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Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783

Depth study: Elizabethan Privateers 1558–1603 — Nature and extent of privateering, motives

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on nature and extent of privateering in the Elizabethan era and relationship between privateering and imperial development, motives, methods, extent of success and impact of key individuals, including Drake and Raleigh.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Evaluation

Why is the fight at San Juan de Ulúa in 1568 seen as a turning point?

Who and when

What roles did privateer captains play in the Armada campaign of 1588?

Key term

Why is the Drake and Norris expedition of 1589 important to a balanced view of privateering?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Distinguish a privateer from a pirate in law.

    Model answer

    A privateer sailed under a letter of marque or reprisal from the Crown authorising attacks on a named enemy, so his plunder was lawful prize and a share went to the state.

  2. 2

    How extensive was privateering by the 1590s?

    Model answer

    It had become a substantial industry, with well over a hundred ships at sea in some years and prize goods worth more than a hundred thousand pounds annually flowing into English ports.

  3. 3

    Why is the fight at San Juan de Ulúa in 1568 seen as a turning point?

    Model answer

    The Spanish attack on Hawkins's trading fleet convinced Hawkins and Drake that peaceful trade with the Spanish empire was impossible, and turned them towards open plunder.

  4. 4

    What did Drake achieve at Nombre de Dios and on the Panama isthmus in 1572 and 1573?

    Model answer

    Allied with escaped enslaved Africans, he ambushed a Spanish silver train and returned to England rich, proving that the treasure route could be attacked on land.

  5. 5

    Which capture made Drake's circumnavigation financially spectacular?

    Model answer

    The seizure of the treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción off Peru in 1579, whose cargo of silver and gold made the voyage one of the most profitable in English history.

  6. 6

    Describe what Drake did at Cadiz in 1587 and why it mattered.

    Model answer

    He raided the harbour and destroyed shipping and supplies, delaying the Armada by a year in an operation he called singeing the King of Spain's beard.

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