Sir Francis Drake, c. 1540–1596.Vice Admiral Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – January 28, 1596) was an English privateer, navigator, naval pioneer, pirate, politician, and civil engineer of the Elizabethan period. He was the first Englishman (and the first of any nationality not on a Spanish ship) to circumnavigate the globe, from 1577 to 1580 and was knighted on his return by Queen Elizabeth I. He was second in command of the English fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. 

First adventures 

Around 1563 Drake first sailed west to the Spanish Main, drawn by the immense wealth accruing from Spain's monopoly on New World silver. Drake took an immediate dislike to the Spanish, at least in part due to their mistrust of non-Spaniards and their Catholicism. His hostility is said to have been increased by the incident at San Juan de Ulloa in 1568, when Spanish forces executed a surprise attack in violation of a truce agreed to a few days before, nearly costing Drake his life. From then on, he devoted the rest of his life to working against the Spanish Empire; the Spanish considered him an outlaw pirate, but to England he was simply a sailor and privateer. On his second such voyage he fought a costly battle against Spanish forces, which claimed many English lives but earned Drake the favour of Queen Elizabeth. The most celebrated of Drake's Caribbean adventures was his capture of the Spanish Silver Train at Nombre de Dios in March of 1573. With a crew including many French privateers and Cimaroons (African slaves who had escaped the Spanish), Drake raided the waters around Darien (in modern Panama) and tracked the Silver Train to the nearby port of Nombre de Dios. He made off with a fortune in gold, but had to leave behind another fortune in silver because it was too heavy to carry back to England. It was during this expedition that he became the first English man to see the Pacific Ocean. He achieved this by climbing a high tree in the central mountains of the isthmus of Panama. When Drake returned to Plymouth on August 9, 1573, a mere thirty Englishmen returned with him, but each survivor was rich for life. However, Queen Elizabeth, who had up to this point sponsored and encouraged Drake's raids, signed a temporary truce with King Philip II of Spain, and so was unable to officially acknowledge Drake's accomplishment. Such intrigues were typical during Drake's era. In 1575, at the behest of the Earl of Essex, he landed on Rathlin Island off the coast of Ulster and massacred the entire population of the Scottish settlement there, to discourage Gaelic resistance. 

The Spanish Armada 

War broke out between Spain and England in 1585. Drake sailed to the new world and sacked the ports of Santo Domingo and Cartagena. On the return leg of the voyage he captured the Spanish fort of San Augustine in Florida. These exploits encouraged King Philip II of Spain to order the planning for an invasion of England. 

In a pre-emptive strike Drake "singed the King of Spain's beard" by sailing a fleet into Cadiz, one of Spain’s main ports, occupying the town for three days, destroying 31 enemy ships as well as a large quantity of stores and capturing 6 ships. This attack delayed the Spanish invasion by a year. 

Drake was vice admiral in command of the English fleet (under Lord Howard of Effingham) when they overcame the Spanish Armada that was attempting to invade England in 1588. As the English fleet pursued the Armada up the Channel, Drake captured the Spanish galleon Rosario along with Admiral Pedro de Valdes and all his crew, but causing confusion in the English fleet in the process. The Spanish ship was known to be carrying substantial funds to pay the Spanish Army in the Low countries. Drake's responsibilities including carrying a stern lantern intended as a guiding light at night for other English vessels in the armada. This exemplified of Drakes' ability as a privateer to suspend strategic purpose if a tactical profit was on offer. 

On the night of 29 July, along with Howard, Drake organized the fire-ships which caused the majority of the Spanish captains to break formation and sail out of Calais into the open sea. The next day Drake was present at the Battle of Gravelines.