Sir Francis Drake, vice admiral (c. 1540 – 27 January 1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Drake carried out the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580.
Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of th e English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588.
His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards to whom he was known as El Draque.