In 1585, the English launched a pre-emptive strike against Spain, by attacking her New World colonies.

Led by Sir Francis Drake, in command of 21 ships and 1,800 soldiers, the expedition struck first at the Canary Islands, then attacked the city of Santo Domingo and the treasure port of Cartagena. Frequently outnumbered, Drake's soldiers won an series of spectacular victories and, laden with treasure, sailed home to a hero's welcome.

Featuring bespoke illustrations, this is the daring account of the most spectacular of Sir Francis Drake's raids on the Spanish Main that was the casus belli for war between England and the Spanish Empire.

Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has written widely on naval history, with well over a hundred books in print. He is a former Royal Navy officer, maritime archaeologist and museum curator, who has worked in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Now a full-time author and historian, he lives in Orkney.

Inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn, Peter Dennis studied Illustration at Liverpool Art College. He has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles.

Alan Gilliland, a contributor to more than 70 Osprey titles, writes, illustrates and publishes fiction (www.ravensquill.com), as well as illustrating for a variety of publishers (alangillilandillustration.blogspot.com).

Brian Delf is a freelance illustrator on a variety of subjects including natural history, architecture and technical cutaways. His illustrations have been published in over 30 countries.

Introduction
Origins
The Plan
The Raid
Aftermath
Analysis
Further Reading