Complex sentence: Francis Drake made his way to Nehalem Bay in 1579 and spent 5 weeks in the middle of summer repairing his ship and claimed the land between 38--48 degrees N latitude as a Symbolic Sovereign Act for England.
Split into simpler sentences: Francis Drake made his way to Nehalem Bay in 1579 and spent five weeks in the middle of summer repairing his ship. He claimed the land between 38--48 degrees north latitude as a Symbolic Sovereign Act for England.