Which English captain was the first to circumnavigate the globe and return with spices and treasure from the Americas?

Which English captain was the first to circumnavigate the globe and return with spices and treasure from the Americas?

• A. James Cook
• B. Ferdinand Magellan
• C. Francis Drake
• D. Sir Walter Raleigh

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is who first showed England’s global reach by sailing around the world and returning with wealth from the Americas. Francis Drake did this on the voyage from 1577 to 1580 aboard the Golden Hind. He completed the first English circumnavigation and came back with a substantial treasure, including gold, jewels, and spices, earned by raiding Spanish ships and colonies along the way. This voyage demonstrated England’s growing naval power and opened English exploration and piracy as a major force on the world stage. James Cook later carried out global voyages, but he was not the first to circle the globe, and his era focused more on scientific exploration than the immediate accumulation of wealth from the Americas. Ferdinand Magellan started the first circumnavigation, but he sailed for Spain and did not return to England. Sir Walter Raleigh explored and attempted colonization, but he did not complete a circumnavigation.

The idea being tested is who first showed England’s global reach by sailing around the world and returning with wealth from the Americas. Francis Drake did this on the voyage from 1577 to 1580 aboard the Golden Hind. He completed the first English circumnavigation and came back with a substantial treasure, including gold, jewels, and spices, earned by raiding Spanish ships and colonies along the way. This voyage demonstrated England’s growing naval power and opened English exploration and piracy as a major force on the world stage.

James Cook later carried out global voyages, but he was not the first to circle the globe, and his era focused more on scientific exploration than the immediate accumulation of wealth from the Americas. Ferdinand Magellan started the first circumnavigation, but he sailed for Spain and did not return to England. Sir Walter Raleigh explored and attempted colonization, but he did not complete a circumnavigation.