Drake, Sir Francis

(1540?-1596). Sailed from Plymouth for the River Plate, 1577; pa ed through the Straits of Magellan, 1578; plundered Val para i so, 1579, and explored the western coast of North America the same year; returned to England, 1580, by way of the Cape of Good Hope. Vice-admiral of the fleet in the defeat of the Spanish Armada off Grave lines, 1588. Died on board his own ship off Porto Bello and buried at sea. Index : D On Pacific coast, 7, 8; lays foundation of British naval supremacy, 16; takes po e ion of Pacific coast for Queen Elizabeth, 62; and the Spaniards, 147. Bib. : Southey, Lives of the Admirals ; Corbett, Drake and the Tudor Navy ; Payne, Voyages of the Elizabeth an Seamen to America ; Froude, English Seamen in the Seventeenth Century ; Laut, Vikings of the Pacific ; Dict. Nat. Biog.