All that Drake accomplished on his voyages, especially acts of piracy and violence, he did on Elizabeth’s behalf and, as a result of her largesse, for himself. Piracy offered his surest route to wealth and status, and, as the eldest son of a clergyman, he was unlikely to attain these prizes any other way. Elizabeth’s reputation in England was never higher than in the years surrounding Drake’s voyages. And he might have fancied becoming her beloved, joining the lengthy list of men whose affections she had ensnared. The farther he sailed around the world, the deeper he would sail into her heart,
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