Sea Dog

The term sea dog has a number of definitions. In England, for years, it was derogatory slang used to describe a seasoned sailor as an unsavory character. Queen Elizabeth took the phrase and flipped it to mean sailors who bravely defended England.

In the late 1500s, Spain attempted to conquer England covertly by fomenting insurrection in Ireland and Scotland. Finally, Queen Elizabeth’s patience wore thin. She understood war with Spain was inevitable. Against her counselor’s advice, she ordered the building of warships. While her armaments were stockpiling, she needed a diversion and with it, private financing.

Elizabeth appealed to Sir Walter Raleigh for assistance. He agreed to help finance her privateers for a percentage of all confiscated treasure.

Elizabeth then commissioned her most loyal subjects: Sir Francis Drake, Sir Martin Frobisher, Sir Richard Grenville, Sir John Hawkins, Thomas Cavendish, and all English sailors (popularly called sea dogs). Issuing letters of marque, the orders were to harass the Spanish wherever encountered and degrade their sea forces.

Thus, the famous Elizabethan sea dogs sailed. These men were more than happy to comply with the queen’s orders. Each man knew they would be considered pirates by the Spanish, and if captured they would be killed. This knowledge did not stop them, and many sailors signed on to the English crews. (Selinger 57)

Under Elizabeth I in the latter half of the 16th century, England challenged the naval supremacy of Spain. English “sea dogs,” notably Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake, attacked Spanish shipping with the queen’s approval, although England and Spain were not at war. The spoils from these raids helped finance construction of the English fleet that defeated the Armada in 1588, thus speeding Spain’s decline as a world power. (Encyclopedia Americana, Pirate)