Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With 164 men on five small ships (the
Hinde
was the largest, at 100 tons and 18
cannons), he sailed southwest, dipping around South America, raiding Spanish ships and
towns in Chile, and inching up the coast perhaps as far as Canada. By the time it continued
across the Pacific to Asia and beyond, the
Hinde
was so full of booty that its crew replaced
the rock ballast with gold ingots and silver coins. Three years later, Drake—with only
one remaining ship and 56 men—sailed the
Hinde
up the Thames, unloading a fabulously
valuable hoard of gold, silver, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, silks, cloves, and spices before
the queen. A grateful Elizabeth knighted Drake on the main deck and kissed him on his
Golden Hinde.
The
Hinde
was retired gloriously, but rotted away from neglect. Drake received a
large share of the wealth, became enormously famous, and later gained more glory defeat-
ing the Spanish Armada (aided by “the winds of God”) in the decisive battle in the English
Channel, off Plymouth (1588), making England ruler of the waves.
The galleon replica, a working ship that has itself circled the globe, is berthed at St.
Mary Overie Dock (“St. Mary's over the river”), a public dock available for free to all
Southwark residents. A victim of WWII bombing and container ships that require big
