A failed circumnavigation of «Elizabeth»

Abstract

The second circumnavigation, accomplished by the Englishman under the leadership of Francis Drake, followed the expedition of Magellan to one of the most important enterprises of the Age of Discovery. The expedition members who returned with Drake on the Golden hind became heroes and were enriched by the robbery of the Spanish colonies on the Pacific coast of America. However, another ship was able to return to England under the command of Captain Winter. We can judge about his journey, relying on the few reports and diaries of two members of the crew of Elizabeth - notes of John Cook and more detailed notes of Edward Cliff. The Vice-Admirals ship Elizabeth, having lost the flagship of the expedition, was thrown back into the Strait of Magellan and returned to its homeland across the Atlantic, without having made a circumnavigation. The choice of the way back and the refusal to continue the expedition was the sole decision of Captain Winter. Attempts to go along the Brazilian coast in order to achieve profitability by means of trade or robbery led to serious losses among the crew and the prosecution of the Captain Winter. Probably for this reason British studies dont pay any serious attention to the journey of Elizabeth.