[4][5] During the early stages of the Age of Discovery, the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the New World into Spanish and Portuguese zones and was signed by the nations' respective monarchs and Pope Alexander VI.

[7] In 1567, a fleet led by the English privateer Sir John Hawkins conducted a slave trading voyage, transporting enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to sell in Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Americas.

Drake's men saw weathered and bleached skeletons on the grim Spanish gibbets and decided to remain in San Julian for the winter before attempting the Strait of Magellan.

The first report of his discovery of an open channel south of Tierra del Fuego was written after the 1618 publication of the voyage of Willem Schouten and Jacob le Maire around Cape Horn in 1616.

[40] Just before they got to Callao a Spanish coaster was intercepted and captured; from the prisoners information was gained bearing news that a number of treasure ships were heading in the area.

They then questioned the inhabitants from whom they learnt that a large treasure galleon called Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, had recently departed North West towards Panama bearing a valuable cargo of silver with its final destination of Manila.

The following day an excited Drake rushed off in pursuit with the recently built pinnace and headed to the direction where the Spanish treasure galleon was most likely to be intercepted.

[43] Drake still in pursuit of the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción and unaware of the sizeable Spanish force now coming for him, took a small ship just having departed from Guayas River which led to Guayaquil.

No further answer came from the Spaniard so more cannons were fired, this time damaging Nuestra Señora de la Concepcións rigging and also tore the mizzenmast and lateen yard off.

[45] Since they were not expecting English ships to be in the Pacific, Nuestra Señora de la Concepcións (which later become known as Cagafuego's) crew was taken completely by surprise and surrendered quickly and without much resistance.

Don Luis however proposed to go to Panama in order to carry on his voyage and deliver his father's vital report regarding the English discovery of the Spanish settlements in South America.

[50] Whilst the Golden Hind was being repaired, the pinnace was scouting the area and came across another Spanish vessel which was soon captured with only a shot fired – this time a small barque.

There were plenty of provisions like water casks and food which the crew desperately needed but also fine China and silks, more maps of the Manilla galleon route and a number of slaves.

By navigating well beyond where Ferrer had asserted a Spanish claim in the Pacific Northwest, Drake ended up searching for a suitable bay to repair and careen his ship for the journey back to England.

[citation needed] Although Drake may have reached earlier on a latitude as high as 48 degrees, his northward progress was ultimately stopped by foul weather in the northeast trade winds belt.

[56] In a particularly significant gesture, a large assembly of Coast Miwok descended on the encampment and honoured Drake by placing chains around his neck, a sceptre in his hand, and a crown of feathers on his head as if he were being proclaimed king.

He wrote in great detail on the Coast Miwoks themselves in day-to-day activities being the first person to make a written record of any of the 64 distinct language groups in prehistoric California.

With English linen, gold and silver, Drake was able to trade for around ten tonnes of exotic spices – most of these were cloves but included ginger, black pepper and nutmeg.

[66] Drake sought a place to trim and water his ship and soon arrived off the Celebes islands unaware of the dangerous shoals and subsequently became caught on a reef on 8 January 1580.

[68] The sailors waited for expedient tides and soon dumped three tons of cargo (mostly cloves) and a number of guns – this eventually freed the ship after three days much to the crew's and Drake's relief.

[73] As they continued North they reached the Western tip of West Africa (present day Sierra Leone) and landed on 22 July taking on fresh water, fruit and provisions.

The Crown lacked sufficient funds to build an efficient navy, but privateering helped subsidised state power by mobilising armed ships and sailors.

The personal stories of the seamen surviving the uncharted perilous waters of the unknown world and the lure of such adventures was an important element in the exploration of trade in the East in the late sixteenth century, in what was to become the 'Eastern Design'.

In order to seal the passage and having feared they were under English control, Toledo sent a squadron with two ships under Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa not only to explore but also take the region as a possession for Spain.

[88] The biggest repercussion from the voyage however was the relationship between Spain and Portugal; the capture of the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción by Drake proved a shock as it provided evidence that the Spanish had been active in the Far East which had already been a Portuguese concession from the Pope as stated in the 1494 Tordesillas treaty.

[91] Some writers have suggested that Queen Elizabeth's desire to maintain secrecy of the locations and extent of Drake's north Pacific explorations led to suppression and obfuscation of the reports.

[92] Nevertheless, many of historians, geographers, linguists, anthropologists and other professionals have put forward their ideas of where Drake landed covering the coast from Alaska to northern Mexico.

The claim of Nova Albion occupied a significant place in British geopolitical considerations for centuries and even strengthened Britain's entitlement to the fur trade commerce along the Northwest Coast.

[95] Nineteenth-century historians had to rely on the vague accounts supplied by Drake's navigator, Nuna da Silva, to the Spanish Viceroy in 1579, and by John Wynter, to the British navy.

It sailed from Plymouth on her maiden voyage in late the following year, arriving on 8 May 1975 in San Francisco, to commemorate Sir Francis Drake's claiming of New Albion in California.