Golden Hind, 1/96 - Heller 80829

During the reign of Elizabeth I, England began to establish its own maritime trade routes. One of these voyages was organized in the greatest secrecy, under the cover of a voyage to Egypt, by Francis Drake. On the 13th December 1577, five sailing ships left Plymouth, bond for “Alexandria” (the Pelican, the Elisabethan, the Marigold, the Swan and the Benedict). It was not until he reached the Pacific, beyond the Straights of Magellan, that Drake, in order to perfect the disguise of his mission, rechristened the Pelican the Golden-Hind.