Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet (1588 – 11 March 1637) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in two parliaments between 1625 and 1629. Drake was the son of Thomas Drake of

Buckland Abbey Buckland Abbey is a Grade I listed 700-year-old house in Buckland Monachorum, near Yelverton, Devon, Yelverton, Devon, England, noted for its connection with Sir Richard Grenville the Younger and Sir Francis Drake. It is owned by the National ...

, Devon and his wife, Elizabeth Gregory, widow of John Elford. His father was the brother of

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

and accompanied him in his sea adventures.''The Family and Heirs of Sir Francis Drake'', p. 130
/ref> He was baptised at Buckland Monachorum on 16 September 1588. He matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

on 23 November 1604, aged 15, and was of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1606. In 1622, King James sought to make up the money denied him by parliament, by seeking voluntary contributions from the gentry and the

petty nobility The minor or petty nobility is the lower nobility classes. Finland Petty nobility in Finland is dated at least back to the 13th century and was formed by nobles around their strategic interests. The idea was more capable peasants with leader role ...

. Following this, Drake was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 2 August 1622. In 1624, Drake was elected Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle. He was elected MP for

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. He was

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1633. In 1628, he compiled the first detailed account of his uncle's circumnavigation, '' The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake'', based on his uncle's journal, the notes of

Francis Fletcher Francis Fletcher (March 1, 1814 – October 7, 1871) was a prominent pioneer of the U.S. state of Oregon and a member of the Peoria Party.Dobbs Biography Born in Allerston, Yorkshire, England, he immigrated with his parents, William and Mary Fle ...

, and other sources. Drake married, firstly, to Jane Bampfield, who died in 1613, and secondly, to Joan Stroud, daughter of Sir William Stroud of Newnham. His son,

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

, succeeded to the baronetcy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Francis 1588 births 1637 deaths High sheriffs of Devon Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1628–1629 Baronets in the Baronetage of England Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon Members of the Parliament of England for Plympton Erle