It 
Chap. I. Sir Franc 
lations not only more entertaining, but" of greater Ufe* 
In the firft Place it is worthy of Remark, that our Hero 
was lb fortunate, as fully to atchieve what others only at- 4 
tempted to perform. The great Columbus , who firft pointed 
out the Way to others, lived not to become an Example 
himfelf. The famous Ferdinand Magellan went farther in- 
deed, but had the Misfortune to be fnacched away by a 
hidden Death, in the midft of his Difcoveries, and of his 
Hopes. But Drake happily accomplifhed what he bravely 
attempted, and gave his Country the Honour of producing 
the firft Commander who failed round the Globe. We muft 
not conceive, that this Honour is a mere empty Sound, 
•ferving only to gratify the Vanity of our Nation ; for it is, 
on the contrary, a very folid Benefit, as will appear, if we 
confider, that a Reputation of this fort is of very great 
Confequence to a trading Nation. To be convinced of 
this, we need only look into the celebrated Collection 
of Voyages for the Eftablifhment of the Eaft India Com- 
pany in Holland \ where, fpeaking of Oliver Van No or Vs 
Circum-navigation, it is faid, that though the Profits of 
his Voyage were fmall, yet the Company were extremely 
well fatisiied with the Event, becaufe the Dutch could 
now boaft, that a Subject of theirs had failed round the 
World, as well as Drake and Candifh. It is, indeed, much 
for the Reputation of Sir Francis Drake , that, even at his 
firft fetting out, he feems to have had the Plonour of his 
Country as much at Pleart, as his own Fame or Fortune, 
by providng every tiling in his Ship which might ftrike 
the Eyes of Foreigners, and fill them with Admiration of 
the Country from whence he came. The fame Spirit led 
him to proceed farther North in America , than the Spa- 
niards themfeives had done •, that is, to the Height of 38° 
of North Latitude, beyond which we know nothing with 
Certainty even at this Day. The Defcription he has given 
lis of the Country and People is very exaCt ; and his taking 
Poffeffion of it, and bellowing on it the Name of Nova 
Albion , was very prudent, and may fome time or other 
turn much to our Account ; fince, if ever a PaiTage fhould 
be difcovered by the North-weft, the Spaniards can never 
difpute with us the Poffeffion of this Country, which is 
probably the neareft to that Paffage, even upon their own 
Principles fince they muft allow us to have been the firft 
Difcoverers, and firft Poffeffors •, which gives us altogether 
as good a Right to that, as they have to any Part of their 
Indies. The fame Generality, and public Spirit, difplayed 
itfelf in his Behaviour to thefe People, and to all the other 
Nations with whom he converfed ; of which we have au- 
thentic Teftimonies in the Letters fent by Indian Princes 
long after his Deceafe, fpeaking highly in the Praife of 
Captain Drake , and acknowledging, that they had con- 
ceived very refpeCtful Sentiments of the Englijh Nation, 
from the Ufage they had met with from him. I muft 
confefs, I have always looked upon it as a great Misfortune, 
that he did not himfelf leave us an Account of his Voyages 
and Difcoveries ; becaufe, from the Letters of his which 
are Dill preferved, it appears, that he was much more ca- 
pable ol recording his own Exploits, than any of thofe who 
have employed their Pens on that SubjeCt : We fhould 
then have known, upon what Grounds he expedled to have 
found a Paffage back by the North ; for, that he really did 
look for fuch a Paffage, is certain and the only Reafon 
why he quitted the Ccaft of California to fail to the South- 
eaft, was, that he found the Weather grew extremely cold ; 
and thought, therefore, that, in the Circumftances he was 
at that Time, it would be imprudent to purfue that Dif- 
covery any further in a Seafon fo advanced. This furely 
was juft and reafonable in him •, but how it comes to pafs, 
that, from that Time to this, no farther Attempts have 
been made, in a Way that gave fo early fuch great Hopes, 
is very unaccountable. The Spaniards are certainly in the 
right, not to make, or at leaft not topublilh, any Difco- 
veries upon this Coaft for many Reafons ; but, undoubtedly, 
it ought to have been our Bufinds to have purfued the 
Hints given us by Sir Francis Drake , and to have latisfied 
ouriplves, whether there was, or was not, fuch a Paffage as 
he expected to meet with. In his Courfc from California 
to the Ladrones , he made no Difcoveries j unlefs we ac- 
count it a Difcovery, that he met with no Ifiands in thofe 
Seas : But that he made his Paffage in Sixty-eight Days, 
Numb. 2. 
is Drake! 
ffiews him to have been a very able Navigator, which alfc 
appears from many other Incidents in this long Voyage, 
which, however, he performed in much fhorter time than 
the Spaniards who failed with Magellan ; for, whereas 
they were Sixteen Months in their Paffage from Tiridore to 
Seville , he arrived at Plymouth , from the fame Ifland in the 
Eaft Indies, in Ten Months. On the Whole, therefore, 
we may truly affirm, that this Voyage round the World, 
by Sir Francis Drake , was, in all its Circumftances, per- 
fectly well conduced •, and that as he made the belt Ufe 
poffible of the Lights he received from others, fo he left, 
by his Prudence and Difcretion, a great and glorious Ex- 
ample to fucceeding Times. Here, ftriCtly fpeaking, we 
ought to conclude our Account of this illuftrious Perfon ; 
but, as the Reader may probably expect, and will certainly 
be well pleafed, to find a concife Detail of his fucceed- 
ing Actions, it may not be amifs to indulge his Curiofity, 
by finifhing with the perfonal Hiftory of Sir Francis Drake 
this Relation of his Voyage round the World. 
22. The War with Spain being ftill profecuted by the 
Queen his Miftrefs, we find him, in 1585. General by 
Land and Sea, in an Expedition to the Weft Indies , in 
which he took the Cities of St. Iago , St. Domingo , and 
Carthagena , as alfo the Fort and Town of St. Auguftin ; 
and returned with great Glory, as well as great Advantage ; 
the Profits of this Expedition amounting, all Charges de- 
frayed, to 60,000 /. of which 20,000 /. was divided amongft 
the Seamen, and 40,000 /. came clear into the Pockets of 
the Undertakers or Adventurers. In 158 7. he had the 
Command of another Fleet, with which he failed into the 
Bay of Cadiz , and from thence to the River of Lisbon , 
where he deftroyed 10,000 Ton of Spanifh Shipping, which 
had been drawn together for invading England. He like- 
wife brought Home a very rich Prize, called the St. Philip , 
which, as the Writers in thofe Times fay, was the firft 
Carrack ever taken and brought into England. In 1588. 
he was, by the Queen’s Commiffion, appointed Vice-ad- 
miral of the Englifh Fleet, fitted Out againft the great 
Spanifh Armada \ in which Service he performed even more 
than was expeCted from his former Actions, taking, in 
the Beginning of the Fight, Two very large Men of War, 
the firft commanded by the Vice-admiral Oquendos , the latter 
under the Command of Don Pedro de Valdez , who defended 
himfelf gallantly a long time, and furrendered at Eft on 
the Reputation of Sir Francis Drake , as appears by the 
Compliment paid him by Don Pedro , when he delivered 
him his Sword, which was to this EffeCt : That they were 
all reiolved to have died fighting, if they had not fallen 
into his Hands, whofe Felicity and Valour was fo great, 
that Mars the God of War, and Neptune the God of the 
Sea, feemed to wait upon all his Enterprizes, and whole 
noble and generous Courage had been often experienced 
by his Foes. Sir Francis , to requite thefe Spaniflo Com- 
pliments with real Engliftj Kipdnefs, fet him at his own Ta- 
ble, and lodged him in his own Cabin, fending the reft of 
his Company to Plymouth. Drake's, Soldiers were well re- 
compenfed with the Plunder of his Ship, wherein he found 
55,000 Ducats in Gold, which they joyfully fhared 
amongft them. He did, beftdes this, many great Things 
in that memorable Battle, and particularly diftinguifhed 
himfelf by advifing the Ufe of Fire-ffiips, though I dare not 
fay, as fome have done, that he invented them upon this 
Gccafion. d he next Year he was Admiral of a great Fleet 
fent to Portugal , in order to reftore Don Antonio to his 
Kingdom •, but this was a conjunct Expedition ; and, it 
feems, even Sir Francis Drake had not Fortune enough 
for himfelf, and a General, fo that it ended but indifferently : 
However, the Spaniards received great Damage, the Com- 
pliment of an Invafion was returned, and it was put intirely 
out of their Power to make, as they boafted they would, 
another Attempt of that Nature : In the Whole, there- 
fore, Sir Francis Drake Ipoiled no Ids than Three Spanijh 
Invafions. In 1595. he ventured on another conjunct Ex- 
pedition to the IV ft Indies? in which he performed great 
Things ; but, aiming at ftill greater, and not meeting with 
his ufual Succefs, the Thoughts of it broke his Heart in 
the Harbour of Porto Bello , January 28. 1595. where his 
Body, in a Leaden Coffin, was committed to the Sea, un- 
der a general Difcharge of all the Cannon from the Fleet. 
G ' In 
