294 



DISCOVERY 



in his Worthies ; but it is not an estimate that Spaniards 

 would endorse ; and it is a Spanish, rather than a 

 true, portrait of the admiral that our owti history- 

 books persistently reproduce. In spite of Sir Julian 

 Corbett's masterly analysis of sixteenth-century in- 

 ternational custom respecting maritime reprisals, 

 Drake is still regarded by his own countrymen as a 

 pirate or corsair. Nor is that the end, or the worst, 

 of the indictment. He is accused during the voyage 

 of circumnavigation of emulating the ferocity of 

 Ferdinand Magellan, and under the guise of legal 

 formalities, of murdering his own familiar friend, the 

 accomplished courtier Thomas Doughty. 



The voyage of circumnavigation may be thought of 

 as the third canto of what Lope de Vega called the 

 Dragontea, or Epic of the " Dragon. " Before examining 

 it, however, we must briefly survey the two adventures 

 that preceded it. 



Drake made his first bow before a world-wide 

 audience when in 1567-8 he accompanied his kinsman 

 John Hawkins on a trading venture to the Spanish 

 Main. The voyage reached a tragic termination in 

 the Mexican harbour of Vera Cruz, which was then 

 styled San Juan de UUoa. Here Don Martine Enri- 

 quez. Viceroy of New Spain, having given the English- 

 men permission to re-equip their ships, basely attempted 

 to sink " without leaving a trace " the helpless vessels 

 he had sworn to protect. And yet, despite his un- 

 scrupulous thoroughness, two vessels escaped from 

 the pit of destruction — the Minion brought out by 

 Hawkins in person, and the Judith by his kinsman 

 Drake. 



Hawkins returned to England smarting under his 

 wrongs, and endeavoured at once to procure a royal 

 licence to institute reprisals. But, for reasons which 

 need not be specified here, Elizabeth sternly refused 

 to sanction any scheme of revenge. By enforcing 

 this decision she went a long way towards ending an 

 awkward international situation which Hawkins's 

 voyage had occasioned. It was only by means of 

 letters patent from the Crown that the seizure of 

 Spanish property, as compensation for losses inflicted 

 by Spanish subjects, could by maritime usage have 

 been regularised. The firmness of Elizabeth and her 

 counsellors therefore seemed to bring a painful incident 

 to its close. 



But Francis Drake decided otherwise. He resolved 

 to exact from the Spanish Empire complete reparation, 

 even if he had to do so single-handed. Working 

 under a cloak of secrecy, he learnt the Spanish tongue, 

 visited the Spanish West Indian settlements, mixed 

 with his enemies undetected, and discovered all that 

 he needed to know for the schemes that were surging 

 through his brain. He then collected a handful of 

 men, and in a couple of ships set his sails westward-ho 



for the second eventful chapter of his life. He pur- 

 posely avoided the baleful shores of Mexico, preferring 

 to exact the restitution he wanted from the harvests 

 of Peru. The treasures of that kingdom (according 

 to his newly bought intelligence) were sent down 

 to the sea from Potosi, Lima, and Quito, and embarked 

 in ships for Panama. Arriving there, they were 

 transferred to recuas, or droves of pack-animals, 

 which trotted across to the Atlantic shore, where the 

 glittering commodities were once more re-embarked 

 and conveyed by sea to Spain. There was no traffic 

 through the Strait of Magellan. Every ounce of gold 

 and every uncut emerald passed on mules' backs 

 over the route now followed by the Panama CanaL 



Here, then, in bold defiance, Drake stationed him- 

 self ; and, after hairbreadth adventures which rob 

 romance of its glamour, he ambushed the royal recuas, 

 and carried away more wealth than ever figured in 

 an Arabian Night's entertainment. His men filled 

 their bonnets and their boots with gold, then tightened 

 their belts and filled their shirts ; and, ere they reached 

 their ships, cast carelessly aside what a king might 

 well have envied. As for the silver, it was nothing 

 accounted of, and was left unregretted beneath the 

 branching coco palms. 



Now, whatever may be thought of Drake's conduct 

 on this occasion, there is at least no doubt that in a 

 technical sense he was acting as a pirate ; that is to 

 say, he was acting without hcence, or letters of marque 

 to cover and legitimise his proceedings. Had the 

 Spaniards caught him, they would have been perfectly 

 justified in deUvering him to the familiars of the Holy 

 Office, or hanging him on the nearest tree. Nor did 

 Drake's peril end when he once more dropped anchor 

 at Plymouth. The Spanish representative at the Court 

 of St. James's could easily find out whether Elizabeth 

 had sanctioned the enterprise ; and if she had not 

 done so, custom entitled his countrjTnen to the body 

 of the malefactor. \Miether Ehzabeth would }^eld 

 to Spanish pressure and surrender one of her subjects 

 was a doubtful question likely to turn on the exigencies 

 of the moment. The name of Drake was still quite 

 obscure, and the Queen had expressly forbidden any 

 reprisals for what had happened in Mexico. Drake 

 was a man who hardly knew the meaning of fear ; but 

 he was not one to accept foolhardy risks. On his 

 return from the Isthmian adventure, he disappeared, 

 and remained in hiding until the storm which he had 

 brewed had somewhat spent its force. 



Meanwhile he cherished in his memory the Pisgah- 

 sight which he had seen from the mountains over- 

 looking Panama. Under the guidance of a native 

 chieftain, a ajfi(^;.'f of the Cimaroons, he had climbed 

 to a platform built in a high tree, and had felt his 

 breath come quickly as he had seen for the first time 



