The first full-scale study of its kind, the partnership between one of the greatest pirates and Queen Elizabeth - the unique collaboration between seafarer and monarch that led to the formation of the British Empire. In his work, the famous historian-biographer, author of popular science books about Magellan and Columbus, Lawrence Bergrin, relies on many sources, mostly contemporary with the events described. The account of Francis Drake's key voyages in the context of a decisive turn in British history is given greater depth and breadth, accompanied by color and black-and-white illustrations and maps. “Many were confident that Spain, led by the methodical Philip II, would soon invade England and take the country back into its embrace Vatican. Many in England would have welcomed this development, but Elizabeth's strategy and Drake's audacity prevented this very likely outcome and set England, the rest of Europe, and ultimately much of the world on a different path. It was then that England, almost invisible in the shadow of Spain and Portugal, shook off the power of Catholicism, and Drake became the catalyst for the great transformation of England from an island nation into the British Empire. Everything that Drake achieved through voyages and especially pirate raids, he did in the name of Elizabeth...” (Lawrence Bergrin)