| The second half of Elizabeth's reign is one of the most important and glorious in English naval history. In 1580 Francis Drake returned from his epic circumnavigation, a feat emulated a few years later by Thomas Cavendish. In 1585 Sir Richard Grenville transported settlers to Roanoke, the first English colony in America, and the Treaty of Nonsuch plunged the country into war with Spain which reached a zenith with the Armada threat of 1588. In the 1590s the English seamen turned the tables and launched several daring attacks on Spanish interests, including a landing in Spain itself. | ||||
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| ~ Officers ~ | ||||
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| The Captain. Onboard ship his authority was absolute, he commanded the ship and was ultimately responsible to her owners for her safety. | |
The Master. The second officer of the ship, he knew all of her quirks and was in charge of her smooth running. He was often an older and more experienced sailor than the Captain. | |
The Purser. The administrative officer, he was responsible for supplies and money, including wages. He was also tasked to keep a record of anything captured from the enemy. |
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| A captain at sea, surveying the vast ocean before him, optimistic about the journey ahead. | ||||
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| The captain calls his officers around for a council of war. | ||||
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| ~ Mariners ~ | ||||
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| The gunner making some repairs. | |
The Purser talks with one of the sailors, the Bonaventure standard in the background. | |
A sailor. |
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| One of the sailors starts recruiting young. | |
A soldier practising with a polearm. | |
The gunner, hovering around the food as usual. |
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| A sailor is expertly fleeced at dice |
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| ~ Displays ~ | ||
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| Here can be seen part of our "Arming of the Man" display, two of the sailors help the pilot into a suit of Elizabethan half armour. Each individual piece of armour is explained as it is put on, until he is fully armed, when they demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of armour. | ||
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| The Captain and the Pilot demonstrate the use of various weapons. In the first picture they are using polearms, the Captain wielding a "Partizan" and the Pilot a "Brown Bill". In the second picture they are fighting with naval cutlasses, although the cutlass was a common sailor's weapon George Silver dealt at great length with short swords in his "Paradoxes of Defence", a 1599 fencing manual. In the last picture both officers have selected the more gentlemanly weapon, the rapier, a long thin sword used primarily point first, Captain Foxe favouring the "De Grassi" method. | ||||
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