Held every year on 1 August, African Remembrance Day reflects on the lessons and challenges resulting from over 500 years of African enslavement.

It brings people together in mourning for those who perished during this painful period in Africa's long and turbulent history.

Sir Francis Drake, born in Tavistock in 1540, was an Elizabethan era sea captain, naval officer, pirate and explorer, and a slave trader. The high school administration further emphasized its recognition that the name Sir Francis Drake and the school’s Pirates mascot do not align with the school’s values, due to Sir Francis Drake having been a prominent slave trader and slave owner during his lifetime.

Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, naval officer, and explorer. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580. This included his incursion into the Pacific Ocean, until then an area of exclusive Spanish interest, and his claim to New Albion for England, an area in what is now the American. When most people think of Sir Francis Drake, they think of an explorer who helped navigate new lands; however, in the name of his own exploration and profit, this man also created a slave trade route and was a pirate on the high seas. In his day, if you asked certain people about Sir Francis Drake, they would each give very different answers. Drake was a Slave Trader 10th June 2020 Francis Drake is often celebrated as an English national hero, lauded for both his role in defeating the 1588 Spanish Armada and for being the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.

Interestingly the English chapter in the history of slavery begins in Plymouth.

John Hawkins was England's first slave trader. In 1562 he sailed from The Barbican in Plymouth with three ships and violently kidnapped about 400 Africans in Guinea, later trading them in the West Indies.

Between 1562 and 1567 Hawkins and his cousin Francis Drake made three voyages to Guinea and Sierra Leone and enslaved between 1,200 and 1,400 Africans.

According to slavers' accounts of the time this would probably have involved the death of three times that number.

The pattern was consistent. Hawkins sailed for the west coast of Africa and, sometimes with the help of other African natives, kidnapped villagers.

He would then cross the Atlantic and sell his cargo, or those who survived the voyage, to the Spanish. The slave trade was better business than plantations.

Hawkins' personal profit from selling slaves was so huge that Queen Elizabeth I granted him a special coat of arms, which has a c.

He was appointed as Treasurer for the Navy in 1577 and knighted in 1588 by the Lord High Admiral, Charles Howard, following the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

For Hawkins, the trade ended in 1567 when his fleet, which included a ship commanded by Francis Drake, took shelter from a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish were also there. In the chaos and fight that followed, many of his men were killed.

Hawkins escaped in one ship and Drake in another. He'd lost 325 men on that voyage but it still showed a financial profit.

However, slavery continued after Hawkins and, although banned in England in 1772, it continued in the colonies until the 19th century.

In Plymouth there are numerous public monuments to his achievements, including Sir John Hawkins Square.

While Plymouth has publicly remembered John Hawkins as 'England’s first slave trader', there are no public monuments to the thousands of Africans killed and enslaved by Hawkins and Drake - nor the millions who perished in the period that followed.

African Remembrance Day pays homage to those who perished and those who survived.

Portrait of Sir John Hawkins (1532–95)
16th century oil by unknown artist
Copyright National Maritime Museum

Francis Drake was an English explorer. He is most famous for being the first English explorer to have circumnavigated the globe. Drake was born sometime around 1540. The exact birth date or year is not known. He was born at Tavistock in Devonshire, England. Before becoming an explorer and a prized knight of the Queen, he was a pirate, privateer and slave trader. Francis Drake is often hailed as the most influential explorers of the Elizabethan era. Here are some Sir Francis Drake major accomplishments.

1. Slave Trader & Privateer

Although it cannot be called an accomplishment, the life of Francis Drake as a slave trader and privateer did win him favors from the Queen when he was commissioned on official missions. As a slave trader, Drake would capture slaves from Africa and sell them in New Spain. As a privateer, he had his own ship and a small fleet which traded in goods after seizing merchant ships off the coast of France. He indulged in illegal slave trading as well at the same time.

2. A Commissioned Privateer of Queen Elizabeth

After working with his cousin and relatives, the Hawkins family, Drake became a commissioned privateer and got the license to look any property and resources that belonged to the Spanish King Philip II. During his stint as a commissioned privateer, Drake sailed to Panama. During an earlier voyage, he was stuck at a port in Mexico where he was wounded by the Spanish. It took him a while to recover and flee the port back to England. The incident had scarred him and he had grown bitter towards the Spanish. In Panama, Drake ransacked the town of Nombre de Dios. Although initially he failed to acquire the riches being dropped off by the Spanish ships and could not take over the town due to his injuries, he managed to recover from his wounds and amassed substantial quantities of silver and gold back to Plymouth.

3. First English Explorer to Circumnavigate the Globe

Drake’s mission in Panama was a grand success. He became a trusted explorer of Queen Elizabeth. Happy with his proven prowess, Queen Elizabeth commissioned Drake to sail out to the Pacific Coast, exploring Spanish colonies and finding a northwest passage to North America. Drake sailed out with five ships and headed straight down to South America. Drake managed to sail past the Strait of Magellan and reached the Pacific Ocean. Those who have studied the age of discovery would be aware of the many explorers who have tried to find the route to the Pacific. In those attempts, many explorers ended up exploring more of North America, Mexico and South America. Francis Drake had better understanding of the maps courtesy the accomplishments of previous explorers.

He sailed upwards along the western coast of South America and explored Chile, Peru and all the way to California and above. Along the way, Drake plundered many Spanish vessels and also ransacked a Spanish merchant ship, robbing it of all the bullion onboard. It is said that Drake managed to sail up to Oregon and even Alaska but that is a tad unfounded since there isn’t enough proof.

After exploring the western coast of North America, Drake set sail further westward and reached the Indian Ocean. He sailed further westward, reached the Cape of Good Hope and eventually reached Plymouth in England. This was the first documented and also the first ever circumnavigated voyage by any English explorer. Upon his return, Drake was knighted. Not only did he come to be known as Sir Francis Drake but he was also a wealthy man due to all the looted wealth.

Early Life Of Sir Francis Drake

4. Mayor of Plymouth

Sir Francis Drake became the mayor of Plymouth shortly after his circumnavigating voyage around the globe. He was also inducted into the House of Commons. Later, Drake went on to command a part of the Royal Navy and eventually became the vice admiral.

Sir Francis Drake Background

5. The Historic Defeat of the Spanish Armada

Who Is Sir Francis Drake

Circa mid 1580s, Sir Francis Drake was again commissioned by the queen to launch a series of raids on Spanish fleets and cities under Spanish occupation. Drake unleashed his wrath and inflicted irreparable damage on the Spanish, not materially but morally. King Philip II responded with an attempted invasion of England. As the massive armada started working on the invasion of England, Drake succeeded in raiding Cadiz and destroyed thirty ships and precious supplies worth thousands of tons. When the Spanish armada blocked the English Channel and the threats of an invasion loomed large, Sir Francis Drake and Lord Charles Howard fought a mighty battle that did not just defeat the Spanish but humiliated the perceived strength and dominance of the Spaniards in naval warfare. More than half of the fleet was destroyed and Spain sustained massive casualties. Sir Francis Drake died on 28th January, 1596 in Panama.