On 26 September 1580, Francis Drake sailed the Golden Hind into Plymouth, completing a voyage that had taken him around the world and kept him away from England for nearly three years.

Drake had left Plymouth in December 1577 with five ships. His expedition was backed by Queen Elizabeth I and other investors. Although the voyage involved exploration and trade, Drake also intended to attack Spanish possessions and shipping.

After passing through the Strait of Magellan, Drake entered the Pacific. His expedition raided Spanish settlements and ships along the western coast of the Americas. Among his captures was the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, from which Drake took a large cargo of silver, gold and other valuables.

Rather than return through the Strait of Magellan, Drake continued across the Pacific. The Golden Hind crossed the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and sailed north through the Atlantic towards England.

The arrival at Plymouth made Drake the first Englishman to complete a circumnavigation of the world. It also created a political problem. Spain regarded his attacks as piracy, while Elizabeth and the expedition’s other English investors benefited from the captured cargo.

Drake’s standing in England rose sharply. On 4 April 1581, Elizabeth knighted him aboard the Golden Hind at Deptford during a visit. The voyage had brought England wealth, navigational knowledge and a further source of conflict with Spain.