In 1588 Francis Drake led the English navy against the Spanish what?
Francis Drake unexplored by western shipping. Elizabeth I awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581 which he received on the Golden Hind in Deptford. As a Vice Admiral, he was second-in-command of the English fleet in the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He died of dysentery in January 1596, after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico. Drake's exploits made him a hero to the English, but his privateering led the Spanish to brand him a pirate, known to them as "El Draque". King Philip II allegedly offered a reward for his capture or death of 20,000 ducats, about £6 million (US$8
Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet (1588 – 11 March 1637) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in two parliaments between 1625 and 1629. Drake was the son of Thomas Drake of Buckland Abbey, Devon and his wife Elizabeth Gregory, widow of John Elford. His father was the brother of Sir Francis Drake and accompanied him in his sea adventures. Drake was baptised at Buckland Monachorum on 16 September 1588. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 23 November 1604 aged 15, and was of Lincoln's Inn in 1606. In 1622