Life in Elizabethan England - AQAConsequences of the circumnavigation

Development of English navigation and exploration

• Sir Francis Drake’s rutters and other records vastly improved English knowledge of global geography.
• His information allowed for better future voyages and was kept secret to protect English advantages against the Spanish.
• This inspired more English businessmen and sailors to plan voyages to challenge Spanish and Portuguese dominance, especially in the Pacific and East Indies.

Major European geographical discoveries

• Drake discovered the Drake Passage south of Cape Horn, showing that there was open ocean, not just land, south of South America.
• He also charted new territory along the north-west coast of America, claiming part of modern-day California as Nova Albion for England.
• Drake mapped and corrected many errors in European maps, including making more accurate charts of the Chilean coast.

Enormous wealth for England and Drake

• Drake returned with vast amounts of treasure: nearly five tons of silver, gold, jewels, and spices such as cloves.
• Elizabeth, Drake, and his backers made huge profits, making Drake one of the richest men in England.
• Elizabeth rewarded Drake with knighthood and permission to buy estates such as Buckland Abbey.

Reputational

• At the time, Drake became a national hero to many English people and a close associate of The Queen.
• Drake’s perceived success proved that English sailors could rival the Spanish and Portuguese in global exploration and trade.
• New expeditions were already being planned by 1580, and Drake’s journey lead to wider English involvement in overseas trade, piracy, and colonialism.

Relations with Spain

• The Spanish ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza, demanded the return of Spanish goods.
• Elizabeth pretended to be embarrassed but secretly supported Drake and concealed the full scale of his stolen Spanish treasures.
• Drake’s success worsened Anglo-Spanish relations, fuelling tensions that would later lead to the Anglo-Spanish War, 1585–1604.

Impact on indigenous populations and enslaved people

• Drake’s expeditions often brought violence and significant suffering to indigenous communities.
• Drake learnt how to be a sailor by accompanying his cousin John Hawkins on voyages and these often involved intercepting Portuguese slave traders and stealing the enslaved people. Hawkins became involved in trading enslaved people. From 1607, England began developing colonies in the Americas and began to use enslaved labour within them. The English used enslaved labour in Jamestown, Virginia, Bermuda and Providence Island.
• For example, there is an account of an enslaved African woman called Maria who was taken from a Spanish ship. She was sexually abused by Drake’s crew, became pregnant, and was then abandoned on a remote Indonesian island — a clear example of how enslaved people continued to be exploited and discarded during these voyages.
• When Drake landed in what is now northern California, likely among the Miwok people, Drake seized the land for Queen Elizabeth, calling it Nova Albion. Drake demonstrated English colonial attitudes, that England had the right to invade and seize land, regardless of the indigenous communities who had lived and owned these lands for centuries.
• Voyages like Drake’s indirectly increased European exposure to indigenous people, often leading to disease spread, loss of land, and cultural disruption for indigenous communities in the longer term.