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Posts Tagged ‘Nuestra Señora de la Concepción’

Golden Hind

An English Galleon captained by Sir Francis Drake and between 1577 and 1580 was said to have circumnavigated the globe. The Golden Hind began with the name “Pelican”.

Later during the voyage of 1577 entering the Strait of Magellan Sir Francis Drake renamed her Golden Hind as a compliment to his patron Sir Christopher Hatton. The name came from his armorial crest; it was a golden “hind”, the heraldic term for a female deer.

Sir Francis Drake was selected by Elizabeth I of England to be the leader of an expedition to pass through the Strait of Magellan around South America then explore the coast beyond.

The Golden Hind Sir Francis Drake’s flagship displaced about 100 tons set sail in December with five small ships and they reached the Brazilian coast in the spring of 1578. Drake had the unofficial support of the Queen Elizabeth to benefit himself and to inflict the maximum damage to the Spaniards.

The Golden Hind captured the Spanish Galleon Nuestra Señora de la Concepción holding one of the largest treasures every recorded to date. She carried a bounty of 360,000 Pesos. It was no surprise that it took 6 days to transfer the six tons of treasure. Sailing back to Plymouth Harbor Queen Elizabeth went aboard and bestowed Knighthood on Drake. Her share of the treasure came to £160,000 more than enough to pay off her foreign debt. This left her £40,000 to invest in a new trading company which produced a return of 4700%.

The Golden Hind after Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation was put on public exhibition in Deptford. One of the very first known ships to be placed on public exhibition, she remained on public display for 100 years before she rotted away.

One claim is that a table and a chair located in the Middle Temple Hall in London made from the wood of the Golden Hind. The chair is said to be in the Great Hall, Buckland Abby, Devon.