June 21, 1579 - Sir Francis Drake Lands in Modern-Day California

Theodor de Bry, Drake's Landing in California, 1590. Reproduced by the National Park Service. Public domain.

One of the earliest recorded Protestant worship services in what would later become the United States may have taken place on this day. English explorer Sir Francis Drake was nearing the end of his famous circumnavigation of the globe when his expedition landed along the Pacific coast of present-day California, likely near what is now known as Drakes Bay. There, Drake claimed the region for England under the name “New Albion.”

Accounts from members of Drake’s expedition describe interactions with local Native peoples and record that Anglican worship services were held according to the Book of Common Prayer. Because England had embraced the Protestant Reformation under Queen Elizabeth I, these services are often regarded as among the earliest documented Protestant acts of worship on future U.S. soil. Historians debate the precise location of Drake’s landing, but the event remains significant in both religious and colonial history.

The encounters between Drake’s crew and the Native inhabitants were marked by profound cultural differences. English observers interpreted the Native peoples’ actions through a Christian lens, while the Native communities likely understood the visitors and their ceremonies according to their own religious and cultural traditions. Modern historians caution against assuming either side fully understood the beliefs and intentions of the other.

Why does this matter?

Drake’s landing illustrates how exploration, faith, and cultural encounter were often intertwined during the age of discovery. The service conducted on California’s shores foreshadowed the later spread of Protestant Christianity across North America while also reminding us that early encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples were complex, shaped by both curiosity and misunderstanding. Today, the event stands as an important chapter in the religious history of the future United States.