In 1577 Elizabeth I, last of the Tudor monarchs, sent Francis Drake to lay claim for an English settlement in northwest America and authorizing his piracy to avenge destruction of English trading vessels. His labor accomplished-at Nehalem Bay in Oregon and the largest treasure cache ever confiscated-Drake circled the world in order to avoid retaliation, for which she knighted him. Her wish to honor one of the nobility, however, for this accomplishment, instead of this greatest of sea captains, led to a cover-up perpetuated to this day.