Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
ports it. He removed his forthright vice-admiral from command of his ship, the
Golden Lion
,
confined him to his cabin, and sought to have him tried for mutiny. Cooped up below decks,
Borough drew this chart and sent it to the Lord High Admiral with a letter in which he gave
his version of events.
Borough's chart tracks successive positions of the main English galleons during the raid on
Cadiz, the major port on Spain's south coast. Letters in black denote 'first' and later locations
for the
Lion
, Drake's flagship the
Bonaventure
, and the rest of the fleet. Borough claims his
share of the action in a note labelling galleys 'dreven back by ye Lyon'. The chart makes ap-
parent the dangers to which he felt that his ship was exposed. Specific Spanish threats, includ-
ing galleys poised to attack the
Lion
, are listed in red at left. The chart also shows the town's
strong defences, which had caused Borough to urge caution in approaching it. As Master of
the Queen's Ships, he had good reason to frown upon the risks which Drake favoured.
This was not the first chart made by the 50-year-old Borough, who was a good example
of that Elizabethan genre, the man of many parts. In his youth he had served on Richard
Chancellor's expedition to search for a North-East Passage to Cathay (China), organised by
Cabot. He spent many years establishing trade routes to Russia as a captain for the Muscovy
Company, and held posts with the Cathay Adventurers and the Levant Company. In 1580 he
entered Crown service as a naval administrator, and became Comptroller of the Navy. This
was not just a desk post - he also went to sea to capture pirate ships, and sailed with Sir John
Hawkins to the Azores in 1586 in the
Golden Lion
. Borough made maps in all these roles; he
charted Russian waters as a merchant, and drew harbour works at Dover and Rye as Comp-
troller, while this battle plan was drawn during his service as a naval officer.
Despite Drake's displeasure with his subordinate's caution, this was not the end of Bor-
ough's naval career. The eloquence of this chart may well have persuaded Borough's fellow
Navy Board members that he had good reasons for his actions. Acquitted of Drake's charges,
he served against the Armada in the following year, and his name is remembered today as a
famous navigator and explorer.
