Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1596), English navigator and privateer. Drake was born in Devon, the eldest of twelve children. At thirteen he went to sea and by 20 was a captain. In 1568 while in the Caribbean with his cousin, John Hawkins, the fleet was captured by the Spanish. Although Drake and Hawkins escaped, Drake started on a lifetime of revenge against the Spanish. In 1573 he mounted a raid in Panama and in 1577 was sent by Elizabeth I to harry Spanish treasure routes in the Pacific. Despite losing several ships, Drake was successful and was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. On his return with spices and treasure, Drake was knighted on the deck of his ship the Golden Hind. War with Spain in 1585 led to Drake's raid on Cadiz and the defeat of the Armada in 1588. This engraving is from Birch's The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain published in London in 1747.