Sir Francis Drake returned to England, got married and lived on a large estate outside of London. On January 28, 1596, he died aboard his ship the Defiance. He was struck by a tropical disease that he probably picked up during his last trip to the Americas. He died and was buried at sea. It was said that he got out of his deathbed early the morning of his death and tried to put on his suit of armor. He wanted to die as a soldier. Sir Francis Drake died of dysentery when he was about 55. He was buried at sea in a lead coffin off Puerto Bello to the sound of trumpets and cannons.
Other interesting facts:
*There were many different types and classes of what we clump together as pirates now.
- Pirate is a robber and destroyer of ships at sea.
- Buccaneer was originally an inhabitant of Hispaniola. The name coming from a Taino word boucan or barbecue. Because these people were said to prepare their meat in this manner they were originally called boucaniers.
- Privateer was a privately owned ship and crew hired by a national government during wartime to plunder the ships of an enemy nation.
- Corsair was a Mediterranean pirate of the 16th century.
*The Golden Age of Piracy came about soon after the discovery of the New World and continued for about 250 years.
*When the Pope divided the New World between Spain and Portugal in 1494 the other European nations were not very happy. They wanted some of the stolen Aztec gold also. War was a given.
*The New World coast from South America through the Caribbean to Northern Florida was known as "The Spanish Main".
*In 1630 a treaty was signed with Spain enabling the English and French to colonize some of the lands along the Spanish Main.
*One of the main sources of food the settlers consumed on the island of Hispaniola were the wild pigs originally introduced by the Spanish. The pigs were barbecued on open fires called buccans or boucan. This is how the settlers got the title buccaneers.
*The Spanish were getting a little nervous because of all the buccaneers on Hispaniola. They sent hunters to kill all the pigs which in turn made the buccaneers turn to piracy because their food source was gone. Later Spain realized they made a dire mistake.
*Many of the buccaneers (they called themselves Brethren of the Coast) moved on to a new island named Tortuga/ Turtle. It is located off the coast on the Haitian side of the island. This island became a sanctuary for the Buccaneers because of its perfect habitat and location.
*Not all pirates were fierce outlaws. Many were just sailors trying to make a living the only way they were able.
*Many things about how the ship would be run was agreed upon by all before the ship left port. They decided where to sail, how the bounty would be divided (usually the most going to the captain, then the skilled labor on the ship and the least amounts going to the laborers), and who would be captain.
*Sir Francis Drake introduced pipe smoking to Elizabethan age of England.
*Drake named Virginia in United States after Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen
Other famous pirates I found that visited the Santo Domingo colony included
*Blackbeard - (Edward Thatch or Teach) Samana Bay in Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) in 1718?
*William Kidd also known as The Unlucky Pirate
*Sir Henry Morgan known as The Pirate King (1654 in Hispanola)