Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581. Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral (1540-1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, explorer and politician of the Elizabethan era. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He carried out the second circumnavigation of the world, from 1577 to 1580. He died of dysentery in 1596 after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico. 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. King Philip II was claimed to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, about $6.5 million by modern standards, for his life. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581.