The Pirate Francis Drake in California

*Correction: Later in the video I say 1578 when I should have said 1579*

In 1579, Francis Drake spent five weeks during his circumnavigation of the globe in California. This video covers the reasons why Drake decided to stay in CA, the evidence for where he landed, and the significance of his journey to the Golden State.

Sources:
Heizer, Robert F. Francis drake and the California Indians, 1579. UC Press, 1947.
Von Der Porten, Edward P. "Drake and Cermeño in California: Sixteenth century Chinese ceramics." Historical Archaeology 6, no. 1 (1972): 1-22.

[mundee]

I live only a few hours from Point Reyes and happened to visit for the first time a few years ago. It's a really breathtaking spot, but I had no idea that Francis Drake had been there until I learned later on when I started diving deep into the history of exploration. Learning the history of this place really made me appreciate it so much more.

Great video though, keep it up! I'm surprised you don't have more subs. :)

[salt]

Outstanding video. It's fascinating that Drake landed near San Francisco Bay and stayed for several weeks.
As a sea captain, explorer, navigator, privateer and risk-taker, Drake was extraordinarily successful and brave at a time when maps were so unreliable. Unlike Magellan, he actually survived the journey back to England.

[thermometredupochard]

Thank you for the history. I feel your pain trying to bring the child along for a history trip/adventure. All the best from the UK.

[guynorkal]

Superb work P.A. Well done in presenting the unimpeachable evidence. You've clearly done your homework.

[jameskennedy]

Glad I stumbled upon this video, really really interesting and I’m glad you included footage of you going there in person!

[billybobjr]

I think it's absolutely insane that this guy barely has any subs or views on his channel even though he makes some of, if not, THE BEST archeology videos on this platform. Keep up pumping out high-quality content, and the latter will begin to follow.👍🏽

[woodywhite]

Outstanding! concise, well spoken, interesting exploration explorer. Well done AJ!! Hey where did Drake go after his visit to Drake's Bay? And did he live to bank his gold??

[joelacasse]

my cousin and i loved coming here when we were little. we would always go looking for pirate treasure

[NaylahSmith]

This was such an amazing video, it was assigned for us to watch it for school and it’s so interesting! Thanks! 👍🏻

[soopermexican]

Very cool, i was just at point reyes but i was not prepared with enough info on where to go. I can't wait to go back and visit all the historical sites.

[roswellxo]

Sir Francis drakes accent you gave him was very Scottish hahaha

[andrewbird]

The explorers of that era were gold and silver obsessed, that was their primary motivation. When I think of Drake, I think less of what he found in Nor Cal and more about what he missed. He missed the opening of San Francisco Bay, and little did he know that some 100 miles inland lay the richest gold fields on the planet and beyond that over the mountains one of the richest silver deposits in the world. It would be fun to go back in time and meet Drake at the dock when he returned to England and tell him of the wealth he didn't discover.

[normdawley]

Nice intro 101 on Sir Francis Drake's consequential albeit brief stay in California.

[magnusherfjord]

Good video, i am watching while pretending to work 👍

[fdizlois]

The first circumnavigator of the globe was Juan Sebastian Elcano (Spanish), that set sail in 1519 from Spain (Seville). Magallanes, the famous Portuguese explorer was the leader of the expedition but died in the Philipines, so he did not "live to tell the tale". Juan Sebastian Elcano took charge of the expedition. That was 60 years before Francis

[timgerk]

Strongly recommend for those who believe the world began in 1620 in Massachusetts Bay.

[stevea]

Amazing to sail all that distance and find all these places already named after you.

[josecardoza]

Love the video! Are you a Marin native?

[publicmushroom]

It would be nice to see you do a video on the brass plaque he left and was later found in the 1930's

[raymonddrake]

I am probably biased since I am a Drake - but it is also important to judge a person who lived in the 1500s by the time they lived in - not by present day standards/morality...