Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Anti-woke Brits furious as council leaders approve plaque condemning ‘national hero’ Sir Francis Drake as a slaver

Anti-woke Brits furious as council leaders approve plaque condemning ‘national hero’ Sir Francis Drake as a slaver

Woke-weary Brits have slammed a local council decision to rebrand a statue of national hero Sir Francis Drake, who defeated the invading Spanish Armada, to underline his involvement in “horrific slave trading expeditions.”

Late on Monday, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail reported that West Devon borough council had decided to erect a new informational plaque next to a statue of Sir Francis Drake to highlight the 16th century explorer’s connection to slavery.

Despite there being just one letter to support the proposal and 89 objections, the council agreed that a plaque detailing the less heroic aspects of Drake’s past must be erected by the monument to the esteemed naval commander in his hometown of Tavistock.

The inscription, as reported by the Daily Mail, highlights the “contrasts” of Drake’s life, first noting him as the first Englishman to circumvent the globe and as a defender of the country against the Spanish Armada.

However, it also notes that the Tudor explorer had a darker past. “He was also involved in several horrific slave trading expeditions. Furthermore, as a privateer he looted and plundered Spanish towns and ships in Europe and throughout their Empire in the Americas.”

Online support for the project appears even sparser, with almost all of those responding against the council’s move. Britons, sharing their two cents on Twitter, seemed infuriated, with many demanding people stop listening to the ‘woke’ minority.

One suggested that those who dislike British history should “bugger off to somewhere more to their pathetic liking.

Many people were keen to highlight Drake as a “national hero” who saved the country from invasion, against the odds, and was an outstanding explorer, insisting that his reputation should not be tarnished.

“Sir Francis Drake is a British hero who defeated the Spanish Armada, and a hero for saving our country and the Leftie Woke are trying to destroy our history,” one woman said.

Robert Poll from the Save Our Statues activist group also focused on Drake’s achievements, notably that of saving the country from the Spanish, and added “we shouldn't have to apologise for remembering that."


One said that woke Britons should “refrain from making judgements about a period of time that they could not even possibly comprehend.”


Another agreed, arguing that if the same path was followed, 99% of historical statues or buildings would need to be replaced around the world, or alternatively “these New Maoists could just grow up.”

Some also questioned what was happening to local democracy if only one resident actually supported the proposal. “Wokeitude actually outweighs voters,” they concluded.

Among the widespread condemnation of the plaque, one mischievously wrote: “nothing a screwdriver won’t fix.”

A few weren't bothered at all by the addition of the plaque. One questioned the explorer's hero status, complaining that "the rich record their own biased history, on behalf of their class, in both written and statuette form," while another said those objecting to the additional information aren't upset because it's inaccurate, but "because to them it feels unpatriotic."


This is not the first time Drake has been targeted for his darker past. During the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, nearly 3,500 people signed a petition to remove a statue of the mariner from Plymouth. Citing that Edward Colston’s statue was torn down in Bristol, the petitioners deemed a similar fate should face Drake’s.

Drake is a perennial figure in the education of British youths, noted as an important leader in the fight to save the country from the invading Spanish Armada and an explorer, symbolic of an English renaissance during the Elizabethan era, often referred to as a Golden Age in the country’s history.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×