FRANCIS DRAKE. HEROE OR VILLAIN? ACTIVITIES

Drake’s Circumnavigation: Was Drake a Hero or a Villain?

Task 1: Individual Work

· Using the details of Drake’s journey from the Google Earth tour at www.activehistory.co.uk, find evidence to fill in this table.

· Any evidence that Drake was a hero (for example, he was kind and brave) should be placed in the left-hand column.

· Any evidence that he was a villain (for example, he was cruel and cowardly) should be placed in the right-hand column.

· Any evidence which you are not sure about can be placed in the middle column.

· TIP: Two events have been added to start you off (you can delete them if you wish!).

Hero		Villain
Mogador: 27th Dec. 1577 Drake traded sheep and chickens with the locals. This shows he is willing to make friends with the people he meets.		Cape Blanco: 17th Jan. 1578 Drake hijacks a Spanish ship. This shows that he is a thief.

Task 2: Group Work

Working with a partner, then in a larger group, compare what you put into the middle column. Work together to decide whether it should be moved into the “Hero” or “Villain” column.

Alternatively, your teacher may ask you to contribute these ideas to a whole-class discussion, and for each point raised the class would vote on whether it belongs in the “Hero” or “Villain” category.

Task 3: Writing up your findings

Using your completed table to help you, provide a written answer to this question:

“Was Drake a hero or a villain?”

Paragraph 1: “There is evidence to suggest that Drake was a hero. For example,…” [use your information from column 1]

Paragraph 2: “There is evidence to suggest that Drake was a villain. For example,…” [use your information from column 2]

Paragraph 3: “In conclusion, my opinion of Drake is that…”[reach your own judgement – be as detailed as you can!]