Plymouth? She could, and did assure the Spanish Ambassador that she had tried to recall Drake’s orders.

Drake proceeded to the Spanish coast with his usual daring and skill. In Cadiz he damaged or sunk about thirty Spanish ships, ruined tons of supplies and generally harassed the Spanish. From the area of Cape Vincent where he made a temporary base, he raided Spanish coastal shipping, much of it with cargoes for the Armada. Most important of all, he captured shiploads of barrel staves, which he burned. Seasoned barrel staves to make tight casks for water, oil, vinegar, and wine were a naval necessity. Green or rotting barrel staves would leak. One of the major difficulties when the Armada did sail was leaky casks. Thus the water shortage was a major difficulty for the Armada.

Drake departed the Spanish coast, sailing westward toward the Azores. Somehow he had heard of the “SAN FELIPE” with a cargo of spices, oriental goods and other treasure. Drake located the “SAN FELIPE”. As historian Garret Mattingly observed, “No wonder the Spaniards thought Drake had a magic mirror in his cabin on which he could see the ships moving on all seas of the world.” Drake had no “magic mirror” – he was a superb navigator, and from his knowledge of winds, tides, and sealanes, [he] could plot the place where he would intercept the “SAN FELIPE.”

The captured cargo of the “SAN FELIPE” and the vessel itself, which Drake sailed to Plymouth, assuaged any anger, real or pretended, that the Queen might have poured on Drake. The cargo was worth 114,000 pounds. Merchant investors took their share, but the Queen’s share was more than 40,000 pounds and Drake’s, 17,000 pounds.

Because of Drake’s raids, the Spanish preparations for the invasion of England were delayed about a year. King Philip II was eager to get the Armada on the seas, more hasty than careful preparations would allow. Finally, in May 1588, the Armada, 130 ships, large and small, set sail. The ablest of Spanish sea-captains commanded the vessels of the great array. On board were 26,000 Spanish and Portuguese soldiers.

The Spanish plan to conquer England involved not only the soldiers aboard the Armada, but also the the battle-hardened army of the Duke of Parma, which had been fighting to conquer the Dutch. The Armada would rendezvous with Parma’s army, which would be on barges to be towed to the invasion landing in England.

The plan was a complete failure. The Armada experienced the most disastrous expedition in naval history. That most humiliating of Spanish experiences was caused by innovative naval architecture and battle tactics, the Dutch “flyboats” and the weather, along with the poor preparations of the Armada, the leaky casks causing continuous shortage of water, wine and oil. There were many other instances of sloppy logistical preparation.

Primarily due to the experience, skill, and influence of Sir John Hawkins, the English had developed a newer type of fighting ship – faster, smaller, more maneuverable with longer range guns and better trained gunners. The Spanish relied on the older type of naval warfare, which called for grappling with the enemy ships, then hand-to-hand fighting. But the English never let them get close enough to grapple. The English longer range guns with better gunners created havoc, death, and destruction. The Spanish were offended. They complained that the English were not “sporting.” (Just as the French were indignant that the English yeomanry with their long-bows destroyed the French at the famous battles of Crecy and Agincourt.)

The Armada sought safe harbor at Calais. But the English , when the winds and tides were favorable, sent “fire-ships” into the harbor – small vessels loaded with tar and gunpowder (A Drake tactic) forcing the Armada out of Calais, still hoping to meet the Duke of Parma and and his veteran army. Although the English fleet was commanded by Lord Howard, the Queen’s uncle, and the famous sea-dogs (Hawkins, father and son, Gilbert, Frobisher, [and] others commanded ships), all the fearful Spanish speculation centered on Drake. Where is Drake? What will Drake do next?

The Duke of Parma could not leave Holland with his barges of troops, because the Dutch flyboats guarded the canals and would blow the clumsy troop-laden barges out of the water if they ventured forth. It must have been galling to Spain that the Dutch were financed by Queen Elizabeth with the wealth captured by the sea-dogs from Spanish treasure ships.

The violent storm gave the Armada opportunity to escape total destruction by the English fleet. But reaching the North Sea, hoping to escape by rounding Scotland and heading home by the Irish Sea turned out cruelly. The storm wrecked vessel after vessel. Most of the Spaniards who did not drown were slain when they waded ashore. Only 60 vessels reached Spain; at least 10,000 men perished. Both the English and the Spanish called the storm, “the waves of God.”

One of the most well-known Drake stories tells how Drake was playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe when the Armada was sighted. As the story goes (and legends are usually larger than life), Drake remarked, “We have time to finish the game and beat the Spanish too.” The story may be true, but the reality was that the tide was running strongly into Plymouth Harbor with an unfavorable wind. Drake, a superb seaman, would sail when the wind and tide were right; and he did.

Both cousins, Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins died in the Caribbean in 1597; Drake of dysentery. Six years later, Queen Elizabeth I (“Gloriana”) died, ending the momentous Elizabethan Age.

Drake on his voyages had a drum in his cabin used to summon his officers for orders or to call the crew for one of his inspirational speeches (sermons, really). I have been told that in some Devon pubs when the pints of bitters have freely flowed, sooner or later, an old sailor will hold the folk in thrall reciting the poem, “Drake’s Drum.” The second verse illuminates the reason and tradition that the five-letter word, DRAKE, said all that needed to be said of the statue atop Plymouth Hoe:

“Drake he was a Devon man, an’ ruled the Devon seas,
(Capten, art tha sleepin’ there below?)
Rovin’ tho’ his death fell, he went wi’ heart at ease,
An’ dreamin’ arl the time o’ Plymouth Hoe.
‘Take my drum to England, hang et by the shore,
Strike et when your powders’ runnin’ low;
If the Dons sight Devon, I’ll quit the port o’ Heaven,
An’ drum them up the Channel as we drumm’d them long ago.’”