18th Century Portrait of Sir Francis Drake: 16th Century Navigator, Privateer, Politician

This strikingly beautiful engraved portrait of Sir Francis Drake has very wide margins. There is mile spotting in the margins, which does not affect the engraving. The print is otherwise in excellent condition.

Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. He was knighted by Elizabeth I of England in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the second circumnavigation of the world in history from 1577 to 1580. During this voyage he explored the Pacific Ocean, including the west coast of North America, until then an area of exclusive Spanish control. He conquered "New Albion" (present day California) and claimed the area for England. His naval accomplishments were legendary, making him a hero to the English, but considered a pirate by the Spanish, who called him El Draque. He was also known as Franciscus Draco (Francis the Dragon). King Philip II of Spain offered a reward of 20,000 ducats (about $6.5 million in today's value) for his life. Drake's frequent successful attacks on Spanish ships during the 1580's contributed to Philips II of Spain's decision to launch the Armada against England in 1588. Drake served as vice-admiral of the English fleet, which defeated the Armada.

On June 17, 1579, Drake and his crew sailed into a protected cove on the Pacific coast of what is now Northern California, for repairs to their ship, the Golden Hind. While ashore, he claimed the area for Queen Elizabeth I as Nova Albion or New Albion. Today Drake's landing site is known as Point Reyes, California, a marine environment which is the setting of several small towns, ranches, and Point Reyes National Seashore. Drake posted an engraved brass plate to document Queen Elizabeth I's sovereignty and that of every future English monarch. This claim became the justification for English claims in other parts of America all the way to the Atlantic coast and influenced further English expansion on the North American continent. While ashore, Drake had contact with the Native American Miwok tribe. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in the San Francisco Bay Area's Marin County commemorates Drake's visit to the area. Drake sailed from New Albion on July 23, 1579 and made landfall the next day at the Farallon Islands, off the coast of present day San Francisco, where the crew stocked the ship with seal meat.

Future voyages brought Drake back to the Atlantic, where he died of dysentery in January, 1596 after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Jacobus Houbraken (1698-1780) was a Dutch engraver who devoted himself almost entirely to portraiture. He produced a published record of the lives of artists from the Dutch Golden Age. In many cases his portraits are the only likenesses left of these people. Houbraken He collaborated with the historian Thomas Birch and artist George Vertue, on the project entitled, "Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain", published in parts in London from 1743 to 1752. From 1752 to 1759 he worked with the historian Jan Wagenaar (1709–1773) on his 21 part "Vaderlandsche Historie", published by Isaac Tirion in Amsterdam.