HISTORIC BRASS PLATE

Evening Star, Issue 22687, 29 June 1937, Page 16

HISTORIC BRASS PLATE

SET UP BY SIR FRANCIS BRAKE The brass plate which Francis Brake (later Sir Francis) on his voyage around the world 358 years ago sec up on a bust on the shore of California, and which has been missing ever since, has at last been Found. It provides concrete proof that Drake took possession of California in the name of Queen Elizabeth in the summer of 1579. Authenticity of the plate is vouched for by Professor Herbert E. Boulton, chairman of the department of historyin the University- of California, director of the Bancroft Library and one of the foremost authorities on the history of California and the South-west. The plate has been acquired by members of the California Historical- Society and presented to the University of California. The finder of this plate, which is hailed as the most interesting and significant relic in California history, was Mr Beryle' Shinn, who one Sunday was on a pleasure drive in Marin County, north of San Francisco. It was his first visit to that section. As he drove south from San Rafael on the road leading to Greenbrae, he had a puncture. It was a nice day and a pleasant spot, so Mr Shinn took his time about repairing the puncture. He decided this was as good a place as any other to eat a picnic lunch in, so he and his companions climbed the cliff' beside the road, Before they were ready to move on they amused themselves by rolling some rocks down a hill. One of the rocks Mr Shinn picked up partlycovered a small piece of metal. He thought it was iron, and the thing that might be used to patch a hole in the inside of his car, so he picked it up and took it with him. _ Mr Shinn never thought of the piece of metal again for about a month. Then one day he decided to repair his car. He got the metal plate he had found and went to work,, but the plate seemed to have some inscription on it. Taking it into the house, he scrubbed with soap and a brush. Ho could make out some words. He showed it to some of his friends, and one of them thought he could decipher the word “ Drake.” Then Mr Shinn got in touch with Professor Bolton. When Mr Shinn described the plate over the telephone to Professor Bolton, the learned scholar knew at once that it was either a hoax or something extremely important. He hastened to decipher the plate and apply to it every test which his wide historical learning made possible. After due consideration, he was willing to stake his reputation on its authenticity. Mr Shinn, when he learned.the importance of what he had discovered, made no effort to derive profit from his rich find. Ho would not sell, hut he was willing to give the plate to Ihe University of California. Professor Bolton at once got in touch with leading members of the California Historical Society, who revisited with Mr Shinn the scene of his discovery and rajsed a fund_ from which a reward of £7OO was paid to Mr Shinn and arrangements begun to insure the proper guardianship of the relic. The “ plate of hrasse ” camo very near to being discovered four years ago. In fact, it was picked up by a chauffeur and kept for several days, then thrown away. If William Calderia, the chauffeur, had realised what a treasure he had in his hands at that time he might have been the one to receive the reward given by-members of the l California Historical Society to Mr Shinn. The plate is of solid brass, about Sin wido by Sin long and an eighth of an inch thick. When found it gave evidence of years of exposure, and at least partial burial, but now that it has been cleared, it is reasonably legible, all things considered. The text of the inscription is as follows: Bee it known vnto all men by these presents ivne 17 1579 By the grace of God and in the name of Herr Maiesty Qveen Elizabeth of England and herr svcccssors forever I take possession of this kingdome whose King and people freely resigno their right and title in the whole land vnt Herr Maiesties keepeing now named by mo an to bee knowne vnto all men as Nova Albion Francis Drake At the lower right-hand corner of the plate is a hole for a silver sixpence, as related in an early chronicle, investigation shows that a sixpence of Queen Elizabeth’s day fits the hole perfectly. Professor Bolton feels that the plate bears out perfectly the- record of Drake’s activitibs m this vicinity as narrated in the most complete chronicle of his voyage, entitled, ‘ The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake,’ which_ was based on the notes of Francis Fletcher, chaplain aboard the Golden Hinde, and published in 1628 in London. Although Drake once condemned Fletcher as “Ye falsest knave that Jivetli,” Professor Bolton feels that he did the clergyman a gross injustice, for the inscription on the newly-found plate tallies most closely with Fletcher’s description of events on the California shore in that distant summer when Drake was reconditioning his ship preparatory to continuing his circuit of the globe. Drake anchored in a “ convenient and fit harborough ” on the California coast on July 17, 1579 (Old Style Calendar). He had arrived there with his little ship heavily loaded with loot from successive captures of Spanish ships and looting of Spanisli towns on the way north from the Straits of Magellan. Before starting across the broad Pacific he sought to make necessary repairs.

Tho plate is apparently made of brass such as was commonly used for deck fittings on Elizabethan ships. It is of a form such as might have been cut out of the brass track of a guncarriage. 'file squ.lre notches at°the top and bottom are significant, for they seem well suited for nailing the plate to a post. Sixteenth century nails and spikes wore customarily handwronght and were square.

An article by Douglas S. "Watson, published by the California Historical Society, concludes as follows: “ Drake’s position in the history of America to-day rests upon firm foundation-. and now that we have the evidence to support it. he can truly he regarded as the first English-speaking settler in the Western Hemisphere. His occupation of a portion of California, though temporary, antedates the Roanoke settlement of Sir Walter Raleigh by .six years. “ Raleigh’s occupation was likewise of an ephemeral nature, for the year after it was started the colonists" returned to England, and the man who undertook their repatriation and saw them safely back to the homeland was Drake, then Sir Francis, his knighthood being a part of the reward Queen Elizabeth _ bestowed on him for his many daring exploits, including his discovery and occupation of \ew Albion.”