His piratical acts,
and return home, 1580.
It is not our province, much less our pleasure, to
furnish details of Drake's piratical proceedings on the
coasts of Chili and Peru. We may merely state that
the capture of a Spanish vessel with 150,000l. of
silver on board, off Payta, crowned all his previous
successes of that character. Resolving to return
home by a north-west passage, he sailed one thousand
four hundred leagues without seeing land, a marvellous
expedition in those days, until, in 48° north
latitude, he fell in with the American continent,
making thence one of the Pellew Islands and the
eastern coast of Celebes. After encountering many
perils, and failing of course to find any passage to the
North, he reached the Cape of Good Hope, and finally
arrived in England on the 3rd of November, 1580.
A large portion of the treasure he had captured was
sequestered by government at the instance of the
Spanish ambassador, and restored to its rightful
owners, but a considerable surplus remained to satisfy
the exploring freebooter, and to stimulate the
cupidity of fresh adventurers.[1]
The success of Drake paved the way to a new and more brilliant epoch in the history of maritime commerce. The love of adventure mingled with hopes, however vain, of obtaining incalculable wealth, combined with the knowledge that the Queen, shutting her eyes to Drake's heinous delinquencies, had dined on board his ship and conferred on him the honour of knighthood,[2] all tended to incite hosts of*
- ↑ In 'Maritime and Inland Discovery,' vol. ii. p. 156, the date of Drake's return is given as Sept. 26, 1580; and this is also the date given in the 'World Encompassed,' p. 162.
- ↑ There must have been strong reasons indeed to have induced Elizabeth to have conferred such honours upon Francis Drake. On
