September 2, 2025 • 10 mins
Step back into the dawn of American history with Elizabethan Sea-Dogs, where the spirit of the citizen, colonist, and pioneer comes alive! This captivating exploration reveals the daring adventurers of the Elizabethan era who paved the way for future generations in the New World. Under the brilliant leadership of Sir Francis Drake, the first of the modern admirals, English sailors claimed their dominion over the sea. Known as Sea-Dogs, they opened the gateway for explorers and settlers seeking their fortunes in America. Discover how this century of maritime quests and naval warfare laid the foundations for Anglo-American history and secured the path for countless pioneers eager to carve out their destinies.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter twelve of Elizabethan Sea Dogs by William Wood. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter twelve, Drake's
and Drake in Disfavor after fifteen hundred eighty nine seems
a contradiction that nothing can explain. It can, however, be
(00:25):
quite easily explained, though never explained away. He had simply
failed to make the Lisbon expedition pay, a heinous offense
in days when the Navy was as much a revenue
department as the customs or excise. He had also failed
to take Lisbon itself. The reasons why mattered nothing either
(00:49):
to the disappointed government or to the general public. But
six years later, in fifteen ninety five, when Drake was
fifty in Hawkins sixty three, England called on them both
to strike another blow at Spain. Elizabeth was helping Henry
the fourth of France against the League of French and
(01:12):
Spanish Catholics. Henry, a stud as he was gallant, had
found Paris worth a mass, and to Elizabeth's dismay, had
gone straight over to the Church of Rome with terms
of toleration for the Huguenots. The war against the Holy League, however,
had not yet ended. The effect of Henry's conversion was
(01:34):
to make a more united France against the encroaching power
of Spain, and every iron England was soon turned on
Drake and Hawkins for a stroke at Spanish power beyond
the sea. Drake and Hawkins formed a most unhappy combination,
made worse by the fact that Hawkins, now old beyond
(01:57):
his years, soured by misfortune, and staled for the sea
by long spells of office work, was put in as
a check on Drake, in whom Elizabeth had lost her
former confidence. Sir Thomas Baskerville was to command the troops here.
At least no better choice could have possibly been made.
(02:20):
Baskerville had fought with rare distinction in the Breast campaign,
and before that in the Netherlands. There was the usual
hesitation about letting the fleet go far from home. The
purely defensive school was still strong, Elizabeth in certain moods,
belonged to it, and an incident which took place about
this time seemed to give weight to the argument of
(02:42):
the defensivests. A small Spanish force, obliged to find water
and provisions in a hurry, put into mouse hole in Cornwall,
and finding no opposition burnt several villages down to the ground.
The moment these and You's heard that Drake and Hawkins
were at Plymouth, they decamped, but this ridiculous raid through
(03:07):
the country into doubt or consternation. Elizabeth was as brave
as a lion for herself, but she never grasped the
meaning of naval strategy, and she was super sensitive to
any strong general opinion. However, false Drake and Hawkins, with
Baskerville's troops all in transports and many supply vessels for
(03:30):
the West India Voyage, were ordered to cruise about Ireland
and Spain looking for enemies. The admirals at once pointed
out that this was the work of the Channel fleet,
not that of a joint expedition bound for America. Then,
just as the Queen was penning an angry reply, she
(03:51):
received a letter from Drake saying that the Chief Spanish
treasure ship from Mexico had been seen in Puerto Rico
little better than a wreck, and that there was time
to take her if they could only sail at once.
The expedition was on the usual joint stock lines, and
Elizabeth was the principal's shareholder. She swallowed the bait Hoole
(04:12):
and sent sailing orders down to Plymouth. By return, and
so on the twenty eighth of August fifteen ninety five,
twenty five one hundred men in twenty seven vessels sailed
out bound for New Spain. Surprise was essential for New Spain,
taught by repeated experience, was well armed, and twenty five
(04:36):
hundred men were less formidable now than five hundred twenty
years before. Arrived at the Canaries, Los Palmus was found
too strong to carry by immediate assault, and Drake had
no time to attack it in form He was two
months late already, so he determined to push on to
the West Indies. When Drake reached portal Rico, he found
(05:00):
the Spanish in a measure forewarned and fore armed. Though
he astonished the garrison by standing boldly in the harbor
and dropping anchor close to a masked battery, the real
surprise was now against him. The Spanish gunners got the
range to an inch, brought down the flagship's mizzen, knocked
(05:22):
Drake's chair from under him, killed two senior officers beside him,
and wounded many more. In the meantime, Hawkins, worn out
by his exertions had died. This reception, added to the
previous failures, and the astonishing strength of Puerto Rico produced
a most depressing effect. Drake weighed anchor and went out.
(05:44):
He was soon back in a new place, cleverly shielded
from the Spanish guns by a couple of islands. After
some more maneuvers, he attacked the Spanish fleet with fireballs
and by boarding. When a burning frigate lit up the
whole wi seen. The Spanish gunners and musketeers poured into
the English ships such a concentrated fire that Drake was
(06:07):
compelled to retreat. He next tried the daring plan of
running straight into the harbor, where there might still be
a chance. But the Spaniards sank four of their own
valuable vessels in the harbor, mouth, guns, stores, and all
just in the nick of time, and thus completely barred
the way foiled again, Drake dashed for the mainland, seized Lahatcha,
(06:29):
burnt it, ravaged the surrounding country, and got away with
a successful hall of treasure. Then he seized Santa Marta
and Nombre Dedios, both of which were found nearly empty.
The whole of New Spain was taking the alarm the
dragon's back again. Meanwhile, a fleet of more than twice
Drake's strength was coming out from Spain to attack him
(06:52):
in the rear. Nor was this all for Baskerville and
his soldiers, who had landed at Nombre de Dios and
started over land, were in full retreat along the road
from Panama, having found an impregnable Spanish position on the way.
It was a sad beginning for fifteen ninety six, the
centennial year of England's first connection with America. Since our
(07:18):
return from Panama, he never carried mirth nor joy in
his face, wrote one of Baskerville's officers, who was constantly
near Drake. A council of war was called, and Drake,
making the best of it, ask which they would have
through Celio, the port of Honduras, or the golden towns
(07:38):
round about Lake Nicaragua. Both answered Baskerville, one after the other,
so the course was laid for San Juan on the
Nicaragua coast. A head wind forced Drake to anchor under
the island of Varagua, one hundred and twenty five miles
west of Nombre de Dios Bay and right in the
(07:58):
deadliest part of that fever stricken coast, the men began
to sicken and die off. Drake complained at table that
the place had changed for the worse. His earlier memories
of New Spain were of a land like a pleasant
and delicious arbor, very different from the vast and desert
wilderness he felt all round him. Now the wind held foul.
(08:22):
More and more men lay dead or dying. At last
Drake himself, the man of iron constitution and steel nerves,
fell ill and had to keep his cabin. Then reports
were handed in to say the stores were running low,
and that there would soon be too few hands to
man the ships. On this he gave the order to
weigh and take the wind as God had scent it.
(08:46):
So they stood out from that pestilential Mosquito Gulf and
came to anchor in the fine harbor of Puertobello, which
the Spaniards had chosen to replace the one at Nombre
de Dios, twenty miles east. Here in the night of
the twenty seventh of January, Drake suddenly sprang out of
his berth, dressed himself, and raved of battles, fleets, armads, plymouth,
(09:10):
hoe and plots against his own command, the frenzy passed away.
He felt exhausted and was lifted back to bed again. Then,
like a Christian, he yielded up his spirit quietly. His
funeral rites befitted his renown. The great new Spanish fort
of Whereto Bella was given to the flames, as were
nearly all the Spanish prizes, and even two of his
(09:33):
own English ships, for there were now no sailors left
to man. Then, thus, amid the thunder of the guns,
whose voice he knew so well, and surrounded by consuming
powers afloat and on the shore, his body was committed
to the deep, while muffled drums rolled out their last salute,
and trumpets wailed his requiem. End of chapter twelve in
(10:01):
of Elizabethan Sea Dogs by William Wood
Chapter twelve of Elizabethan Sea Dogs by William Wood. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter twelve, Drake's
and Drake in Disfavor after fifteen hundred eighty nine seems
a contradiction that nothing can explain. It can, however, be
(00:25):
quite easily explained, though never explained away. He had simply
failed to make the Lisbon expedition pay, a heinous offense
in days when the Navy was as much a revenue
department as the customs or excise. He had also failed
to take Lisbon itself. The reasons why mattered nothing either
(00:49):
to the disappointed government or to the general public. But
six years later, in fifteen ninety five, when Drake was
fifty in Hawkins sixty three, England called on them both
to strike another blow at Spain. Elizabeth was helping Henry
the fourth of France against the League of French and
(01:12):
Spanish Catholics. Henry, a stud as he was gallant, had
found Paris worth a mass, and to Elizabeth's dismay, had
gone straight over to the Church of Rome with terms
of toleration for the Huguenots. The war against the Holy League, however,
had not yet ended. The effect of Henry's conversion was
(01:34):
to make a more united France against the encroaching power
of Spain, and every iron England was soon turned on
Drake and Hawkins for a stroke at Spanish power beyond
the sea. Drake and Hawkins formed a most unhappy combination,
made worse by the fact that Hawkins, now old beyond
(01:57):
his years, soured by misfortune, and staled for the sea
by long spells of office work, was put in as
a check on Drake, in whom Elizabeth had lost her
former confidence. Sir Thomas Baskerville was to command the troops here.
At least no better choice could have possibly been made.
(02:20):
Baskerville had fought with rare distinction in the Breast campaign,
and before that in the Netherlands. There was the usual
hesitation about letting the fleet go far from home. The
purely defensive school was still strong, Elizabeth in certain moods,
belonged to it, and an incident which took place about
this time seemed to give weight to the argument of
(02:42):
the defensivests. A small Spanish force, obliged to find water
and provisions in a hurry, put into mouse hole in Cornwall,
and finding no opposition burnt several villages down to the ground.
The moment these and You's heard that Drake and Hawkins
were at Plymouth, they decamped, but this ridiculous raid through
(03:07):
the country into doubt or consternation. Elizabeth was as brave
as a lion for herself, but she never grasped the
meaning of naval strategy, and she was super sensitive to
any strong general opinion. However, false Drake and Hawkins, with
Baskerville's troops all in transports and many supply vessels for
(03:30):
the West India Voyage, were ordered to cruise about Ireland
and Spain looking for enemies. The admirals at once pointed
out that this was the work of the Channel fleet,
not that of a joint expedition bound for America. Then,
just as the Queen was penning an angry reply, she
(03:51):
received a letter from Drake saying that the Chief Spanish
treasure ship from Mexico had been seen in Puerto Rico
little better than a wreck, and that there was time
to take her if they could only sail at once.
The expedition was on the usual joint stock lines, and
Elizabeth was the principal's shareholder. She swallowed the bait Hoole
(04:12):
and sent sailing orders down to Plymouth. By return, and
so on the twenty eighth of August fifteen ninety five,
twenty five one hundred men in twenty seven vessels sailed
out bound for New Spain. Surprise was essential for New Spain,
taught by repeated experience, was well armed, and twenty five
(04:36):
hundred men were less formidable now than five hundred twenty
years before. Arrived at the Canaries, Los Palmus was found
too strong to carry by immediate assault, and Drake had
no time to attack it in form He was two
months late already, so he determined to push on to
the West Indies. When Drake reached portal Rico, he found
(05:00):
the Spanish in a measure forewarned and fore armed. Though
he astonished the garrison by standing boldly in the harbor
and dropping anchor close to a masked battery, the real
surprise was now against him. The Spanish gunners got the
range to an inch, brought down the flagship's mizzen, knocked
(05:22):
Drake's chair from under him, killed two senior officers beside him,
and wounded many more. In the meantime, Hawkins, worn out
by his exertions had died. This reception, added to the
previous failures, and the astonishing strength of Puerto Rico produced
a most depressing effect. Drake weighed anchor and went out.
(05:44):
He was soon back in a new place, cleverly shielded
from the Spanish guns by a couple of islands. After
some more maneuvers, he attacked the Spanish fleet with fireballs
and by boarding. When a burning frigate lit up the
whole wi seen. The Spanish gunners and musketeers poured into
the English ships such a concentrated fire that Drake was
(06:07):
compelled to retreat. He next tried the daring plan of
running straight into the harbor, where there might still be
a chance. But the Spaniards sank four of their own
valuable vessels in the harbor, mouth, guns, stores, and all
just in the nick of time, and thus completely barred
the way foiled again, Drake dashed for the mainland, seized Lahatcha,
(06:29):
burnt it, ravaged the surrounding country, and got away with
a successful hall of treasure. Then he seized Santa Marta
and Nombre Dedios, both of which were found nearly empty.
The whole of New Spain was taking the alarm the
dragon's back again. Meanwhile, a fleet of more than twice
Drake's strength was coming out from Spain to attack him
(06:52):
in the rear. Nor was this all for Baskerville and
his soldiers, who had landed at Nombre de Dios and
started over land, were in full retreat along the road
from Panama, having found an impregnable Spanish position on the way.
It was a sad beginning for fifteen ninety six, the
centennial year of England's first connection with America. Since our
(07:18):
return from Panama, he never carried mirth nor joy in
his face, wrote one of Baskerville's officers, who was constantly
near Drake. A council of war was called, and Drake,
making the best of it, ask which they would have
through Celio, the port of Honduras, or the golden towns
(07:38):
round about Lake Nicaragua. Both answered Baskerville, one after the other,
so the course was laid for San Juan on the
Nicaragua coast. A head wind forced Drake to anchor under
the island of Varagua, one hundred and twenty five miles
west of Nombre de Dios Bay and right in the
(07:58):
deadliest part of that fever stricken coast, the men began
to sicken and die off. Drake complained at table that
the place had changed for the worse. His earlier memories
of New Spain were of a land like a pleasant
and delicious arbor, very different from the vast and desert
wilderness he felt all round him. Now the wind held foul.
(08:22):
More and more men lay dead or dying. At last
Drake himself, the man of iron constitution and steel nerves,
fell ill and had to keep his cabin. Then reports
were handed in to say the stores were running low,
and that there would soon be too few hands to
man the ships. On this he gave the order to
weigh and take the wind as God had scent it.
(08:46):
So they stood out from that pestilential Mosquito Gulf and
came to anchor in the fine harbor of Puertobello, which
the Spaniards had chosen to replace the one at Nombre
de Dios, twenty miles east. Here in the night of
the twenty seventh of January, Drake suddenly sprang out of
his berth, dressed himself, and raved of battles, fleets, armads, plymouth,
(09:10):
hoe and plots against his own command, the frenzy passed away.
He felt exhausted and was lifted back to bed again. Then,
like a Christian, he yielded up his spirit quietly. His
funeral rites befitted his renown. The great new Spanish fort
of Whereto Bella was given to the flames, as were
nearly all the Spanish prizes, and even two of his
(09:33):
own English ships, for there were now no sailors left
to man. Then, thus, amid the thunder of the guns,
whose voice he knew so well, and surrounded by consuming
powers afloat and on the shore, his body was committed
to the deep, while muffled drums rolled out their last salute,
and trumpets wailed his requiem. End of chapter twelve in
(10:01):
of Elizabethan Sea Dogs by William Wood
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