The Spanish Armada

A poem for kids about Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada, by Paul Perro

Francis Drake was a pirate,
Who sailed all around the world.
He liked to attack Spanish ships
And steal their jewels and gold.

He gave the treasure to the queen,
She thought he was a hero.
The Spanish were afraid of him
And called him the dragon, "El Draco."

One day he was playing bowls
With some friends by the sea,
When he saw some Spanish ships coming,
They wanted back their jewellery.

"Quick" said his friends, "We must go at once
And chase that Armada away!"
But Drake said "No, we can finish our game,
We still have time to play."

Eventually the game was over,
And Francis Drake said "Right!
Let's play a trick on them,
And give them such a fright."

He took an empty ship
And set fire to the mast,
Then pushed it towards the Spanish
Who were looking on, aghast.

They saw the fireship coming towards them
And they were filled with fear.
"It's Draco the dragon" they told themselves,
"Let's get out of here!"

The Spanish ships turned around
And headed back for Spain.
Drake laughed and shouted at them
"Don't come back again!"



Drake was viewed as a pirate by the Spanish, and he did defeat their invasion fleet (the "Armada”) using fireships that broke their formation, causing them to retreat back to Spain. The story of him demanding to finish his game of bowls may be true, but is more likely to be a myth.



Back to British History from The Spanish Armada