Sir francis Drake was born in Devonshire, England between 1540 and 1544. He was the son of a farmer and oldest of 12 siblings. During his life he was most known for being a pirate, privateer, and slaver. Drake was a very skilled navigator and began sailing at the age of 18 with the Hawkin Family Fleet. The Hawkin family were merchants and privateers who most likely influenced sir Francis Drake to follow their career path. From there, he participated in many slave voyages in Africa to earn money and start his career. He completed many of his voyages along side his cousin John Hawkin. When sailing to Africa in 1567 he had developed a deep hatred for Spain because they had killed most of his crew members on the Port of San Juan de Ulua. But he was most feared by many for one thing in particular, privateering. He began getting fortunes by privateering and getting the fortunes of Spanish ships. He had his first independent and also successful trip in 1572. Drake had sailed to Panama and attacked one of the towns for silver and gold. Another one of his accomplishments was when he was asked by Queen Elizabeth to seek a northwest passage to North America. This is because he became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. Another big victory of his was defeating and destroying his “enemies” while second-in-command. By defeating his enemies, the Spanish Armada, England was known as the leader and most powerful navy in the world. During his last expedition on January 1596, he had died from a fever and dysentery in Portobelo, Panama.