A Criminal Trial at Sea in 1582

Extract

That a ship's captain may exercise supreme powers when at sea has been recognized since maritime laws were first formulated. But when Francis Drake summarily executed Thomas Doughty in Patagonia in 1578 there were serious misgivings at home, and the commanding officer of the next long distance expedition was hedged about with carefully thought out restrictions, and ordered, save ia the last resort, to bring any serious offender home as a prisoner. This voyage was organized and financed by the Earl of Leicester, Drake and a number of City merchants, its objective being to open up trade with the Far East by a voyage round the Cape. It had originally been intended to put Martin Frobisher in command, but for reasons unknown a gentleman and soldier of fortune, who had been with him on the second and third voyages to the Northwest Passage, Captain Edward Fenton, was substituted for Frobisher. This caused murmuring among the sailors who evidently thought poorly of him. And he did indeed turn out a weak, vacillating leader, though full of his own importance, so that the voyage was a failure, and two of his ships actually left him.