The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake: 1577-1580 - Softcover

Bawlf, Samuel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0142004596 ISBN 13: 9780142004593

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2004

Synopsis

When Sir Francis Drake returned to England in 1580, many questions concerning his momentous voyage were left unanswered—his journals were impounded and his men were forbidden, on pain of death, to divulge where they had been. Drawing on newly uncovered evidence, geographer and maritime historian Samuel Bawlf masterfully reconstructs Francis Drake’s historic round-the-world expedition, exploring the drama surrounding the voyage and offering intriguing insights into life at sea in the sixteenth century. But it is Bawlf’s assertion of Drake’s whereabouts in the summer of 1579 that gives the book even greater originality: from an intensive study of maps of the period, Bawlf shows with certainty that Drake sailed all the way to Alaska—much farther than anyone has heretofore imagined—thereby rewriting the history of exploration in North America.

About this title

About the Author

Samuel Bawlf was a Canadian politican and author. In 1972 he was the youngest person ever elected to the Victoria City Council. He served on the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as a member of the Social Credit Party, and as the minister of conservation and recreation. He was the author of The Secret Journey of Sir Francis Drake, published in 2003. He died in 2016.

From Publishers Weekly

Maritime historian Bawlf skillfully uncovers new information regarding Drake's circumnavigation of the globe, which began, amidst political and religious upheaval in Europe, in 1577. Until now, Drake's secret voyage-the exploration of the Pacific Northwest in hopes of finding the fabled Northwest Passage to eastern trade routes, and to establish a British colony in the New World-was hidden under a "cloak of secrecy" due to Drake's complicated relationship with Queen Elizabeth and England's precarious political situation with Spain. With braided historical, nautical, geographical and imagined narrative elements, Drake's voyage unfolds slowly at first, and at times lags under the weight of all Bawlf attempts to include. But once underway, it becomes an increasingly compelling tale, as Drake earns his reputation as "one of the greatest mariners that sail[ed] the seas, both as a navigator and as a commander," feared by his enemies for the "alarming scope of his [pirating] success." The account is thoroughly researched and carefully plotted, but Bawlf's true accomplishment is his humanization of historical icon Drake, a demanding, unyielding captain and ruthless sacker of Spanish ships and colonies, while at the same time a man who was deeply religious, who treated his captives with courtesy and was eager to establish strong bonds with the indigenous people he encountered along his journey. In the end, what resonates most is Drake's disappointment at being denied public ownership of his most important discoveries. This sympathetic, thorough treatment adds greater dimension to an already celebrated life. 60 b&w illus., 20 maps.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0142004596
• ISBN 13: 9780142004593
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416