Undiscovered Ocean From Marco Polo to Francis Drake
Andrew Donkin and Clive Goddard, Scholastic, 2006
Undiscovered Ocean From Marco Polo to Francis Drake
The last thirty-six pages are given over to Drake. His life is narrated as far as his knighthood. Author Antonio Deane who lives in Argentina takes every opportunity to portray Drake negatively. His ludicrous claims have in part, been sourced by Kelsey and Cummins to the detriment of not including Sugden. The first of the two chapters is so originally called The Queen's Pirate.
The anchorages on the east coast of South America are generally incorrectly placed. Deane does not show Drake going as far up the River Plate as he did. Also stories are not in geographical concert. For example what happened at San Julián Deane portrays as occurring at modern-day Port Desire (Puerto Deseado) which Drake did not visit. Deane really meant the nearby Drake's Seal Bay. The author states that Drake murdered Doughty. He criticises Drake for not re-entering the Magellan Strait in search of Winter. Deane fails to apply a balanced argument by stating that Drake had arranged to rendezvous at 30°S should the ships be cast asunder. Deane claims that Drake discovered Henderson Island instead of Horn Island. He tells the two stories of robbing the silver laden llamas in Chile since he does not realise that it was the same story told in two different ways. The author tells the events in Chile in the wrong order and inadvertently has Drake backtracking hundreds of miles to a place that he has already visited! Drake did not go to Quillota nor did he capture a ship at Valdivia. Drake did not careen at Caño Island in Costa Rica but on the adjacent mainland. The author supports Drake's Bay as the Californian anchorage. Deane has no idea where Drake is when he is at the Island of Thieves being Palau. Drake died off Portobelo and not off Nombre de Dios.
I think Deane has tried to cover too many explorers in one book. Therefore his research is scant and is also biased.
