Collection Items
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Manuscript/Mixed MaterialDocument signed Peter Lemon's testimony gives, in brief outline, a fascinating escape-narrative; it was made on the eve of Philip II's last "Spanish Armada," the one of 1597. It is entitled "The depositione of peeter Lemman of Mylbrooke, taken by Richard Carew of Antony in Cornwayle the 7th of November, 1596." He tells how he "went out of England with Sir ffrauncis Drake"--this was with Drake's…- Contributor: Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress) - Lemon, Peter
- Date: 1596
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Manuscript/Mixed MaterialPrivy Council order for the payment of ration and transportation money for a body of troops The order provides for the payment of £562 12 s. 10 d. for provisions and transport of soldiers to Ireland recruited in Wales "and other counties adioyninge." The most notable of the signatories was Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of England, commander of the English fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada of 1588. Other signers who took part in the 1588 campaign were…- Contributor: Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress)
- Date: 1598
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Manuscript/Mixed MaterialTratado Tocante el Armar y disciplina de las Galeras. Dedicado al muy digno y Illustre Ambrosio Spinola, Duque de Sanceverino . . . General de las galeras de su Catholica Mag[esta]d en … An unpublished manuscript of great interest for the study of sea-power in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, for the history of the Eighty Years War between the Dutch and Spain and for assessing the performance of galleys in the Spanish Armada of 1588; it gives the role of oared vessels in the attack on England extended discussion. Feneke has here produced a treatise resuming…- Contributor: Feneke Muñoz, Carlos - Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress)
- Date: 1603
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Book/Printed MaterialEffigies regvm ac principum, eorum scilicet, quor[um] vis ac potentia in re nautica seu marina prae caeteris spectabilis est : quibuspropter materiȩ affinitatem adiectȩ sunt et imagines praestantissimorum ac maximè illustrium heroum, …
Effigies regum ac principum | Initium artis navigandi This series of portraits, one of the finest works of de Passe in this genre, is of considerable American interest, as it includes engravings of the great navigators of the Renaissance period, such as Columbus, Magellan, Vespucci, and Laudonnière. The portrait of Drake is of especial interest: it is a close copy of the smaller Hondius Drake portrait which in its first state exists…- Contributor: Passe, Crispijn Van De - Porro, Girolamo - Mercator, Gerhard - Quad, Matthias
- Date: 1598
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3D ObjectArmada medal Dutch medal of silver, commemorating the defeat of the Invincible Armada, produced in Middelburg (Netherlands). This is perhaps the best known of the many medals (thirteen in all are recorded by Fernández Duro) issued in England and Holland to propagandize the stunning defeat of the Spanish Armada. The obverse displays a rocky islet--a church building on it (symbolizing the Church of England) remains unmoved…- Contributor: Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress)
- Date: 1588
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3D ObjectArmada medals These medals vividly display the rejoicing which spread all over Protestant Europe when Philip II's threatened conquest of England came to grief. They are a 16th century propaganda medium, for the smaller ones, especially the one on copper, circulated widely among the people and spread the news even among the illiterate. The 50 mm. medal shows a lively scene of a Spanish galleon breaking…- Contributor: Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress)
- Date: 1588
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3D ObjectWorld Map, in two hemispheres, engraved or struck on silver, and bearing the track of Drake's 1577-1580 circumnavigation of the earth
Drake silver map | Silver map A splendid example of the Drake Silver Map or Silver Medal, a piece commemorating Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the earth, and in itself a treasure of the art and science of cartography. This specimen bears the following inscription ( extant only on this copy ), in a cartouche in the oceanic regions below Africa: "Micha:[el] Merca:[tor] fecit[.] extat Londi[ni] prope templu Gallo:[rum] An[n]o…- Contributor: Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress) - Mercator, Michael
- Date: 1589
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3D ObjectWorld Map, in two hemispheres, engraved or struck on silver, and bearing the track of Drake's 1577-1580 circumnavigation of the earth
Drake silver map | Silver map Another example of the Drake Silver Map or Silver Medal, a piece commemorating Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the earth, and in itself a treasure of the art and science of cartography.- Contributor: Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress) - Mercator, Michael
- Date: 1589
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Photo, Print, DrawingBurghley, William Cecil, Lord : portrait
William Lo: Burghleighe Lorde Trer of Englande A portrait of the great Lord Burghley in middle age. He was Queen Elizabeth's secretary from 1558 to 1572 and Lord Treasurer from 1572 to his death in 1598, this portrait being evidently from the latter period. It has been examined by experts, and found to be clearly of Burghley's era, and in fine condition. The inscription "William Lo: Burghleighe Lorde Trer of Englande"…- Contributor: Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress)
- Date: 15??
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CollectionSir Francis Drake (Kraus Collection) Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake's accomplishments as an explorer and naval strategist were unparalleled. His most notable feat was circumnavigating the earth from 1577-80, the first such voyage since Magellan's in 1522 and the only one up to that time captained by the same man from start to finish. Drake's expeditions to the Caribbean and the Pacific, undertaken during the circumnavigation and in…- Contributor: Hans and Hanni Kraus Sir Francis Drake Collection (Library of Congress) - Library of Congress
- Date: 2005
Collection Items: View 106 Items
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Web PageRelated Resources Sir Francis Drake's accomplishments as an explorer and naval strategist were unparalleled. His most notable feat was circumnavigating the earth from 1577-80, the first such voyage since Magellan's in 1522 and the only one up to that time captained by the same man from start to finish. Drake's expeditions to the Caribbean and the Pacific, undertaken during the circumnavigation and in subsequent voyages, revealed…
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Web PageRights and Access The contents of the Library of the Sir Francis Drake Collection have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.
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ArticleArticles and Essays Articles and Essays HP Kraus and the building of the Drake Collection Sir Francis Drake, English explorer and naval strategist, circumnavigated the earth from 1577-1580. During these travels, Drake visited the Caribbean and the Pacific
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ArticleHP Kraus and the building of the Drake Collection Sir Francis Drake, English explorer and naval strategist, circumnavigated the earth from 1577-1580. During these travels, Drake visited the Caribbean and the Pacific claiming a portion of California for Queen Elizabeth and waging battles against the Spanish. These voyages also revealed significant new geographical data about the New World and added greatly to Queen Elizabeth's treasury. This collection comprises important primary and secondary source… -
ArticleDigitized Volumes of DeBry's Grand Voyages The Library of Congress holds nearly 100 copies of de Bry's Grands Voyages; America. They vary in arrangement, volumes and in some cases language of the edition. For the ease of searching, we are presenting digitized editions of the various works compiled by de Bry from the Kraus collection in a single numbered volume sequence. -
ArticleSir Francis Drake: A Pictorial Biography by Hans P. Kraus This presentation of the life of Sir Francis Drake in manuscripts, engraved portraits and views, maps, medals, and books, is intended to show him as he appeared to his contemporaries , both his own countrymen and his Spanish antagonists. Most of the documentation is from his own lifetime, the balance being from the period shortly after his death when some of the most detailed… -
ArticleThe "Invincible" Armada, 1588 Despite the Drake Caribbean raid--despite the hostilities at Cadiz--despite the preparation of the great Armada in the harbor of Lisbon--the diplomats continued to negotiate up to the very last moment. A fascinating glimpse at this process is given by a hitherto unknown letter of the English diplomat Dr. Valentine Dale (d. 1589), which he sent to Sir Francis Walsingham, "Principall Secretarie to the Q:[een's]… -
ArticleBibliography The following is a selective list of biographies, chronicles, documentary collections, articles and bibliographical guides descriptive of the career and background of Sir Francis Drake, or relevant to the records of his voyages. It includes all works mentioned in the historical introduction by David W. Waters and Richard Boulind, or cited in the references to it; and it sets out those works which have… -
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ArticleThe Beginning of the End: The Drake-Norris Expedition The war with the Spaniards continued to be fought after the Armada's defeat; in 1589 it was England's turn to attempt an invasion and to be repelled by Spain. This expedition was under Drake, in command of the ships, and Sir John Norreys (Norris) (1547-1597) in command of the troops. They were assigned several objectives, the first being to seek out and destroy the… -
ArticleDrake's First Success: Panama 1572 to 1573 Following the defeat at San Juan de Ulúa, Drake made two minor voyages to the West Indies, in 1570 and 1571, of which little is known. It was in 1572 that he embarked on his first major independent enterprise. He planned an attack on the Panama isthmus, the point at which the silver and gold treasure of Peru had to be landed and sent… -
ArticleIntroduction Sir Francis Drake's accomplishments as an explorer and naval strategist were unparalleled. His most notable feat was circumnavigating the earth from 1577-80, the first such voyage since Magellan's in 1522 and the only one up to that time captained by the same man from start to finish. Drake's expeditions to the Caribbean and the Pacific, undertaken during the circumnavigation and in subsequent voyages, revealed… -
ArticleThe Spanish Defenses of the Strait of Magellan, the Pacific Coast and the Caribbean after the Drake Circumnavigation The Pacific coasts were practically without defenses until after Drake's arrival in 1578. Don Francisco de Toledo, Viceroy of Peru from 1568 to 1581, immediately took steps to correct this. Reproduced (first page only) is the original draft of his letter to Juan Ortiz de Zárate, Governor of Río de La Plata, telling him of Drake's depredations, and of his sending an expedition through… -
ArticleThe Actors "This Englishman calls himself Francis Drake and is a man aged 38. He may be two years more or less. He is low in stature, thick-set, and very robust. He has a fine countenance, is ruddy of complexion and has a fair beard...He is a great mariner, the son and relative of seamen." Such was the appearance of Drake in 1579, when the Portuguese… -
ArticleThe Cadiz Raid No single campaign of Drake better illustrates his qualities as a commander than the famous "singeing of the beard" of King Philip II of Spain, in his enormously successful attack on the port of Cadiz. Queen Elizabeth and her government had become convinced that a war with Spain was inevitable, and so Drake was sent out from Plymouth, on April 12, 1587. He appeared…