Historians find source of Drake hoax

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT ^ | February 14, 2003 | By BOB NORBERG

[vannrox]

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Historians find source of Drake hoax

Team dedicates 11 years of research into uncovering identities of brass plate creators

February 14, 2003

By BOB NORBERG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Researchers say they have solved the mystery surrounding a phony brass plate found in Greenbrae and attributed to Sir Francis Drake, an enduring hoax that added to the debate over where the 16th-century explorer really landed.

"We knew from testing that the plate is a forgery," said Ed Von der Porten of San Francisco, a maritime historian, archaeologist and member of the Drake Navigators Guild. "What had remained a mystery is who made the plate and why."

Von der Porten said that after 11 years of research, they now know the identities of the individuals who perpetrated the hoax.

The identities will be released Tuesday at the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library, where the brass plate has been kept since 1937. The findings also are being published in California History, the official publication of the California Historical Society.

"Last year, we finally pulled it together and got it to the California Historical Society," Von der Porten said. "There is nothing simple. They left lots of bits of clues."

Von der Porten said the hoax involved more than one person, all of whom clung to a strict code of silence.

None of the perpetrators nor the few who knew them are still alive, and the fact that the plaque is a hoax doesn't have any bearing on the belief that Drake landed in Drakes Bay, Von der Porten said.

Still, the hoax was well-known among historians following the controversy of where Drake landed, and has great entertainment value, said Breck Parkman, senior archaeologist for the state Department of Parks and Recreation.

"It is one of the more famous hoaxes in California," Parkman said. "It also makes you wonder what else out there we accept as true that is a hoax."

Drake, an English explorer and pirate, made landfall on the California coast in June 1579.

Historical and archaeological evidence puts the likely landing spot at Drakes Cove in the Point Reyes National Seashore.

The Drakes Navigator Guild for more than 50 years has been leading the research into Drakes' landfall and believes it to be Drakes Cove.

Dozens of alternative sites on the West Coast have been suggested during the past 60 years, many spurred by the existence of the plate, Von der Porten said.

The brass plate was found on a Greenbrae hillside in 1936. Measuring 51/2 by 8 inches and made of brass, it bears an inscription in old English that claims California for England.

The plate was turned over to Herbert Bolton, director of the Bancroft Library and a noted California historian, who immediately proclaimed it as authentic, Von der Porten said.

"What the plate did was get some people thinking that because it was found at Greenbrae, maybe Drake was at Greenbrae," Von der Porten said.

It wasn't until 1977 that metallurgy tests at UC Berkeley and Oxford University, using methods not known 30 years earlier, determined it was a fake made from machine-rolled brass that was cut into a plate with shears in the early 1930s.

In 1991, Von der Porten, the late Drake Guild president Raymond Aker, and researchers Robert Allen and James Spitze began tracking down clues to the perpetrators.

Von der Porten said they found an elaborate hoax that had gotten out of hand.

"It is not important at all, but it is an interesting bit of research," Von der Porten said. "For 40 years, it skewed the history of the state."

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bnorberg@pressdemocrat.com.

[vannrox]

I found this very interesting.

[eabinga]

Bump for l8ter read

[Celtjew Libertarian]

I remember reading about this when I was maybe 12 years old, at a time when it was uncertain whether this was fake or not. I'm almost disappointed that it was a fake.

[roadcat]

"I remember reading about this when I was maybe 12 years old, at a time when it was uncertain whether this was fake or not. I'm almost disappointed that it was a fake."

Same here, I remember controversy back in the 1960's about it, and I am disappointed about this finding. I always thought he entered SF Bay rather than hitting Drakes Bay.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"It also makes you wonder what else out there we accept as true that is a hoax."

Hmmmm. Like...the Koran?

[CatoRenasci]

The plate ws in our California history textbooks in the 1950's. I remember it being described as of uncertain authenticity. I had heard in the late '70s it was a hoax. This is interesting.

[SunkenCiv]

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