Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c. 1540 - January 27 1596) was an English privateer, navigator, slave trader, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Drake was knighted in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He died of dysentery after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1596.
His exploits were semi-legendary and made him a hero to the English but to the Spaniards he was a simple pirate. He was known as "El Draque" (from the old Spanish meaning "the Dragon" derived from the Latin draco, meaning 'serpent', an obvious play on his family name which in archaic English has the same etymological root) for his actions. King Philip II was claimed to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats Cummins, John, Francis Drake: The Lives of a Hero, 1996, Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312163657 (about £4m or $8m by modern standards) for his life.
Sir Francis Drake (aka The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake) was a British adventure television series starring Terence Morgan as Sir Francis Drake, commander of the sailing ship the Golden Hind. As well as battles at sea, sword fights, the series also deals with intrigue at Elizabeth's court, often caused by Spaniard, Mendoza.
The series was originally shown on UK network ATV from November 12 1961 till April 29 1962 and later aired on NBC from June 24 1962 to September 9 1962. The 26 episodes were half-hour (actually 25 minutes) long and were a joint ABC/ATV production, made at Elstree Studios and on historical sites in England. More money was spent on this series than The Buccaneers series. Historical research was by E. Hayter Preston. Ivor Slaney directed the theme tune, which is the only background music played in the shows. Beatrice Dawson designed the many period costumes worn in the show. Produced by Anthony Bushell, directed by Clive Donner and Harry Booth (1961) and story editor was Ian Stuart Black, fights arranged by Peter Diamond. A harbour scene often shown has a painted background, models are used and as in The Bridge, film of a ship is used behind real people on a stage.
The complete series is out on DVD in Region 2. With the DVD collection is a stills gallery. One shows Morgan as Drake playing bowls, alluding to the famous incident when the Spanish Armada was sighted.
The adventures of Sir Francis Drake during the 1500's. Sir Francis is probably one of the most famous explorers of the high seas. The twenty six episodes of the series are about his explorations of many far off lands. Written by Jenny Evans
