The Golden Hind and the Tello on the Coasts of California

For 400 years, no clear picture has existed of the movements of the Golden Hind in that sector of Drake's great voyage which passed north of Mexico to Oregon. The log and charts of the ship and Drake's own account of the circumnavigation were put away in the Tower of London for secrecy and have never come to light. Even Fletcher's account of the voyage had this California sector suppressed and the short summary paragraph substituted was unfortunately ambiguous. Richard Hakluyt confused matters by suggesting that Drake sailed far out into the Pacific to find the westerlies and then made landfall in Oregon. Map evidence existed but it was scattered and mostly unknown to historians. What was known from the sponsorship of the voyage was that Drake had orders to explore the Pacific coast from 32? to 50?N in search of a strait passing through North America which would give quick passage from England to China. In this paper, a study of two maps hitherto overlooked, that of Lok in 1582 and of Edward Wright in 1599, throws new light on a controversy which has lasted more than 100 years. It shows that Drake carefully examined all the coasts of California to Oregon and returned south to careen his ship in the great bay of San Francisco

Animal science · Biology · Geography · Geotechnical engineering · Hydrology (agriculture · Archaeology and Natural History · Environmental Science · Geography and Environmental Studies in Latin America · Geology · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

• Recent Literature in Discovery History

  Barbara B Mccorkle•Terrae Incognitae•1983

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• Recent Literature in Discovery History

  Barbara B Mccorkle•Terrae Incognitae•1983

  Add to list