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In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire

By (author) Laurence Bergreen

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normal price: R 422.95

Price: R 380.95

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â€œFASCINATING . . . Dramatic and timely.â€Â â€”New York Times Book Review,Â Editors' Choice In this grand and thrilling narrative, the author of the 200,000-copy paperback bestseller Over the Edge of the World reveals the singular adventures of Sir Francis Drake,Â whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history. â€œEntrancing . . . Very good indeed.â€Â â€”Wall Street Journal Before he was secretly dispatched by Queen Elizabeth toÂ circumnavigate the globe, or was called uponÂ to save England from the Spanish Armada, FrancisÂ Drake was perhaps the most wantedâ€”and successfulâ€”pirate ever to sail. Nicknamed â€œEl Draqueâ€ by the Spaniards who placed a bounty on his head, the notorious red-haired, hot-tempered Drake pillaged galleons laden with New World gold and silver, stealing a vast fortune for his queenâ€”and himself. For Elizabeth, Drake made the impossible real, serving as a crucial and brilliantly adaptable instrument of her ambitions to transform England from a third-rate island kingdom into a global imperial power. In 1580, sailing on Elizabethâ€™s covert orders, Drake became the first captain toÂ circumnavigate the earth successfully. (FerdinandÂ Magellan had died in his attempt.) Part exploring expedition, part raiding mission, Drakeâ€™s audacious around-the-world journey in theÂ Golden HindÂ reachedÂ Patagonia, the Pacific Coast of present-day California and Oregon, the Spice Islands, Java, and Africa. Almost a decadeÂ later, Elizabeth called upon Drake again. As the devil-may-care vice admiral of the English fleet, Drake dramatically defeated the once-invincible Spanish Armada, spurringÂ the British Empireâ€™s ascent and permanently wounding its greatest rival.Â The relationship between Drake and ElizabethÂ is the missing link in our understanding of the riseÂ of the British Empire, and its importance has notÂ been fully described or appreciated. Framed aroundÂ Drakeâ€™s key voyages as a window into this crucialÂ moment in British history,Â In Search of a KingdomÂ is a rousing adventure narrative entwining epicÂ historical themes with intimate passions.