Wednesday, 11 January 2017 18:43

The Gran Canaria Mistake That Cost Sir Francis Drake His Life

Sir Francis Drake's failure at Las Palmas had deadly consequences Sir Francis Drake's failure at Las Palmas had deadly consequences

Sir Francis Drake, along with his cousin and fellow privateer (legal pirate) John Hawkins, attacked Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1595 but failed to breach the city's makeshift defences. 

It was the first action in a doomed expedition that took Drake and Hawkins to their graves in the New World. 

When they set sail from England with a privateer's commission and fleet of six royal galleons, twenty ships and dozens of smaller craft, Drake and Hawkins never intended to stop in the Canary Islands. Instead, they were headed across the Atlantic to plunder Spanish treasure ships and set up a permanent English colony in Panama.

However, Drake's armada was soon running low on water and provisions and he decided to detour to the Canary Islands and take Las Palmas city. His general, Sir Thomas Baskerville, was convinced that his troops could take it in just four hours. 

Drake wanted to give his men an early morale boost, although history records that Hawkins was more cautious and wanted to keep the element of surprise until the corsair fleet arrived in the plunder-rich Caribbean.

Attack on Las Palmas

The Spanish sighted Drake's sails on October 4th and organised a hasty militia of 1500 men to defend the city. 

Drake's landing was a total disaster and he lost dozens of men and several boats without establishing a bridgehead. After taking an hour and a half of intense musket fire, the English retreated with no plunder and no provisions.

The fleet sailed away from Las Palmas and tried to take on water at Arguineguín in south Gran Canaria. However, the Spanish captured a landing party and soon found out all about Drake's plans.

Drake sailed west from Gran Canaria, reprovisioned on La Gomera island and headed towards the Caribbean. Just ahead was a fast Spanish ship that warned the Empire that El Draque was heading their way.

Doomed Drake

Drake and Hawkins attacked several ports and ships in the Caribbean but without the element of surprise were beaten back by the Spanish. Hawkins fell in Puerto Rico, and Drake succumbed to dysentery in Panama.

El Draque was buried at sea in a lead coffin that has never been found.

General Baskerville, after a final defeat, sailed the failed expedition back to England. Only eight ships returned home.

Published in History

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Tip of the day

  • Tip Of The Day: Avoid Bank Card Charges By Paying In Euros
    Tip Of The Day: Avoid Bank Card Charges By Paying In Euros

    Save money and avoid rip-off bank charges while in Gran Canaria by paying in euros when using your credit or debit card.

    Many bars and restaurants in Gran Canaria, and in almost all European holiday destinations, give you the option of paying in euros or in your home currency. Opting for your own currency, while it may seem like the safer option, can add as much as 5% to the bill as it triggers dynamic currency conversion. 

    DCC basically means that the exchange rate is calculated at point of sale rather than by your bank. It allows you to see the total cost of the transaction in your own currency but adds up to 5% to the total because it uses a terrible exchange rate. 

    Since the extra money is shared between your bank and the merchant, some places will automatically bill you in your own currency and hope you don't notice. You have the legal right to refuse and void the transaction should this happen. 

    ATMs too

    The same applies when taking money out of ATM machines in Gran Canaria (and anywhere in Europe); Always choose the local currency option to avoid losing money to poor exchange rates.

    If you opt for the local currency option, using bank ATMs is often the cheapest and safest way of getting euros in Gran Canaria. It's far safer than having a big pile of euros hidden in your room or tucked into your shorts.

    More details in this Daily Telegraph article.

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