What was the name of Drake's ship on his circumnavigation?

The Ship That Sailed Around the World

When Francis Drake set off from Plymouth, England, in December 1577, his vessel wasn't yet called the Golden Hind. She began the voyage under the name Pelican — a modest title for a ship about to make history. Drake renamed her mid-expedition in September 1578, somewhere near the southern tip of South America, in a gesture of loyalty to his patron and sponsor, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose family crest featured a golden hind (a female red deer).

It was a savvy political move. Drake's voyage was controversial, and keeping powerful friends happy mattered. Hatton was one of Queen Elizabeth I's closest favourites, and the renaming cemented his backing for an increasingly audacious enterprise.

What Kind of Ship Was She?

The Golden Hind was a galleon of around 100 to 150 tonnes displacement — relatively small by later standards, but a capable ocean-going vessel for her era. She carried 18 guns and a crew of roughly 80 men when she departed England. She was fast, manoeuvrable, and built for the kind of long-distance, high-risk sailing that Drake had in mind.

Drake set out with five ships. By the time he entered the Pacific through the Strait of Magellan, only the Golden Hind remained. Storms scattered the fleet, one ship turned back, and others were lost. It was a dramatic culling that left Drake and his crew genuinely alone in waters few Europeans had navigated.

Plunder, Spice, and a Queen's Blessing

The circumnavigation wasn't purely an adventure — it was a raiding mission dressed up as exploration. Drake targeted Spanish colonial ports along the Pacific coast of South America, seizing enormous quantities of silver and gold. His most famous capture was the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, which he took in 1579 off the coast of Ecuador. The haul was staggering.

Drake completed his circumnavigation in September 1580, arriving back in Plymouth with a ship loaded with treasure and spices. Queen Elizabeth I came aboard the Golden Hind at Deptford the following year and knighted him on her own deck — a moment of enormous symbolic theatre. He became Sir Francis Drake, the second man in history to circumnavigate the globe, and the first to complete the voyage as captain from start to finish (Ferdinand Magellan died en route during the first circumnavigation in 1522).

Where Is She Now?

Elizabeth ordered the Golden Hind preserved at Deptford as a national monument, where she sat for decades before eventually rotting away. Today, a full-scale replica berthed on the Thames in London near Southwark Cathedral keeps her memory alive. You can walk her decks and get a real sense of just how small a ship she was — which makes what Drake accomplished aboard her all the more extraordinary.