Sir Francis Drake : The Queen's Pirate

by Harry Kelsey

• ISBN13: 9780300084634
• ISBN10: 0300084633
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-08-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

In this lively biography, Harry Kelsey shatters the legend of Sir Francis Drake. Drawing on much new evidence, he replaces the familiar image of a pious, brave, and just seaman with a more interesting picture of an amoral privateer at least as interested in lining his pockets with Spanish booty as in forwarding the political goals of his country. "The best available life; insightful, enthralling and generally well-paced."Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, The Independent "Fascinating. . . . The story Kelsey tells in such detail continually holds the reader's interest."P.D. James,The Sunday Times (London) "This book smells as much of the sea as of the library: deep water and profound research. The combination is most engaging."Patrick O'Brian "This scrupulously researched and calmly argued book will leave Drake's champions little hope of restoring him to the rosy place in the English pantheon he once occupied: Kelsey's Drake is, alas, all too plausible."New Yorker "Important to scholars for its detailed findings on Drake's early career."N. A. M. Rodger,New York Times Book Review "Kelsey's enormous research range and great detailing of Drake's life restore reality and truth to the history of the times. A great achievement in the fields of biography and history."Kirkus Reviews Harry Kelsey is a research scholar at the Huntington Library and adjunct professor of history at the University of California, Riverside.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
List of Maps and Plans	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xv
I Loomings
From Tavistock to Plymouth	3	(8)
Learning to Be a Pirate	11	(29)
Raids on the Spanish Main	40	(28)
The Successful Merchant	68	(25)
II Around the World
Plymouth to Cape Horn	93	(44)
Cape Horn to Guatulco	137	(35)
Guatulco to the Pacific and Home	172	(35)
III A Pirate and a Gentleman
Honors and Riches	207	(33)
Raid on the West Indies	240	(40)
Raid on Cadiz	280	(25)
Defeat of the Spanish Armada	305	(36)
Expedition to Lisbon	341	(26)
IV A Pirate's Legacy
The Last Voyage	367	(25)
The Drake Legend	392	(9)
Appendixes	401	(22)
Notes	423	(100)
Bibliography	523	(22)
Index	545