In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Plymouth was the port from
which expeditions were sent out to explore and form colonies in hitherto
unknown places abroad, and in these some of the most daring sailors the
world has ever known took part.
Sir Martin Frobisher, the first navigator to attempt to find the
north-west passage to India, and from whom comes the name Frobisher's
Strait, to the south of Baffin Land, was knighted, along with Townshend
and Beeston, for his services in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
Sir Francis Drake, the great Admiral of Queen Elizabeth's time, made
many adventurous voyages, partly for discovery and partly for plunder,
and was the first Englishman to sail round the world. He brought news of
the existence of gold in some places where he had been, and when he
returned his well-filled ship stimulated others to emulate the Spaniards
in that direction.
Sir Walter Raleigh, who was described as a scholar, courtier, soldier,
sailor, and statesman, discovered Virginia in 1584. He was in great
favour at Court, but he quarrelled with Queen Elizabeth, who had granted
him a Patent for the discovery and settlement of unknown countries in
the West.
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