Hey Drive thru History Fans! This was one of our favorite episodes from the series, and we hope you enjoy Dave being…Dave. Don’t forget to preorder your DVD copy of the “Ends of the Earth” series by clicking the link below!
Sir Francis Drake and the Privateers
Following Christopher Columbus, the Spanish enjoyed a monopoly over the spread of Catholic Christianity in the Caribbean for over half a century. After Hispaniola, they established settlements in Puerto Rico in 1508 and Cuba in 1515.
Then, other European nations started showing up. The Dutch reached the Caribbean in 1554, bringing with them Protestant Christianity. Then it was the French in 1555 and the British in 1586. Just as the Protestant Reformation was sweeping across Northern Europe, British settlements in the Caribbean were spreading Anglicanism and other Reformed denominations.
As European nations raced to colonize the Caribbean, they turned to a creative form of military expansion — privateering. A privateer is basically a pirate working for a particular side. One of the most famous privateers in the Caribbean was Sir Francis Drake. Between 1577 and 1580, Drake became the first Englishman to sail around the world. As a result, Queen Elizabeth I rewarded him with knighthood.
In 1585, England and Spain went to war. Elizabeth gave Sir Drake a ragtag fleet of 25 ships in the Caribbean, with orders to wreak havoc on Spanish ships wherever he found them. Although he helped to scatter and destroy much of the Spanish fleet, Drake was more notorious for his ruthless plundering of Spanish coastal settlements throughout the Caribbean.
Drake – known as “the Dragon” by the Spanish – sailed to Santo Domingo in 1586. He quickly brought the colonial city to its knees. Drake drove the Spanish garrison out of Santo Domingo, and he burned the city, section by section, until he received a large ransom. For the next five decades, the colony was effectively abandoned and left to the mercy of other pirates. Although probably viewed as “politically incorrect” today, privateering pirates like Sir Francis Drake were viewed as Christian heroes back in Protestant England.
https://drivethruhistory.com/sir-francis-drak…d-the-privateers/
Need more Drive Thru History content? Visit our website to subscribe and watch a full episode! https://www.drivethruhistory.com/subscribe/
Want on-demand curriculum to stream and work alongside all the Drive Thru History shows? http://drivethruhistoryadventures.com
Be the first to comment