Piracy through the Ages

On this date in 1579, Francis Drake was circumnavigating the globe when he stopped just north of San Francisco, went ashore, planted a flag, and claimed all of California for England.  It's just that easy!

Speaking of flags and pirates, I'm reading "Black Flags, Blue Waters" by Eric Jay Dolin.  It's a history of pirates in the Americas and Mr. Dolan makes clear that Drake was first a pirate, and quite a nasty one, too. But instead of keeping all the booty for himself, Drake was savvy enough to share it with the Queen and some other powerful folks, which gained him a commission as a privateer. In effect, privateers commissioned by the Queen were independent contractors who could pretty much do what they wanted to anybody anywhere except of course the English.

Drake and his men plundered Spanish cities and Spanish ships from the Caribbean all the way around S. America and up the west coast, killing people and taking their stuff (like gold and silver and rum). When he got back to England in 1581, the Queen herself went onto his ship and knighted him.

Sir Francis retired from piracy and lived out his days making delicious snack cakes.