E X T E N S I O N FAMOUS EXPLORERS AND NAVIGATORS Sir Francis Drake was an Elizabethan sailor and navigator. He was born in Devon, England, in 1540 and went to sea at an early age. In 1567, Drake made one of the first English slaving voyages1, bringing African people to the New World . Spanish ships attacked the expedition and only two ships escaped. The Spanish became a lifelong enemy for Drake; they in turn considered him a pirate. In 1588, he was a vice admiral in the fleet2 that defeated the Spanish Armada. He is also famous for the first English circumnavigation3 of the world, from 1577 to 1580. Drake s last expedition, with John Hawkins, was to the West Indies. Drake died in Panama on 28 January 1596. Hawkins died on the same day, and their bodies were buried at sea. James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 in Yorkshire, England. Cook commanded4 three voyages of discovery5 for Great Britain, and sailed around the world twice. He was the first British ship commander to circumnavigate the globe in a solitary ship. He is considered one of the world s greatest explorers. In October 1769, he was the first European to land on New Zealand. 1. slaving voyages: long journeys on ships carrying people that are forced to work for others. 2. fleet: a group of ships. 3. circumnavigation: sailing all the way around the world. 4. commanded: was the leader of. 5. discovery: the act of finding somebody/something. 15