Golden Hinde

Golden Hinde, a modern replica
History
England
Name:	Pelican
Launched:	1577
Sponsored by:	Queen Elizabeth I of England
Renamed:	Golden Hind(e) (1578)
Fate:	Disintegrated and broken up in late 1600s; two replicas exist
General characteristics
Type:	Galleon
Tonnage:	100–150 tons
Displacement:	300 tons
Length:	102 ft (31 m) on deck
Beam:	20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught:	9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion:	Sail; Wind
Speed:	8 knots (15 km/h)
Complement:	80–85
Armament:	22 guns
Armour:	None
Notes:	Sail area: 386 m²

Golden Hind was an English galleon best known for her privateering circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. She was originally known as Pelican, but was renamed by Drake mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden 'hind' (a female red deer). Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake's world voyage. There is one full-size replica in existence in London, on the south bank of the Thames.

In 1577, Queen Elizabeth partly sponsored Sir Francis Drake as the leader of an expedition intended to pass around South America through the Strait of Magellan and to explore the coast that lay beyond. The queen's support was advantageous; Drake had official approval to benefit himself and the queen as well as to cause the maximum damage to the Spaniards. This would eventually culminate in the Anglo–Spanish War. Before setting sail, Drake met the queen face-to-face for the first time and she said to him, "We would gladly be revenged on the King of Spain for divers injuries that we have received." The explicit object was to "find out places meet to have traffic." Drake, however, acted as a privateer, with unofficial support from Queen Elizabeth.

Drake commissioned his flagship in Plymouth. The keel was registered in 1575. The majority of the work was done in 1576, and it was completed early the next year. It is described as a "mid 16th century warship during the transition from the carrack to the galleon," and displaced about 100 tons. He first named his flagship the Pelican, but renamed it the Golden Hind on 20 August 1578 to honor his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose family crest was a golden hind (a female red deer).

He set sail in December 1577 with five small ships, manned by 164 men, and reached the Brazilian coast in early 1578.