Certain members of the expedition were known as gentleman adventurers. These individuals were spoiled, rich members of the nobility who had nothing better to do with their time than venture forth in the name of Queen, Country and glory…frankly, it was a method to get certain nuisances out of the monarchy's hair for a bit. Thomas Doughty was such an individual. A very good friend of Drake's and well known by many influential members of the Monarchy, he was also an officer for the venture. During the voyage, Drake ended up accusing him of Treachery and Incitement to Mutiny. Doughty was tried, found guilty, and executed by beheading. Who Doughty was, why he was there and the reason he went as far as it did will never be known but it is very possible he was placed on the expedition by Lord Burghley to prevent Drake from attacking Spanish targets that would incite international incidents or possibly war. If this was the case, Doughty may have taken it beyond the point of no return with Captain Drake, the expedition’s ultimate authority. The decision was never questioned officially, but a high level execution could ruffle feathers among the crew, a major problem given the mission’s goal. The log for the day marks Doughty's beheading and an immediate change in the name of the ship. Could it be the lesser of the two evils? Perhaps it was superstition that motivated Drake's choice, or perhaps it was Christopher Hatton. A large investor in the voyage, Hatton was an influential man at Court, one who could cause many problems should Drake end up on his wrong side. Hatton's family coat-of-arms included a prominent golden deer, or hind. Could it be that Drake renamed the ship in an attempt to placate Hatton on his return? One could surmise this was the case due to the fact that the man he just executed was Christopher Hatton's personal friend and secretary. One thing was for sure, an officer of the expedition was dead, missing his head and the Pelican sported a new title, all in the space of one day.
The Pelican/Golden Hinde itself was a race-built galleon, a distinctly English design built for speed. The hull was described as having the head of a cod, and the tail of a mackerel. Despite having race in the name, this in itself did not denote speed, but rather a very low or "razed" fore and aft "castle". Previously, construction of the superstructure at the front and rear of a ship emphasized large and tall fore and aft “castles”, the prevailing theory being that the crew could retreat into these floating “fortifications” and fight upon being boarded. This slowed a ship, especially if it was a big one. By cutting down the superstructure and building light, a large galleon could make some decent speed. English race-galleons were purpose built, brand new ships, not older existing ships that were converted by shaving down the fore and aft castles.
On April 4th 1581 at Sayes Court in Deptford, England,
a large public celebration was held by Queen Elizabeth to knight Francis Drake
and enshrine the Golden Hind. There had been no festivities on his return
the previous September. Because of
looting, pillaging and clear acts of piracy against Spain, the expedition was
quietly concluded to allay further antagonizing Phillip II. All the
treasure was off-loaded and stored for disposition, and the investors,
including Drake himself, were paid off with a tidy profit of forty-seven pounds
to each one invested, a 4600% profit. The Queen herself received
42,000. It was enough to ensure that
everyone turned a blind eye towards any of Drake's actions or decisions.
The Golden Hind was set as a monument and according to
Stowe: "His ship to be drawn up in a little crecke neare Deptford upon
the Thames to be preserved for all posterity". Camden states
that the Golden Hind was brought up on land and "lodged in a dock" for
all to visit and marvel at. In 1602 she was still there. By the
1620s, the ship had lost her masts but was still an attraction, with money
spent on creating a dirt wall around the ship.
In 1624 more was spent to create a new "dock", or wall made of
wood.
By 1668 is was over. The dilapidated hull of this once great ship was rotted beyond repair. She was razed and covered over with earth. For close to 80 years Drake's ship sat on the shore of the Thames River, a wooden statue to commemorate the accomplishments of England's most famous pirate. A cairn of stones was erected over her grave and stood until 1977 when they were removed from the site, stored, then lost. The exact spot where the remains of the Golden Hind rest has been forgotten but the site can be easily relocated with a few historians giving a close estimation of where she more than likely rests. Some of the ship is likely still there as she cut down to ground level with the rest buried. That means a nice portion of a 16th-century race-built galleon exists and can be excavated and studied in an attempt to fill in some of the unknowns when it comes to this period of English ship building.
