This is the ship’s hold, an area primarily used for storing provisions. In this cooler, dark space below the waterline, food and drink were stored in large barrels, boxes, chests, and baskets. To survive for months at sea without spoiling, food was often dried, salted or pickled. Whilst their diet was not particularly varied, mariners ate relatively well. Based on what we know about similar voyages, each day a mariner on The Hinde could expect a pound of biscuit, a quarter-pound of butter, a half-pound of cheese, a gallon of beer and some honey. On meat days, sailors would get a pound of salt beef or pork, and on fast days, a quarter of a salted codfish. Oatmeal, rice, vinegar, cooking oil, water and wine were also brought aboard to supplement the rations. The consumption of fresh meat and vegetables was limited to when the ship was at or near the shore, when the crew would go hunting and gathering. We know the crew of The Hinde ate plantains, penguins, and seals during the voyage.
Scurvy, an illness caused by lack of vitamin c in the diet, was a constant problem for sailors spending a long time at sea. Remarkably, as far as we know only two members of Drake’s crew died from scurvy.
Along with the food and drink, the hold was filled with carpenters’ stores, agricultural tools, powder and ammunition, spare shoes and hats, rope, nets, plates and bowls, wood, candles, and other spares.
As Drake and his crew raided the Spanish colonies and traded with others, the hold was gradually filled with valuable goods comprising silver bars, gold pieces, jewels, Chinese porcelain, Chilean wine and tonnes of spices.
The exact total or Drake’s haul is unknown, and much was kept secret when he returned to England. It appears that £24,000 was taken by Drake and his crew and then £264,000 was deposited in the Tower of London. It is likely that many thousands more were deposited or gifted elsewhere. By 1581, some were claiming that the figure was upwards of £600,000, but this is likely an exaggeration. Either way, the £264,000 in the Tower was more than Queen Elizabeth’s ordinary annual revenue and allowed her to loan money to Dutch protestants, invest in trading companies and wipe out the deficit resulting from her wars in Ireland.
Below your feet is the bilge, an area at the bottom of the ship where ballast is stored. Ballast is heavy rocks or metals which counteracts the weight of the masts and sails and stops the ship from toppling over.
Water dripping down from the leaking decks above would eventually collect in the bilge and would need to be pumped out using the bilge pump. Stinking bilges were a good sign – they meant that the rancid and filthy water was trapped at the bottom of the ship and not leaking out into the sea. The foul smell meant that the ship was watertight.