John Hopkins

The newly knighted captain remains where he is until his queen speaks the illustrious words, Arise, Sir Francis Drake.

A colossal cheer rings out as Drake stands, the sunlight gilding his hair and beard.

The dauntless captain of the Golden Hind has become the queen's golden knight.

Nowadays, Sir Francis Drake is most famous for his role in defeating the Armada of 1588 and saving England from a Spanish invasion.

By that point in his life, he was already a wealthy and famous seafarer, the first Englishman to sail around the world, knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in recognition of this astounding feat.

But though he is remembered in England as a naval hero, Drake spent most of his maritime career as a pirate, feared by the Spanish whose colonies and ships he terrorized.

To them he was El Drake, the dragon, with a bounty placed on his head by King Philip II of Spain himself.

So who was the real Francis Drake?

avaricious pirate or patriotic naval commander?

How did a boy from an agricultural Devonshire family discover fame and fortune on the high seas?

And to what extent is his heroic reputation overshadowed by his darker deeds?

I'm John Hopkins from the Noiser Podcast Network.

This is a short history of Sir Francis Drake.

The man, who will one day become known as Queen Elizabeth's favorite pirate, begins life near Tavistock in Devon, southwest England.

Despite his later fame, many of the facts of his early life still lie beyond the grasp of historians.

Hannah Cusworth is curator of the Atlantic at Royal Museums, Greenwich.

The family do not remain in Devon for long.

Around 1548, they're forced to move to Kent.

Competing narratives have sprung up to explain this sudden flight.

but recently uncovered documents show that Edmund Drake later received a royal pardon for his role in a 1548 fracas and robbery, suggesting this as a likely explanation for the family's relocation.