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c. 1535-1594
Strong, brave and 'no scholar', Martin Frobisher, son of a prominent Yorkshire family, got into piracy young. Sent to sea at 18, by 20 he had been taken hostage by a native chief in Guinea and imprisoned by the Portuguese. For the next 15 years, he sailed as a pirate, bringing home enough booty to make the Spanish very angry without making him very rich.
Frobisher became fascinated by the quest for the Northwest Passage – a fabled route to Cathay (China) across what is now Canada – and was strongly influenced by Humphrey Gilbert who had written a Discourse on the subject. In 1576, he sailed past Greenland into what looked like a strait. Believing he was sailing between America and Asia, he landed and swapped gifts with the inhabitants (bells and mirrors for animal skins). Leaving five men behind, he returned triumphantly home, bringing with him a native with his canoe and a sample of gold-flecked black rock.
The English court went into a fever of avarice. Several goldsmiths were discouraging about the rock, but when an alchemist pronounced it capable of yielding gold, the rush was on. Frobisher formed the Cathay Company, investment poured in and Elizabeth I lent one of her ships. Frobisher made another two voyages to what is now Labrador, bringing back hundreds of tons of ore and formally annexing the territory for England.
The venture ended in disappointment. Frobisher realised that his 'strait' could not be the Northwest Passage and renamed it Mistaken Strait. (It actually was a deep bay and was later named after him.) On his return to England, he discovered that the 'gold' was also worthless: he and all his backers, including the queen, suffered heavy losses; some were virtually ruined.
Out of favour, Frobisher spent the next few years guarding the seas around Ireland and making pirate voyages – including a notably successful one with Sir Francis Drake in 1585. During the Armada, he captained the Triumph and distinguished himself through fierce engagements, often fighting alongside Hawkins in the Victory. (He was furious with Drake for acting the pirate in the heat of battle and called him a traitor.) He was later knighted by Elizabeth for his achievements during those fraught days.
After the Armada, Frobisher joined Hawkins in his (unsuccessful) attempts to intercept Spanish treasure ships for the English crown. More fruitful was a special mission to 'annoy the Spanish fleet' off the coast of Spain, when he captured a ship full of iron. In 1594, he sailed to help French Huguenots under siege at Crozon in Brittany. He was wounded during the battle and died from botched surgery.
The pirates
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