In 1577, Sir Francis Drake sailed his galleon Golden Hind towards South America. Drake had official approval to ‘benefit’ himself and Queen Elizabeth I, as well as to cause maximum damage to the Spaniards. This would eventually culminate in the Anglo–Spanish War. On March 1 1579, off the coast of Ecuador, Golden Hind challenged and captured the Spanish galleon. It had the largest treasure captured to that date: over 360,000 pesos (equivalent to £480m in 2017). Elizabeth’s share of the treasure was enough to pay off her entire government debt and still have a neat sum left over.
Drake was
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