Person    | Male  Born 1540  Died 27/1/1596

Sir Francis Drake

Categories: Exploring, Race Issues, Seriously Famous

Countries: Panama

Sea captain, explorer and pirate. Born in Crowndale, near Tavistock, Devon. He spent his formative years in the house of his cousin Sir John Hawkins and by 1565 was voyaging to Guinea and the Spanish Main. In 1572 he plundered on the Isthmus of Panama and became the first Englishman to see the Pacific Ocean. His famous circumnavigation of the globe took place from 1577 to 1580. He played a leading part in harassing the Spanish Armada as it passed through the English Channel. Died of dysentery at Porto Bello, Panama.

Drake and Hawkins were England's first slavers. As early as 1560 they entered the slave trade, travelled to West Africa to buy men and women for onward transportation to the West Indies where they were sold to the Spanish as slaves.

2023: LBC reported: "Sir Francis Drake Primary School to be renamed over slave trading past following BLM protests".

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Sir Francis Drake

Commemorated ati

Imperial Hotel - statue 06 - Drake

This statue is surely modelled on the Boehm statue of Drake erected at Tavist...

Read More

Sir Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake In 1581 Queen Elizabeth I commanded that Francis Drake's sh...

Read More

Show all 6

Other Subjects

Alexander Berry

Alexander Berry

Role on the lost expedition: Able seaman on SS Terror. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
David Livingstone

David Livingstone

Explorer, missionary, writer and medic. Born at Blantyre, just south of Glasgow. Qualified as a doctor in order to go as a medical missionary to China. Got the source of the Nile wrong and failed t...

Person, Exploring, Religion, Seriously Famous, Africa, Scotland

2 memorials
Alexander Paterson

Alexander Paterson

Role on the lost expedition: Royal marine on SS Erebus. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
Drake Navigators Guild

Drake Navigators Guild

The Drake Navigators Guild is the historical research group which has used multi-disciplinary methods to research Francis Drake’s visit to the west coast of North America in 1579 and related mariti...

Group, Exploring, USA

1 memorial
Robert Sinclair

Robert Sinclair

Role on the lost expedition: Petty officer on SS Erebus. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Orwell - Pond Street

Orwell - Pond Street

NW3, Pond Street, 3 Warwick Mansions

English Heritage blue plaques may be technically the best but individual plaques like this lift the spirits. Margaret Drabble helped ere...

1 subject commemorated
Corporation of the City of London

Corporation of the City of London

The municipal governing body of the City of London. Officially the 'Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London'. In 2006 the name was changed from just 'Corporation of London' to disti...

Group, Commerce, Politics & Administration

181 memorials
Magna Carta pier - north

Magna Carta pier - north

SL4, Windsor Road, Fairhaven Memorial Lodges

This is a multi-part monument: with four elements, spread over two sites, This northern one and the southern one.  At each site there are...

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Lady Winifred Fortescue

Lady Winifred Fortescue

Writer and actress. Born as Winifred Beech in a Suffolk rectory. Died France. 1914 she married John Fortescue (1859-1933, librarian, archivist at Windsor Castle and British Army historian), despit...

Person, Benefactor, Literature, Theatre, France

1 memorial
Hillier Nurseries

Hillier Nurseries

A family owned company with a tradition in professional horticulture. The largest grower of trees (both field and container grown), in the UK and one of the largest in Europe.

Group, Commerce

1 memorial