Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America (16 page)

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Authors: Giles Milton

BOOK: Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America
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Drake was reviled throughout Spain’s New World empire, largely because he had spent the greater part of his sea career filching from its treasure fleet and silver mines. His audaciousness stunned King Philip’s seamen, who claimed he was a wizard who had a secret mirror that enabled him to peep over the horizon. Since returning from his triumphant voyage around the world in 1580, a “large winde”
had carried him forward, both in the queen’s favour and in the fear he engendered in Spain.
The citizens of Santo Domingo panicked when they learned that
el Capitan
was in command of the fleet. Harbour defences were bolstered, ships were sunk to block the entrance to the port, and guns were primed in readiness for his arrival. Then, with the city’s defences on a war footing, the townsfolk retired into the hills, confident that even Sir Francis would have difficulty in silencing the city’s great cannon.
But Drake had planned his attack with considerable cunning. He knew that although Santo Domingo looked impressive from the sea, the city was exposed on its land side, where only cactus hedges blocked the path of would-be invaders. This had never troubled the inhabitants, for it was a commonplace that the city could not be attacked from the land. Drake decided to exploit this weakness, a high-risk gamble that required him to land his soldiers at the treacherous Hayna Beach, where the “sea surge” was notoriously unpredictable. The Spanish held that it was impossible to bring a pinnace to shore at Hayna, and for this reason there was no sentry on duty to see the English disembark. The first they knew of anything untoward happening was when astonished city officers saw one thousand English soldiers marching towards Santo Domingo’s poorly defended west wall. “To have landed there,” wrote one, “is a thing more incredible than I can express.”
The Spanish
licentiate
, Cristobal de Ovalle, rode out with a troop of horsemen and prepared to attack. But the English were well prepared and seized the initiative: “our small shot played upon them … [and] they were thus driven to give us leave to proceede towardes the two gates of the towne.” This first skirmish ended well for the English, and it encouraged them to press home their assault.
Drake’s land commander, Christopher Carleill, divided his forces so that he could attack two of the city gates simultaneously. The Spanish put up a heroic defence, and came within a whisker of
killing Carleill, but the speed of the onslaught proved decisive. “We marched or rather ranne soe roundly into them,” wrote one of the attackers, “as pell mell we entered the gates with them.” Carleill had vowed to his subordinates that “he woulde not rest until our meeting in the market place.” Yet even he was surprised at the ease of his victory. Spain’s proudest colonial bulwark had fallen with scarcely a fight, and by late afternoon on New Year’s Day, 1586, the flag of St. George was flying over the city’s crenellated battlements. “Thus,” wrote the author of one journal, “the Spaniards gave us the towne for a Newyeers gifte.”
 
Sir Francis Drake terrified the Spanish. He vowed to sack Santo Domingo, Spain’s “chief jewel,” before heading to Roanoke
Drake’s attack marked a turning point in relations with Spain. For decades, English adventurers had been chancing their luck in New World waters, ransacking vessels and attempting trade. Ralegh had increased the tensions by settling men in North America, in blatant disregard of Spain’s claim to the continent. Now, in attacking Santo Domingo, Drake had declared war on everything that King Philip II represented—trade restrictions, control of the seas, Catholicism, and absolute mastery of the Americas. He had also opened a new chapter in the history of North America, one that would decide who would ultimately control the land adopted and named by the Virgin Queen.
Drake chose not to be magnanimous in his hour of triumph. He vowed to reduce Santo Domingo to rubble unless he was offered a suitable ransom. “We spent the early mornings in firing the outmost houses,” reads one English account, “but they being built very magnificently … gave us no small travell to ruine them.” It was backbreaking work, “[and] for divers dayes together we ordained eche morning by daybreake … [and] did nought else but labour to fier and burne the sayd houses.” The churches and fortifications were the most popular target for destruction. “Wee set parte of ther castle on fire,” wrote another who took part in the pillage, “and burned all ther images of woode, brake and distroied all there fairest worke within ther churches.” Nothing was spared, and it was not until a large part of Santo Domingo had been gutted that the shocked citizens agreed to offer
el Capitan
25,000 ducats if he spared the buildings still standing.
Drake’s work was now complete: he exchanged three of his ships for more seaworthy vessels, and cheekily renamed the largest the
New Year’s Gift.
The remaining Spanish ships were burned, including the royal galley, and all the slaves were set free. Many of them were so pleased to have escaped the Spanish yoke that they chose to sail with Drake.
While he was plundering the Caribbean Sir Francis heard rumours of a Spanish plot to destroy Ralegh’s colony on Roanoke. Although he was unsure if these contained any grain of truth, he was inclined to believe them, and later claimed to a visitor at Queen Elizabeth’s court that he had unearthed hard evidence that the Spanish were organising “an expedition to Virginia in order to root out utterly the British colony.” This was a serious development that required urgent action. After a lightning raid on the Spanish main, Drake “set course for Virginia, with the object, commendable of course, of rescuing Ralph Lane … and his people from death.”
He knew that any Spanish attack was likely to be dispatched from one of their military outposts in Florida, probably St. Augustine, where the local governor himself was stationed. It was there that Drake now headed, hoping to preempt any assault on Roanoke by wiping out its garrison.
The fleet arrived at the end of May. Carleill was once again sent ashore with his crack troops, with orders to “lodge himselfe intrenched as neare the fort as that he might play with his muskets and smallest shot upon anie that should appeare.”
The Spanish garrison had already heard news of the fate that had befallen Santo Domingo and were reluctant to sacrifice their lives for a decrepit log fort on the edge of a wilderness. “Taking the alarum, [they] grew fearefull that the whole force was approaching to the assault, and therefore with all speede abandoned the place after the shotting of some of their peeces.” So reads the English account, adding that the defending troops were “fainte-harted cowardes.” The Spanish report reads rather differently, recalling how the garrison bravely fought off repeated waves of attackers. “Behind certain sand dunes, they [the English] drew up in formation, flags flying and drums beating … [They] attacked the fort, which met them with such fire from its artillery that they again withdrew with the loss of one pinnace which was sunk.” The report concludes that it was only when the English had landed an overwhelmingly superior force that the defenders finally capitulated.
Once the fort was destroyed, Drake’s men moved on to the town, where they encountered unexpected resistance. One English sergeant was “shot through the head and, falling downe therewith, was by the same and two or three more, stabbed in three or foure places of his bodie with swords and daggers before anie could come neere to his rescue.” Although this understandably disheartened the English, they continued to press home their attack and soon captured the town.
Drake hesitated to torch St. Augustine, for he realised there was much that could be of use to Lane and his men. He sent instructions that all the transportables were to be brought aboard his ships, including windows, doors, locks, and metalwork. Only once all of these had been removed could the town be burned, a task that his men carried out with unusual enthusiasm. They had arrived at St. Augustine to find “abowte 250 howses in this towne.” By the time they left “not one of them [was] standinge.”
Drake had hoped to repeat his success on the Spanish fort of Santa Helena, further to the north, but “the shols appearing dangerous, and we having no pilot to undertake the entrie, it was thought meetest to go hence alongst.” So, at the beginning of June, he put to sea once again and “sailed alonge the coast of this lande untill wee came to the place where those men did lyve that Sir Walter Raleghe had sente thither to inhabitt the yeere before.”
It was a “speciall great fire” on the Outer Banks that alerted Drake to the location of the English colony. Correctly assuming it was a signal to the fleet—it had been lit by Captain Stafford for exactly this purpose—he ordered his ships to drop anchor and sent his skiff ashore. There he “found some of our English countrymen that had bene sent thither the yeare before by Sir Walter Ralegh.”
Stafford immediately set off overland to break the good news to Lane, aware that Drake was in no hurry to continue northwards towards Roanoke. He covered more than twenty miles a day across terrible terrain, and arrived at the settlement with so many scratches and blisters that even Governor Lane was impressed. “I must truly
report of him from the first to the last,” he wrote, “he was the gentleman that never spared labour or perill either by land or water, faire weather or fowle, to performe any service committed unto him.”
Stafford was carrying a letter from Drake which pleased Lane enormously, for it contained “a most bountifull and honourable offer … not onely of victuals, munitions and clothing, but also of barkes, pinnaces and bootes, they also by him to be victualled, manned and furnished to my contention.”
On June 10, 1586, the small colony of Englishmen on Roanoke awoke to a marvelous sight—one not to be repeated in American waters for many years. Drake’s huge array of ships lay at anchor off the Outer Banks, their flags flying proudly in the offshore breeze. Most were far too large to enter the shallow waters of Pamlico Sound and Drake ordered them all to anchor out at sea.
The following morning, Lane rowed out to meet Sir Francis. After much pomp and ceremony, the governor was ushered into the great cabin for discussions. He spoke with frankness and honesty, informing Drake that the colony was in desperate straits, manned by disillusioned layabouts who were keen to return to England. “I craved at his hands that it would please him to take with him into England a number of weake and unfit men … and in place of them to supply me of his company with oaremen, artificers and others.” Lane also asked for fresh victuals, pinnaces, and boats that would enable him to complete his exploration of Chesapeake Bay, and a vessel large enough to weather the Atlantic storms.
Drake graciously agreed to all these requests “according to his usuall commendable maner of governement.” Not only did he offer Lane the
Francis
, a vessel of seventy tons, but “further appointed for me two fine pinnaces and four small boats” as well as two “experienced masters.” With a deal struck, the two men shook hands and Drake told Lane to send his best officers aboard his flagship so they could make a note of everything they needed “for 100 men for four months.” These would then be transferred onto the
Francis
.
On June 13, just as Lane’s men were in the process of loading
supplies, disaster struck. The two commanders were conferring onshore when a ferocious storm raced up the coastline, smashing its way through the anchored fleet. “The weather was so sore and the storme so great that our ankers woulde not holde, and no shipp of them all but eyther broke or lost ther ankers.”
The wind churned the sea into troughs and mountains, crushing pinnaces and tossing the smaller boats through the air. Canvas was shredded, anchor cables were snapped, and unstowed supplies were washed overboard by waves so huge that they were breaking on the ships’ upper decks. “We had thunder, lightning and raigne with hailstones as bigge as hennes egges. There were greate spowtes at the seas as thoughe heaven and earth woulde have mett.”
It was three days before the storm died. The scattered fleet slowly reassembled in the roadstead off the Outer Banks, but one ship failed to reappear: the
Francis
, which had on board many of Lane’s men as well as stores and victuals, had disappeared without trace. It was several weeks before Drake had to conclude that the disillusioned men had used the storm as an excuse to sail back to England.
Drake offered Lane a new vessel, the
Bark Bonner
, but she was too cumbersome to enter Pamlico Sound and not suited to his needs. The governor also faced a serious shortage of manpower. Realising that his colony had reached crisis point, he reluctantly called a meeting of “such captaines and gentlemen of my companie as then were at hand.” As the men discussed their options, they realised that there was very little they could do. They had lost not only their ship and the greater part of their provisions, but also two of the captains whom Drake had appointed to serve under Lane. Their numbers were perilously low and there was little likelihood of any supply ships arriving in the near future, given the state of virtual war that now existed between England and Spain. With heavy heart, Lane declared that the only solution to their plight was to return to England. If his men agreed, he would immediately “make request to the generall, in all our names, that he would bee pleased to give us present passage with him.”

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