Francis Drake was born at Crowndale Farm in Tavistock, Devon, England 1540, and son of Edmund Drake, and his wife, Mary Mylwaye. His father planned for Francis to begin training as a mariner under the tutelage of William Hawkins. With a small ship that supplied goods for trade between England and France quickly gathered knowledge of his occupation and when Hawkins being a single man with no children left his ship to Drake in a will. With a ship and fleet began his seizing of ships in the French coast region and slowly entered the field of transporting slaves. By 1560 he commanded a larger group of vessels in the areas occupied by Spain in the Caribbean. His next excursion led him to America with a pair of ships to secure Nombre de Dios, Pan, but the venture was not successful, and became injured and barely escaped. The trip was not a total failure when they happened across a land shipment of silver which boosted morale and helped fill the hold with treasure.

The next voyage was decided when Queen Elizabeth I selected him as the forerunner to venture around the Strait of Magellan with the idea to investigate what was on the other side. After achieving continued victories in the name of the queen was granted a letter empowering him to pillage Spanish-occupied harbors in the Caribbean. In 1580 he chose to enter Plymouth Harbor with the hold filled with treasure which secured his standing and wealth. With protests by Spain on his plundering labeling him a pirate in what they considered regions under their control to show contempt instead bestowed upon Francis the honor of knighthood. Now with the continued blessing of the queen the plunder of Spanish ships and ports continued and came to a peak when with a large fleet attached Cádiz secured supplies that were destined to be used against England. In his final voyage in 1596 when still under the protection of England to relieve Spanish property in Portugal of wealth was struck with a fever to which he died and was buried at sea near Puerto Bello.