On 13th December 1577, Sir Francis Drake finally left Plymouth with his fleet of five ships on a journey which would see him circumnavigating the Globe. Storm damage to two of his ships had scuppered earlier plans.

The purpose of this journey was to sail into the Pacific and raid the Spanish colonies there. It was a secret mission authorised by Queen Elizabeth I and investors of Drake’s mission included the Queen, Sir Francis Walsingham, William and George Wynter, Christopher Hatton and John Hawkins.

Only one ship, the Pelican, made it safely to the Pacific, arriving there in October 1578. As a tribute to its success it was renamed the Golden Hind, after Sir Christopher Hatton's coat of arms. Drake sailed along South America's Pacific coast, plundering towns and Spanish ports, and capturing Spanish ships laden with gold, silver and jewels. In June 1579, Drake landed just north of Point Loma (present day San Diego, California), which was Spain's northernmost holding in the Americas. He claimed it for England in the name of the Holy Trinity and called it Nova Albion, "New Britain". He then turned south and made his way back home, arriving in England in September 1580. He was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the Globe.

(Taken from On This Day in Tudor History by Claire Ridgway)