John Hopkins

But within a few years, they are sailing together once more.

This May, on the Noisa Podcast Network, Real Vikings concludes as the epic excursions of the Norsemen culminate in a monumental showdown.

On Short History Of, we'll witness the world-changing events of the Spanish Civil War and uncover the real James Bond.

On Real Survival Stories, a remarkable tale of escape from a devastating earthquake in China and an extraordinary encounter with a humpback whale.

And in Sherlock Holmes short stories, we're amidst the misty expanse of Dartmoor for one of Conan Doyle's most beloved works, The Hound of the Baskervilles.

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And by the way, a short history of ancient Rome.

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In July 1569, Drake marries a woman named Mary Newman, possibly the sister of one of her new husband's shipmates.

The profits from these slave voyages allow the new couple to set up home in Plymouth, although Mary is frequently left alone when Francis heads out to sea.

Though he is now a married man with a comfortable house and a growing fortune, Drake continues to obsess over that ambush of a few years ago.

Though disentangling Drake's own myth-making from historical fact is a tricky task, his naval career does become focused on attacking Spanish ships and colonies.

At San Juan de Olua, they made a dangerous and implacable enemy.

By 1571, Francis Drake is commanding ships in fleets not overseen by the Hawkins family.

Building on the knowledge and experience gained in the previous decade, he joins a group of French pirates raiding Spanish outposts in Panama.

They spend several months terrorizing poorly defended ships and ports in lightning-fast attacks.

These missions are not without peril.

In one such expedition, Drake loses two of his brothers, John and Joseph, off the coast of Panama.

The first sustains a gunshot wound, while the second dies of an unknown disease that tears through the crew.

Drake orders an autopsy to learn more about the sickness that killed Joseph, attempting to save others with the knowledge gleaned from his brother's corpse.