Chapter Three: Exploration and Discovery

Story of Elizabeth

In 1492 Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator① who sailed from Spain, discovered the New World. Now there were new countries to colonise. During the 1500s Spain and Portugal controlled sea travel on the Atlantic Ocean. England and other countries wanted to discover new trade routes to reach the Pacific Ocean. This was Elizabeth’s biggest preoccupation and she sponsored many voyages.

Spain was the richest and most powerful country in Europe. Its empire extended to the West Indies, Central and South America. Spain and Portugal shared their treasures with the Pope in Rome.The Spanish explorers took gold, silver, jewels and other riches from the natives and transported them to Spain on their galleons② Each galleon carried immense treasure.
Many Elizabethan captains and sailors were pirates③, but they were called “privateers.” They had permission from the Queen to attack ships and take their treasure, which they divided with her! This was a common practice at that time.

Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins and Thomas Cavendish were three famous privateers. Elizabeth affectionately called Drake “my pirate.” Hawkins became the first Englishman to trade in African slaves. Elizabeth asked Francis Drake, an expert navigator, to sail across the South Atlantic, attack Spanish galleons and take their treasure. She also wanted him to find new trade routes.

① navigator; 航海家。
② galleons:15-17世纪西班牙大帆船。
③ pirates: 海盗。

Drake left Plymouth in 1577 on his ship. The Golden Hind and sailed South. He attacked several Spanish galleons on the South American coast. Then he sailed up the Pacific Coast and landed in northern California in 1579. He stayed there a month and claimed California for Queen Elizabeth – today this place is called Drake’s Bay, California, near San Francisco. In 1936 an old metal plate was found near Drake’s Bay with these words on it:
BE IT KNOWN TO ALL MEN … JUNE 17, 1579, BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND IN THE NAME OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND . FOREVER I TAKE POSSESSION OF THIS KINGDOM . TO BE KNOWN UNTO ALL MEN AS NOVA ALBION.
FRANCIS DRAKE (No one knows if this metal plate was Drake’s or not.)

Drake then sailed across the Pacific Ocean and reached the East Indies. From there he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and returned to England in 1580 after three long years.Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe①. His voyage is memorable② because he navigated in very difficult and dangerous conditions. He had no real maps. Queen Elizabeth was extremely pleased with his results and knighted③ him. She also gave him a
special sword to use on England’s enemies.

① circumnavigate the globe: 环绕地球航行。
② memorable: 值得纪念的。
③ knighted: 册封为爵士。

Drake did not only bring back immense treasures, he also brought back new foods and spices: pineapples, tomatoes, bananas, coconuts, peppers and chilies. Spices were very important because they preserved① food and improved its taste.

English colonization in North America began in 1584. Sir Walter Raleigh, a courageous soldier and explorer, was one of Elizabeth’s favorites. He sailed to North America and set up the Virginia colony in honor of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen.

Three years later 117 men, women and children arrived on Roanoke Island, in the Virginia colony. Living conditions were very difficult and many Indians were unfriendly. By 1590 the colony was abandoned. No one knew what happened to the colonists②. Sir Walter Raleigh brought back potatoes and tobacco from the Virginia colony. He introduced pipe smoking to the Elizabethan court and it soon became popular. This was the beginning of the tobacco trade and industry.

① preserved: 保存。
② colonists: 殖民地者。