Drake captures CACAFUEGO.
1579

Watercolor 14" x 29"


In the 1570’s England was officially neutral towards Spain, although for almost a decade English marauder’s had been raiding Spanish ships and settlements in the New World, and Spain had been capturing and imprisoning English “pirates”. The most successful of these Elizabethan captains was Francis Drake. Queen Elizabeth, while secretly praising him for his success, officially exiled him to Ireland to appease the incensed Spaniards. While in Ireland Drake nurtured an already well established hatred of the Catholic Spaniards, and began to formulate a scheme to challenge them in the Pacific.

The Spanish employed a fleet of unarmed merchantmen to transport bullion and other treasure from Chile and Peru to the port of Old Panama. For thirty years they had sailed the coast unmolested so were taken completely by surprise when Drake sailed into view. In Callao, the port for Lima, he learned that the NUESTRA SENORA DE LA CONCEPCION, popularly known as the CACAFUEGO, had sailed thirteen days earlier with a cargo of twenty-six tons of silver bars, thirteen chests of silver coins, and eighty pounds of gold and jewels. Drake caught up to her two weeks later. The unsuspecting Spaniard allowed the GOLDEN HIND to sail right alongside, and a broadside of chain shot took out her mizzen, ending any resistance before it could begin. Drake transferred the treasure to the GOLDEN HIND and allowed the Spanish to go on their way.