Sir Francis Drake, 16th century English navigator mb-code RS-9377 One of four paintings

One of four paintings

enjoying a game of chess between shots

Showing a man holding a ladder

published by Mattaeus Merian

September 1977 P002569

Sir Francis Drake, 16th century English navigator mb-code RS-9377 One of four paintingsSir Francis Drake, 16th century English navigator, (1825). Drake (1540 1596) was the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Age. He circumnavigated the globe (1577 1580), commanded the attack on the Spanish fleet in Cadiz Harbour in 1587 (the 'singeing of the King of Spain's beard') and played an important role in defeating the Spanish Armada the following year. From Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth, published in 1825.