London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 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

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×