"Golden Hind" - the way around the world
Replica of the Golden Hind galleon in Southwark, London. Photograph by Jose L. Marina
If you call yourself brave
So, do not tremble in battle.
You manage a brave deed
Courage to prove yourself
Weak in mind and body
Will not enter our family.
Weak will be beaten
And the brave will win.
The sea sings
The sea is calling
Boldly forward!
V. Lebedev-Kumach
So, do not tremble in battle.
You manage a brave deed
Courage to prove yourself
Weak in mind and body
Will not enter our family.
Weak will be beaten
And the brave will win.
The sea sings
The sea is calling
Boldly forward!
V. Lebedev-Kumach
Ships and captains. Having opened the Drake Passage, the Golden Hind crew turned their ship north and began the most incredible stories pirate raid. True, when landing on the shore in a skirmish with the Indians, the latter killed two Englishmen, and even Drake himself was among the wounded, but this did not prevent the fulfillment of his plans. Moreover, he even began to shoot at the Indians from cannons, as he realized that they simply mistook them for the Spaniards ... There was no doctor on board, and Drake himself undertook to treat the wounded, and did it quite successfully, so, despite the then unsanitary conditions, he saved almost all the victims, including himself. Again, by the way, in this you can see the finger of fate, because he could have died from gangrene or blood poisoning.
World map. It shows the first English circumnavigation of the world by Francis Drake (1577-1580), as well as his compatriot Thomas Cavendish a few years later (1586-1588). The map shows the outlines of the continents, but their interior is empty, which suggests that these land areas were then completely unexplored. The margin has an Elizabethan coat of arms, a vignette of Drake's ship the Golden Hind, and four illustrations in the corners. The drawing at the top left shows Drake's landing at New Albion in present-day California. US Library of Congress
In early December, the Golden Hind reached Valparaiso and entered its harbor without hindrance, being mistaken for a Spanish ship. Threatened by the cannons, Drake received a large ransom. But no matter how much he searched for the lost ships, he failed to meet them, and therefore he had to continue sailing alone. The Spaniards behaved carelessly, because they did not expect the enemy in these waters, known only to them. But since Drake released the captured prisoners, they soon learned about his ship and tried to resist. But they had few well-armed ships in the Pacific Ocean, and the Golden Hind never met them.
"Golden Hind" afloat in the dock
Particularly successful for Drake was the capture on March 1, 1579 of the galleon Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, which carried 26 tons of silver bullion, 13 chests of silver coins, 80 pounds of gold and jewelry, and many other valuables. True, at first, seeing the British in front of him, the Spanish captain San Juan de Anton refused to surrender, but after the British, having opened fire from cannons, shot down the mizzen mast on the Spanish ship, stopped resistance and accepted the offer of surrender. The ship was taken closer to the shore and there for six whole days they reloaded the booty from the Spanish ship to the Golden Hind.
The figurehead of a replica ship from Southwark. Photograph by Mike Peel
Again, having overloaded the valuables, Drake did not kill anyone, but allowed the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción to continue sailing, so that the ship reached the port of destination quite safely. According to everyone who sailed on this ship, they noted that they were well treated, and "terrible English pirates and heretics" even handed them parting gifts!
Image of the Golden Hind from A Short History of England and the British Empire, 1915. British Library, London
True, Drake did not help out several of his comrades who were captured by the Spaniards, although he threatened the Spaniards to execute the captured Spaniards and set fire to their cities.
The ship went even further north, where the mainland began to noticeably deviate towards the Asian coast, but the travelers did not find any traces of the strait anywhere. The climate here was also harsh, and as a result, the galleon turned south again and stood at the parking lot on the site of modern San Francisco. For several weeks, the sailors repaired their ship and during this time managed to establish quite friendly relations with the local Indians, and they even assigned the rank of leader to Drake. On behalf of Queen Elizabeth, Drake proclaimed these lands an English possession and gave them the name "New Albion". A pole with a copper plate with a corresponding inscription was installed on the shore, and the most interesting thing is that in the 1920s this copper plate was found ...
After that, the Golden Hind headed for the Mariana Islands, then crossed the Pacific Ocean (unlike Magellan, Drake was well prepared for this test), reached the Philippines in October, and then approached the Moluccas in early December. Here they were received with open arms, sincerely rejoicing that the Spaniards they knew finally had enemies. Drake, having a lot of Spanish silver coins, bought a lot of spices here, so no one in his team doubted that he would make a rich profit.
On board a ship in Southwark. gun deck
But on January 9, 1580, a catastrophe happened: the ship ran into a reef, and Drake managed to save him only by a miracle. He ordered eight cannons and part of the cargo of precious cloves to be thrown overboard. But in Java, again, the local sultan received him perfectly, gave him the opportunity to repair the ship and provided him with provisions for the return journey. By the way, it should be noted that during the entire voyage, Drake was very lucky with the weather and fair winds, and a really strong storm battered his ship only once.
Inside the hold
On the approach to England, Drake met a boat with fishermen and asked them just one question:
"Is the queen alive?"
They shouted to him that she was alive and well, and his heart was relieved, because during their absence in the country not only power, but also religion could well have changed. September 26 "Golden Hind" entered the harbor of Portsmouth, having completed the second circumnavigation of the world after Magellan.
Cabin company
The king of Spain, having learned about the return of Drake, demanded that Elizabeth punish the pirate. Although it should be noted that the damage caused by his actions to the Spanish treasury was not so great - only about 30 tons of silver. Another thing is that the Spaniards robbed by him reported that their losses exceeded 250 tons, so we can only build assumptions!
View of the ship at the pier. Photograph by Wolfgang Frick
But both Elizabeth I and all the shareholders of the expedition who invested in it received a really huge income. The commander of the ship was also appraised accordingly: on April 4, 1581, Queen Elizabeth herself entered the deck of the Golden Hind and personally awarded Francis Drake a knighthood (this enraged the Spaniards, only they were powerless to do anything). It is interesting that the queen ordered to keep the galleon, and this was done, but only in the second half of the next century it nevertheless fell into complete disrepair and was dismantled for firewood. Nevertheless, the memory of this ship was so valuable in the minds of the British that two replica ships of this famous ship were built in Britain after the Second World War.
Chest and gun. Photography by Martin Addison
They quite successfully acted in films, but did not make long voyages. The third replica, as close as possible to the original, was built in 1973. It is believed that this is an almost exact copy of the Golden Doe, which, among other things, also has excellent seaworthiness.
Very nice finish, isn't it? Apparently, Spanish specialists from OcCre made their model on it.
And now, 400 years later, the Golden Hind-ll repeated the voyage of the great pirate, having traveled 225 km. Well, in 000, the galleon was put on eternal parking in the London area of Southwark and turned into a museum ship. The ship has appeared in several films, including such a well-known TV series as "Shogun". Although this is not the only replica of this ship today. Another ship, the Golden Hind, has been in the harbor of Brixham in Devonshire since 1996. But this is not at all an exact copy of the ship of that time, but something “based on”, so it is not of great value.
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