Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – 27 January 1596) was an English captain, privateer, navigator, slave trader, explorer, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Drake was the first Englishman who circumnavigated the world, constantly harassing Spanish ships and ports at the same time. His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards to whom he was known as El Draque.