Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe in a famous voyage from 1577 to 1580. He raided Spanish settlements and played a key role in defending England against the Spanish Armada. Sir Walter Raleigh sponsored early English colonies in America but also failed in expeditions to find El Dorado, leading to his imprisonment and eventual execution under King James I. Tudor sailors faced difficult conditions on long voyages in cramped ships with limited food and medical care.

1. By Ben Briggs

4. Sir Francis Drake sailed round the world, he started his route in Plymouth. He set sail and went through the straits of Magellan (southern tip of south America) into the pacific, coasted up the western shores of the Americas, crossed to Asia and the Philippines, and finally returned to Britain on September 26, 1580. On the way round the world Sir Francis Drake collected an amazing amount of money - it was enough to pay off the national debt, he had also returned with lots of new foods and spices. Sir Francis Drake was knighted for his courage and the money he brought back with him. Sir Francis Drake also became an MP and was also awarded a very big house ( his crew received nothing!)

5. In 1587, Elizabeth I put Drake in command of an expedition to attack a Spanish fleet which was getting ready to attack England. Drake sailed right in to Cadiz harbour and wrecked the ships there, before going on to capture another hundred Spanish ships elsewhere. It is said he’d ‘singed the king of Spain’s beard’. By 1588, he was Vice-Admiral of the fleet which defeated the Spanish armada. As a sailor, adventurer, navigator, politician, engineer and landowner, Drake was as famous in his own lifetime as David Beckham is today. He was one of the most famous men in Elizabethan times.

9. Sir Walter Raleigh’s ship. Sir Walter Raleigh thought there were new places to be discovered and that was when his exploration began. He travelled to America a lot and he sponsored the first English colony in America. (Which failed.) He is credited with discovering the potato and tobacco but these were already known by the Spanish. He set off to find El Dorado ( he failed.) In 1616 he was allowed again to go and look for El Dorado ( this was also a failure.) He attacked the Spanish instead which led to his downfall. (As you can see not all of his missions were very successful although he did write some very famous books, including History of the World!)