A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – One autumn morning in 1578, the watchmen who scanned the Pacific Ocean from the top of the fortifications of a major city and seaport of Valparaíso saw warships appear in the distance.
It wasn’t difficult to recognize them because they had the white flags with the red cross of the English navy.
Sir Francis Drake, 1577, by Henry Hondius, The Mariners’ Museum. Source
The governor was very surprised to see the English fleet in the Pacific Ocean and he couldn’t believe his own eyes. He had a distinct feeling that what he saw was ominous.
Suddenly he realized the danger – the privateers were on their way to approach the port Valparaiso.
He Was One Of Sea-Raiders Of Queen Elizabeth I
There was a man standing on the command bridge of the captain’s ship, and that man was Francis Drake (1540-1596), the most famous privateer of all oceans and admiral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England’s fleet. He was one of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) sea-raiders (known as Sea Dogs). She authorized his (and others) piracy in the Caribbean as well as in European waters, which allowed her to keep a distance from their raiding activity while enjoying the benefits of their plunder. He won him the sympathy of Queen Elizabeth I.
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