Drake's Circumnavigation (1577–1580)

Timeline

1. 1577Plymouth · EnglandDrake set out from Plymouth with five ships, nominally secretly funded by Elizabeth I, with the aim of harassing Spanish Pacific trade routes and seeking a Northwest Passage. Several ships were lost or turned back en route, and ultimately only the flagship Pelican continued westward.
2. 1578Strait of Magellan · Southern ChileAfter nearly seventeen months of hard sailing, Drake's fleet passed through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific, and the flagship was renamed Golden Hind. It then sailed north along the coasts of Chile and Peru, launching a series of raids on undefended Spanish ports and ships.
3. 1579–1580Pacific–Indian Ocean route · Indian OceanAfter completing the raids along the Pacific coast, Drake continued westward across the Pacific, reached Java via the Moluccas, rounded the Cape of Good Hope into the Atlantic, and finally sailed into Plymouth harbor on 26 September 1580, completing England's first circumnavigation.