During part of the year 1595, and the whole of 1596, Drake was actively employed with a fleet of 21 ships, against Philip IL on the coasts of Spain and Portugal, in the Canaries, the Cape de Verdes, the West India Wanda, and on the coast of South America and St. Domingo. Carthagena and other towns were taken and plundered. In the course of this expedition Drake visited the colony in Virginia, which had been recently planted by Raleigh, and finding the colonists in great distress, be took them on board and brought them home with him. It is said that tobacco was first brought into England by the men who returned from Virginia with Drake.
In 1597, when formidable preparations were making in the Spanish ports for the invasion of England, Elizabeth appointed Drake to the command of a fleet eqnlpped for the purpose of destroying the enemy's ships in their own harbours. This force did not amount to thirty sail, and only four were of the Navy Royal, the rest, with the exception of two yachts belonging to the queen, being furnished by merchant adventurers. In the port of Cadiz, the first place he attacked, he found sixty ships and many vessels of inferior size, ali protected by land batteries. Drake entered the roads on the morning of the 19th of April, and before night he had burnt, sunk, or taken a hundred ships, some of which were of the largest size; and it appears he might have done much more mischief but for the necessity he was under of securing as much booty, in goods, as he could for the benefit of the merchant adventurers. He then turned back along the coast, taking or burning nearly a hundred vessels between,Cadiz and Cape St. Vincent, besides destroying four castles on shore. This was what Drake called "singeing the king of Spain's beard." From Cape St. Vincent he sailed to the Tagus, and entering that river, came to anchor near Cascaes, whence he sent to tell the Marquis Santa-Cruz, who was lying up the river with a large force of galleys, that he was ready to exchange bullets with him. The marquis, who had been appointed general of the Armada preparing for the invasion of England, and who was esteemed the best sailor of Spain, declined the challenge, and he died (the English writers say of vexation at the mischief done by Drake) before that ill-fated expedition could sail.
The operations we have briefly related delayed the sailing of that armament more than a year, and gave Elizabeth time to prepare for her defence. Having thus performed the publio service, Drake bore sway to the Azores, on the look-out for the treasure ships from India, and he was so fortunate as to fall in with an immense carrack most richly laden. He took it, of course, and "the taking of this ship," says a contemporary, " was of a greater advantage to the English mer chants, than the value of her cargo to the captors; for, by the papers fonnd on board, they so fully understood the rich value of the Indian and the manner of trading into the eastern world, that they afterwards set up a gainful traffic, and established a company of East India merchants." Drake generously spent re considerable part of his prize-money in supplying the town of Plymouth with good, fresh water, for hitherto there was none, except what the inhabitants fetched from a mile distance.
His next service at Begawan as vice-admiral in the fleet under Charles Lord Howard of Eflingbern, lord high admiral of England, which, with the assistance of the elements, scattered and destroyed the Invincible Armada' of Spain. The seamanship of Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher contributed largely to the happy result. In the following year, 1599, Drake was employed as admiral in an eapedition sent to Portugal, in the hope of expelling the Spaniards, who had taken possession of that kingdom, by establishing the claims of Antonio, a pretender, around whom the English expected the Portuguese would rally. The whole expedition was badly planned, most miserably
supplied with money and the other means of war, and but lamely executed after the landing of the troops.
After his return, Drake was elected member of parliament for Plymouth, and in the session of 1592-93 he appears to have taken an active part, his name appearing upon all the committees upon public business, and ha having the charge of several bills. In 1595 Drake and Sir John Hawkins, who had good experience in those parts, represented to Elizabeth that the best place for striking a blow at the gigantic power of Spain was in the West Indies; and an expedition thither was prepared, Drake and Hawkins sailing together with twenty six ships, of which however only 'six belonged to the royal navy, on board of which was embarked • land force under the orders of Sir Thomas Baskerrille and Sir Nicholas Clifford. There were too many in command, and Hawkins, who divided the naval command with Drake, was nearly eighty years of age. The usual bad consequences losing time in debate which Drake if alone would have sent in action, they were obliged to give np an attempt on the Canaries with some lose. When they got among the West India Wands Drake and Hawkins not only quarrelled but separated for some time, and before reaching the east end of Puerto Rico Hawkins died, hie death being generally attributed to the agitation of his mind.
One of Drake's smallest vessels was captured by the Spaniards, who, by putting the crew of It to the torture, extracted information respecting the pilaus of the expedition. When Drake attacked Puerto Rico be found that place fully warned and prepared, and his desperate attack was defeated. Sailing away, he took and burned Rio do 1 e Hubs, Rancheria, Santa Martha, and Nombre do Dire, getting uo greater spoil than twenty tons of silver and two bars of gold. Drake remained lu the harbour of Nombre do Dlos, a most uuhealthy place, while Baskervilie with a part of the land-forces made a vain and ruinous attempt to cross the Isthmus of Darien, in order to plunder and destroy the city of Num& A fatal disease broke out among soldiers and sailors, and soon deprived them of the important services of the chief Burgeon of the fleet. When many of his men and three of his captains had died, the hardy Drake himself fell sick, and after struggling some twenty days with his malady and the grief occasioned by his failures, he expired on the 27th of December 1595. On the Came day the fleet anchored at Puerto Bello, and iu eight of that place, which he bad formerly taken and plundered, his body received a sailor's funeral, in the words of one of his ndmiriog contemporaries :— "The waves became his winding-sheet, the waters were his tomb; DIA for his fame the ocean sea was net sufficient room." Though the reputation of Drake as one of tho most skilful of English seamen, a commander of almost unparalleled courage, and one of the founders of English naval eminence, is deservedly great and generally admitted, still, unless we judge him by the circumstances and the standard of the times, he must appear in many of his exploits iu no other light than that of a daring and skilful buccaneer.
(Southey, .Varea history; Harris, Collection of Voyages; Barrow, Life, Voyages, and Exploits of Admiral Sir Francis Drake.)