He was at this time becalmed in the tropics, and therefore headed his ships north, hoping to find the trade wind, which would carry him across the Pacific. After proceeding north along a strange coast for nearly a month, during which time the weather gradually became colder and colder, Drake decided to enter a harbor and anchor his vessels.
The people of the country were friendly, and as the English treated them well, they remained so. They admired the brave Sir Francis Drake so much that they begged him to stay with them and be their king.
But Drake had no desire to be king over an Indian tribe. He wanted to get back to his own good Queen Elizabeth and tell her of all the wonderful things that had happened to him. So he took possession of this country for England, and called it New Albion.
New Albion was the land which is at present known as California, and the bay in which Drake anchored is just north of San Francisco Bay.
Then Drake prepared his ships for the voyage home, hoisted anchor, and was soon sailing away in the direction of the Moluccas. These islands he reached after a long voyage, and after visiting several of the Indies he proceeded across the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope and thence northward to England. He reached home in September, 1580, after an absence of three years.
How glad Queen Elizabeth was to see him! She granted him the honor of knighthood, and in other ways showed her pride in her brave subject.
Drake's ship, the Golden Hind, was placed in a dock at Deptford, where it stood for many years. People used to take their children to see it, and they would tell them about the Golden Hind, the good ship in which sailed the brave general, Sir Francis Drake, when he taught the Spaniards a lesson.
When the timber of the ship began to decay, a chair was made of some of it and given to Oxford University, where it may be seen to this day.