Paracelsus (#64)

Background

Phillip von Hohenheim, also known as Paracelsus, was born in Switzerland on the 11th of November 1493, the son of a German chemist. When he was 16, Paracelsus went to stude medecine at the University of Basel. By 1516, Paracelsus had gained his doctorate from the University of Ferrara.

Work

As a physician, Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals as forms of medicine, and often found himself in disagreement with traditional medical books. Paracelsus's arrogance led to him being kicked out of the University of Basel's staff and out of the city of Basel. Paracelsus wandered Europe in search of knowledge. He would take old manuscripts and revise them. In 1536, Paracelsus published Die grosse Wundartznei, which helped Paracelsus to regain some fame. 

Paracelsus was known for burning traditional medical manuscripts, and many attributed this to his upbringing as a Lutheran. Paracelsus rejected the idea, saying that himself and Luther both have their own ideas and each is simply defending them, though their ideas are quite different.

Paracelsus is famous for his idea that the celestial bodies, the different metals, and the different human organs are connected, and along with being a physician, Paracelsus was an alchemist. Along with being a physician and alchemist, Paracelsus was also one of the first to experiment with psychotherapy and is known by many as the father of toxicology.

The End

At the age of 47, in the year 1541, Paracelsus died of natural causes and was buried in  Salzburg. Paracelsus is on our list for being an outstanding figure of both medicine and alchemy during the same time.

The Foundation of the Jesuit Order (August 15th)

Saint Ignatius of  Loyola was a soldier for the kingdom of Castile in what is now Spain. For many years, he fought Moors, helping to remove their presence from the Iberian Peninsula. In 1521, Ignatius had a leg broken and the other injured by a cannonball. While recovering, Ignatius read De Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony. This commentary on the Gospel gave Ignatius a better understanding of Christianity.

While recovering, Ignatius continued to read religious texts. After he was healed, Ignatius set his armor and weapons in front of the altar at a monastery. For a year, Ignatius lived in a cave, practicing self-denial and sacrifice. In 1523, Ignatius continued these practices while he visited the Holy Land.

Ignatius began to gain companions in his practice of sacrifice. Soon, he had six companions with him: Francis Xavier, Alfonso Salmeron, Diego Laynez, Nicholas Bobadilla, Peter Faber, and Simao Rodrigues. On August 15th, 1534, these seven men took apostolic vows and formed the Society of Jesus, which became better known as the Jesuit Order.

The Jesuit Order is engaged in evangelical and apostolic ministry. The path of sacrifice that Ignatius of Loyala used became a central part of the Jesuit Order. The Jesuits would sacrifice all they had to spread across the globe and educate people on the Gospel.

Ignatius of Loyala went on to become the Father General and leader of the Jesuits. St. Francis Xavier became famous in his own right for being one of the first people to visit Japan and evangelize to the people there. The Jesuit Order has continued to grow since its foundation and has spread out into 112  nations on six continents.

The Edict of Nantes (August 13th)

In the late 1500s, France was caught in the middle of its own Wars of Religion. The Protestant Reformation was sweeping across Europe, and France had been in the middle of the entire movement. Though the French crown remained Catholic, many French citizens were converting to Protestantism. This caused many riots, rebellions, violence, and wars within France.

During this period of time, Henry IV was the king of France. Henry IV was raised Protestant and only converted to Catholicism when he inherited the crown. Throughout his life, though, he remained sympathetic to the Protestant cause.

On August 13th, 1598, Henri IV signed the Edict of Nantes, which was meant to stop internal violence from religious differences. The Edict granted  certain privileges and protections to Protestants, but reaffirmed Catholicism as the established religion of France. The Edict ensured rights for Protestants within France and protected them from forces outside of France, including the Spanish Inquisition.

The Edict remained in effect until Louis XIV renounced it in 1685, declaring Protestantism illegal. This led to a mass exodus of almost 400,000 Protestants from France to England, Prussia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and South Africa. This took away many skilled workers from France, putting back France's economy. The rights given to Protestants in the Edict of Nantes were not reestablished until the Edict of Tolerance in 1787.

Lady Jane Grey (#69)

Background

Lady Jane Grey was born in either 1836 or 1837, the daughter of Henry Grey and Lady Frances Brandon. Jane Grey was the granddaughter of Mary Tudor, whose father was Henry Tudor and whose brother was Henry VIII. Jane Grey, through the influence of her father, became a committed Protestant. In 1547, Jane went to live with live in the household of Thomas Seymour, who married Catherine Parr, the widow of Henry VIII. Jane lived with the couple until Catherine Parr died in 1848. Though Jane, for a time, was considered to marry King Edward VI, who was the same age as her, the idea was scrapped, and Grey married Lord Guildford Dudley. 

Rise to Power

In 1553, Edward VI was dying at the age of fifteen due to sickness. On his deathbed, Edward named his Protestant cousin, Jane Grey, his successor so he could keep the throne from his Catholic half-sister, Mary. This was possibly due to persuasion from John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, Jane Grey's father-in-law. The King died on July 6th, 1553, and on July 9th, Jane was informed that she was queen. She reportedly claimed the crown reluctantly and refused to name her husband as king. 

The End

John Dudley had kept Mary Tudor isolated to keep her from gathering support, but when Mary heard that Edward was dead, she began gathering followers, and on July 19th, the Privy Council switch allegiance from Jane to Mary. Mary returned to London on August 3rd and Dudley was executed on the 22nd of August, 1553. Jane and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were charged for high treason, and was found guilty. Though her execution was scheduled for February 9th, 1554, it was postponed to giver her a chance to convert to the Catholic faith, which she did not do. After her husband was beheaded, Jane was brought out. She recited Psalm 51, then prepared for her death. The executioner asked her forgivness, which she granted, asking "I pray you dispatch me quickly." She was beheaded, and her final words are recorded to have been "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit."

Lady Jane Grey is on our list because she, though for only a short time, uprooted the Tudor line from the throne of England. She is also on our list because she has gone down in history as the nine-day queen, for that is how many days she truly had to rule. 

Gerardus Mercator (#74)

Gerardus Mercator

Background

Gerard de Gremor, or Gerardus Mercator was born on March 5th, 1512 in Rupelmonde in Belgium, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time. After studying at the University of Leuven, Mercator took the job as a craftsman of mathematical instruments.

Cartography

Mercator's first job as a cartographer came in 1535, when he worked with Gemma Frisius and Gaspar Myrica to create a terrestrial globe. In this job, Mercator was not primarily a cartographer, but an engraver of brass plates used to print the maps. In 1537, Mercator began making his own maps, starting with a map of Palestine. In the following three years, Mercator published two more maps: one of the world and the other of Flanders. While learning the cartography trade, Mercator discovered the Italic script, which was useful when creating maps. After mastering the script, Mercator published the first instruction book on the Italic script in Northern Europe. In 1544, Mercator was arrested on the charges of heresy because of his sympathy for Protestant beliefs. After remaining in prison for seven months, the charges were dropped, most likely due to intervention by the university that he worked at. In 1552, Mercator moved to Duisburg, where he taught mathematics at the local university. Mercator also opened up a cartographic workshop. Mercator's first map created at this shop wasa six-panel map of Europe. Because of his skill with maps, Mercator was appointed to the position of Court Cosmographer for the Duke of Juilich-Cleves-Berg in 1564. In this position, Mercator began to construct maps that included lines of longitude and latitude so that they could be used by boats at sea.

Atlas

Mercator is responsible for coining the word atlas as a collection of maps while encouraging Abraham Ortelius to compile the first modern one in 1570. Mercator made his own atlas in 1578 which contained maps made by Mercator along with those of other cartographers, including Ptoloemy. After publishing his atlas, Mercator continued to add on to it, publishing more editions until his death in 1594.

The End

Mercator lived in Duisburg until his death on December 2nd, 1594. At the time of his death, Mercator was a wealthy and respected citizen due to his map work. Mercator made it onto our list for several reasons. First, he invented the word 'atlas'. Secondly, Mercator is also one of the first people to use the word America to describe the New World and he is definitely the first person to popularize the word America in the Old World. Being that Mercator create two commonly used words that are used in multiple languages, I'd say that Mercator was pretty important.

Bartholomew Diaz(#84)

Bartholomew Diaz

Background

Bartolomeu Dias, or Bartholomew Diaz, was born around the year 1451,the son of a Portuguese nobleman. Very little is known about Dias's life, but as an adult, he became a Knight of the royal court, the superintendent of the royal warehouses, and the captain of the ship, Sao Cristovao. Dias was married and had two children: Simao and Antonia Dias.

Sailing

After Marco Polo came back from the East, Europeans started looking for ways to travel to the East without travelling through any Islamic kingdoms. Europeans wanted to find both spices and precious metals. Also, they wanted to find Prester John. Prester John was a supposed Christian ruler of the East who would serve as a powerful ally against the Muslim nations, something that Europeans desperately needed during the Crusades. On October 10, 1487, Bartholomew Diaz was appointed by King John II of Portugal to sail around the southern tip of Africa, which had not yet been discovered by Europeans, and to search for Prester John. Diaz sailed out of Lisbon that same year, hugging the African coast the entire way down. As he sailed, Diaz completely missed the southern tip of Africa, so he decided to go straight on to India. Diaz, unfortunately, was forced to turn back after his crew refused to go any further. On his way back, Diaz landed at the tip of Africa, naming it the Cape of Storms. King John II later named it the Cape of Good Hope. Diaz later helped in the construction of Sao Gabriel and Sao Rafael, the two ships that held Vasco da Gama, the first European to sail all the way to Asia. Bartholomew also sailed with da Gama on the first leg of his voyage to India, though he did not travel the entire way.

The End

Bartholomew Diaz sailed with Pedro Alvares Cabral on the expedition which discovered Brazil. After the ships turned around and sailed to India via the Cape of Good Hope. On May 29, 1500, at the Cape, a violent storm hit the ships, wrecking Diaz's ship, probably killing him in the process. Diaz is on our list because he discovered that Africa actually had a southern tip. His maps provided the basis for the expeditions led by Vasco da Gama and Pedro Cabral.

Aruj (#87)

Background

Oruç, or Aruj, was born around 1474 on Lesbos to the Turkish Sipahi, Yakup Aga. After helping the Ottomans conquer Lesbos from the Genoese, Yakup Aga settled down on Lesbos, where he met and married Katerina, with whom he had four sons: Ishak, Aruj, Hizir, and Ilyas. When he moved to Lesbos, Yakup bought a ship to become a merchant. All four of his sons, including Aruj, helped their father with his trade.

Early Career

 The four brothers all became seamen, trading throughout the Mediterranean, but mainly within the Levant, the oceans between Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. During his career as a merchant, Aruj learned how to speak Italian, Spanish, French, Greek, and Arabic, but later Aruj, Hizir, and Ilyas became privateers to counteract the power of the Knights of St. John, privateers from the island of Rhodes. While on their way back from a trading expedition,  Ilyas and Aruj were attacked by the Knights of St. John. Ilyas was killed and Aruj was imprisoned for almost three years. Aruj's brother Hizir tracked down Aruj and helped him to escape.

Corsair

On a trip to the Ottoman city of Antalya, the governor of Antalya, Ottoman prince Shehzade Korkud, gave Aruj 18 galleys to fight the Knights of St. John because the Knights were damaging the Ottoman ocean trade network. When Shehzade Korkud became the governor of Manisa, he increased Aruj's fleet size to include 24 galleys. Aruj also helped when Korkud was sending a naval expedition to Italy. Aruj bombarded several coastal cities and captured two ships while there. He also captured four more ships on his way back to see Korkud. Korkud, though, had fled to Egypt after a dispute of succession to the Ottoman throne. Aruj went to Egypt, and with the help of Korkud, gained an audience with the Mamluk Sultan, Qansuh al-Ghawri. The Sultan gave Aruj another ship and charged him with raiding the coasts of Italy and any other Christian powers within the Mediterranean. In 1503, Aruj did as told and moved west from Egypt towards Sicily. He captured three more ships before making a base on the island of Djerba, which is off the coast of Tunisia. Aruj's brother Hizir sooned joined Aruj at Djerba, though a year later, they requested that Tunisian Sultan Abu Abdullah Mohammed Hamis allow them to use the port of La Goulette for their operations. The Sultan agreed as long as Aruj and Hizir gave one third of their booty to him. Aruj and Hizir gained more power within the Mediterranean, capturing the Cavalleria, which had 380 Spanish soldier and 60 knights on board. They also raided th coast of Calabria. These accomplishments gained the two brothers more fame, and their fleet was soon merged with those of other Muslim privateers. In 1509, Aruj's older brother Ishak joined him as well. As Aruj's fame grew, he earned the name Baba Oruç (Father Aruj), or Barbossa to the Europeans. In 1512, Aruj lost his left arm in a battle with a Spanish ruler, which Aruj soon replaced with a silver prosthetic. The three brothers continued to raid the coasts of Italy, France, and Spain, gaining more power as they did. In 1514, the brothers attacked the city of Bougie with 1,000 men. After they took the city, they moved on, taking Jijel and Mahdiya as well. In 1516, the brothers laid seige to the Castle of Elba with the help of privateer Kurtoglu.

Sultan

In 1516, the brothers took control of the area surrounding Jijel and Algiers. When Emperor Charles V, King of Spain, failed to help the Spaniards of Algiers, Aruj declared himself as the new Sultan of Algiers. With his new power, Aruj took Miliana, Medea, and Tenes. To protect Algiers from falling into Spanish hands, Aruj relinquished his title to the Ottomans in 1517. Aruj was appointed as Bey, or governor, of Algiers, an Beylerbey, or chief governor, of the West Mediterranean.

The End

On orders from Spain, Abu Zayan, ruler of the city of Tlemcen, planned to attack Aruj, but Aruj found out about the plan and took Tlemcen in a surprise atttack in 1517. When Aruj had Abu Zayan executed, Emperor Charles V came to take care of Aruj himself. With 10,000 Spanish soldiers and thousands of Bedouins, Charles marched on Tlemcen in 1518. Aruj and Ishak defended the city with their force of 1,500 Turks and 5,000 Moors, but it was not enough. Though the two brothers held off the Spanish for twenty days, they were eventually killed in battle. Hizir, the last surviving brother of Aruj, inheritted Aruj's title of Beylerbey and continued to attack ships throughout the Mediterranean. Aruj is on our list because nobody ever hears about the pirates of the Mediterranean. Also, Aruj is one of the few pirates so powerful that he became a Sultan himself. Aruj, while he was alive, was one of the most power and famous people in the Mediterranean.

Tokugawa Ieyasu (#104)

Childhood

Matsudaira Takechiyo was born on January 31, 1543 in Okazaki Castle in Japan. Takechiyo was the son of Matsudaira Hirotada, the daimyo, or territorial ruler, of the Matsudaira clan. Takechiyo's mother was the daughter of Mizuno Tadamasa, a samurai lord. Takechiyo's mother and father later split, and Takechiyo lived with his father. The Matsudaira family split over whether to become a vassal of the Imagawa or Oda clan. Hirotada chose to side with the Imagawa clan, but in 1548, the Oda clan invaded Mikawa, and Hirotada asked the Imagawa clan for help. To get help, Hirotada agreed to send Takechiyo to Imagawa Yoshimoto, the leader of the Imagawa clan, but Oda Nobuhide, the leader of the Oda clan, learned of the agreement and kidnapped Takechiyo when he was only six. Nobuhide threatened to kill Takechiyo if Hirotada remained with the Imagawa clan, but Hirotada left his son in the hands of the Oda Clan. Nobuhide didn't kill Takechiyo and held him in Nagoya for three years instead. In 1549, both Hirotada and Nobuhide died of natural causes. With Oda Nobuhide dead, the Oda clan was weakened, and Imagawa Sessai, the military leader of the Imagawa clan, lay siege to the castle of Oda Nobuhiro, Nobuhide's son. Sessai offered to give up the siege if Nobuhiro handed over Takechiyo to the Imagawa clan.

Daimyo

When Takechiyo came of age in 1556, he changed his name to Matsudaira Jirosaburo Motonobu, and when he married his first wife a year later, he changed his name to Matsudaira Kurandonosuke Motoyasu. When Motoyasu was returned to Mikawa, the Imagawa ordered him to fight the Oda. In 1560, the Oda clan, led by Oda Nobunaga, defeated the Imagawa at the Battle of Okehazama and killed Yoshitomo. Now Motoyasu (or Takechiyo) decided to ally with the Oda clan. Motoyasu improved the state of the Matsudaira clan and also captured much of Mikawa. In 1567, Motoyasu changed his name (again) to Tokugawa Ieyasu, claiming descent from the Minamoto clan. Ieyasu led a campaign with the Oda, conquering much of Jaan, including Kyoto in 1568. When Oda Nobunga was assassinated by Akechi Mitsuhide, Ieyasu defeated and killed Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki. Now, in the Matsudaira area, only the Tokugawa and the Hojo clans remained. The other major clan in Japan at the time was the Toyotomi clan, led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1584, the Oda and Tokogawa clans went to war with Hideyoshi, and though the Toyotomi clan was strong, there was no clear winner and peace had to be settled through negotiations. Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, the two most powerful daiymos, then joined forces, administrating from the same city and fighting the Hojo clan together. The two did, however, rule independently, and fought certain wars alone, including the Toyotomi campaign in Korea. When Hideyoshi died, Toyotomi Hideyori took over, and Ieyasu began to make alliances with anti-Toyotomi clans, and eventually, he attacked Osaka castle, Hideyori's residence. Ishida Mitsunari, the most powerful of Hideyori's allies, became the center of the conflict, and most of the daiymos of Japan took one side or the other. On October 21, 1600, Mitsunari, Hideyori, and Ieyasu met in at the Battle of Sekigahara. With the Tokugawa victory, the Toyotomi clan was defeated and Ieyasu became the leader of all of Japan.

Shogunate and Retirement

In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu received the title of shogun from Emperor Go-Yozei. This meant that Ieyasu was now the military leader of Japan. When Ieyasu recieved this title, he began the Edo period under which the Tokugawa shogunate would be in power. When Ieyasu had established the Tokugawa shogunate's power, Ieyasu abdicated, and Ieyasu's son, Tokugawa Hidetada, became shogun in 1605. Now retired, Ieyasu became known as Ogosho Ieyasu, and he still remained powerful after his retirement. He became an ambassador, supervising diplomatic meetings with the Netherlands, Spain, and the Roman Catholic Church. Ieyasu also wrote the Buke Shohatto to establish the future of the shogunate. Ieyasu also was still active militarily, leading the Siege of Osaka, to take the rest of the land owned by Toyotomi Hideyori, who survived the Battle of Sekigahara. 

The End

Ieyasu died in 1616, at the age of 73, probably of cancer or syphilis. After his death, Ieyasu was given the name Tosho Daigongen, or the 'Great Gongen, Light of  the East.' Tokugawa Ieyasu is on our list because he was the man who unified all of Japan and started the most powerful shogunate in Japanese history. He is also on our list because he has more names than any man I have ever heard of.

Huayna Capac (#105)

Background

Tito Husi Hualpa was born between the years of 1464 and 1468 in the  Inca Empire. He was the eleventh Sapa Inca, or Inca Emperor, and was part of the Hanan dynasty. Hualpa was better known as Wayna Qhapaq, or Huayna Capac, which means 'youthful prince.'

Sapa Inca

As the Sapa Inca, Capac went on many military campaigns to extend the reach of the Inca Empire To the south, he extended the empire to Chile and Argentina, and to the north, he movied into Ecuador and even Colombia. To help keep control, Huayna Capac created two capitols within his empire. Cuzco, the traditional Inca capitol, would manage the south, while the stronghold of Tomebamba would have control in the north. Under Capac, the Inca Empire reached its greatest size, covering much of western and central South America, and the Empire was populated by over 200 distinct ethnic groups. Huayna Capac was also very involved in public works. He helped fund the building of temples as well as food storehouses. He also expanded the Inca road network to allow food and messages to travel quickly through the Empire. The Inca road network was one of the best road systems in the world at its time.

The End

Even though Huayna Capac probably never encountered a European, Spaniards had already been as far as Colombia, bring their diseases with them. Most believe that Capac died of smallpox that he contracted while campaigning in Colombia in the 1520s. Capac was the last great emperor of the Inca, for after he died, a power struggle would leave the Inca weak and were easily conquered by the Francisco Pizarro. Huayna Capac is on our list for ruling the Inca Empire at the height of one of the most power civilizations in America and the entire world.

Nicolaus Copernicus (#115)

Young Life and College

Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in Poland from two merchant families. He was the youngest of four children. At first, while being supported by his uncle, Copernicus studied at the University of Krakow in 1491, where he attained the mathematical and astronomical skill for his later achievements. He also was able to study the natural-science writings of Aristotle and Averroes while studying in Krakow.  In 1495, Copernicus left Krakow because of his uncle Watzenrode wanted him to study law in Italy, hoping for Copernicus to join the Warmia canonry, which Watzenrode was the Prince-Bishop of. In 1497, Copernicus registered in the Bologna University of Jurists. In Bologna, Copernicus studied law, the humanities, and astronomy. He became the assistant of astronomer Domenci Maria Novara da Ferrara. Under Ferrara, he began to find peculiarities in Ptolemy's geocentric universe theory based on observations of the star Aldebaran. Copernicus moved to Rome in 1500, where he continued his astronomical studies. Copernicus also went to the University of Padua, where he studied medicine, which include astrology. Over his education, Copernicus learned Latin, Greek, German, and Italian along with his native Polish.

Work

Copernicus, after his studies, became his uncle's secretary and physician in Heilsberg. He took part in almost all of his uncles political, administrative, and economic activities. This is where Copernicus began work on his heliocentric theory. Copernicus also made trips on business from his uncle. In 1510, Copernicus ended work for his uncle, and worked as a translator of Greek and Latin texts. In 1514, the first outline of the heliocentric world was written. Throughout his life, Copernicus worked as a assistant to politicians and religious leaders while continuing to study astronomy. By 1532, his manuscript on heliocentrism was basically complete, but he resisted publishing due to fears of scorn. His book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was published under Georg Rheticus, who had published other works of Copernicus. Along with Andreas Osiander, Rheticus worked to have the book published in 1542.

The End

Legend has it that the first copy of De revolutionibus ever printed was placed in Copernicus's hand on May 24, 1543, the day that Copernicus died. Copernicus makes our list for being one of the few people in the world who changed the world's mind. Before him, the common theory was that everything orbited the Earth. Copernicus proved them all wrong. He changed the way people looked at the world, and not many people can do that.

Sir Francis Drake (#116)

Early Life

Sir Francis Drake was an Englishman born, supposedly, in 1544. He was the eldest of twelve sons born to a Protestant farmer, Edmund Drake. His family fled from Devonshire to Kent during religious persecution during the Prayer Book Rebellion. In Kent, Edmund Drake found a job ministering to men in the King's navy. Because of this job, Francis Drake became an apprentice on a  coastal merchant ship.

Life

Drake made his first trip to the New World when he was 23. In 1572, Drake went on his first major independent expedition, in which he planned to attack the Isthmus of Panama, where he succeeded in capturing the city of Nombre de Dios along with silver and gold on its way to Spain from Peru. Drake stayed in the area for over a year, working with pirates and the French to get out of Panama with the gold. His success in Panama brought him fame, and in 1577, Queen Elizabeth I sent Drake to start an expedition against Spain in the Pacific. He left England with six ships, though three were deserted before they reached the Pacific. Drake   was able to make it to Cape Horn, and his route is now known as Drake Passage. When he reached the Pacific, Drake had only one ship remaining. Drake sailed up the Pacific coast of America, taking 37,000 ducats worth of money from Spanish Peru. Drake made it as far north as California, somewhere north of Point Loma. He crossed the Pacific, reaching Indonesia, the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1580, Sierra Leone. Upon returning to England in the same year, the amount of spices and Spanish treasure brought home was so large that the half-share given to the Queen surpassed the rest of the crown's income for the entire year. This made Drake the second person to lead an expedition around the world. Drake was knighted, though he was sworn to secrecy about the expedition. After a slight political career, Drake began sailing again when war broke out between Spain and England in 1585. He sacked Santo Domingo and Cartagena along with the fort of San Augustine. When Drake found out about a Spanish invasion of England, he captured the Spanish ports of Cadiz and Corunna, which delayed the invasion by another year. When the Spanish Armada finally came, Drake led an invasion and relied mainly on fire-ships (Ships set on fire) to break the formation of the Spanish Fleet and make them flee into open see, where Drake led the British fleet into battle. The victory of the English established Britain as the dominant naval power in the Atlantic/

The End

At an age of about 55, Drake died of dysentery, leaving no sons, though he had two wives. His estate went to his nephew, Francis. Drake wasn't very important, but it is a known fact that nobody cares about second place. They only care about who's in first. Drake is on this list because even though he was the second person to circumnavigate the world, he still acquired fame.