Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 2).djvu/168

 Spaniards, induced this daring and skilful seaman to venture upon this perilous undertaking. But though it failed, as all similar undertakings have failed, Frobisher discovered Greenland, and reached the straits which now bear his name in 63° 8´ north latitude.

In 1577 Francis Drake, the colleague of Hawkins, and alike famous and notorious, undertook his memorable voyage round the world. Two years before Oxenham had, it is true, but unknown to Drake, built a pinnace in which he sailed down one of the streams flowing into the Pacific, and had the honour of being the first English navigator who had ventured upon the waters of that great ocean; to Sir Francis, however, is due the credit of its more complete exploration. For this distant and hazardous voyage he had been provided with five vessels: the Pelican, of one hundred tons, commanded by himself as admiral, the Elizabeth of eighty tons, the Swan of fifty, the Marigold of thirty, and the Christopher, a pinnace, of fifteen tons; the crew of the whole amounting to one hundred and sixty-four men. With these small vessels, having cleared out ostensibly for Alexandria in Egypt, on the 3rd of December, 1577, he reached the river La Plata on the 14th of April, 1578, and entered Port St. Julian, where Magellan's fleet had anchored a few years before, on the 20th of June of the same year, and having passed the Straits of Magellan was driven back southwards to Cape Horn.