Hello and welcome to Life of the Week, where leading historians delve into the lives of some of history's most intriguing and significant figures,

from ancient Egyptian pharaohs and medieval warriors to daring 20th century spies.

As Elizabeth in England's most famous sea captain,

Francis Drake saw his fair share of seafaring adventures,

from scuffles with the Spanish Armada to circumnavigating the globe.

But, as historian Robert Hutchinson told Ellie Cawthorne in today's life of the week episode,

his story also contains darker elements, including slave trading, looting and the execution of his

right-hand man. Thank you so much for joining me, Robert. We've got a lot of life and biography to

fit into one episode today because we're

talking about Sir Francis Drake. So can you, to start us off, just give us a very brief

introduction to Drake, a 60 second primer on who he was and why he was so historically significant?

Right.

Well, Sir Francis Drake is one of England's great folk heroes.

His name's forever surrounded by myths.

Historically, it's important for his audacious maritime adventures,

not least to his circumnavigation of the world

and his role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

In Lake Tudor times, he was a

national hero and everything the English love. Here's a self-made man, brave and a bit of a cheaty

chappy. Let's go back to the very beginning. What do we know about Drake's early life?

Drake was born in 1540 in Crowndale near Tavostock in Devon. He's the eldest of

five children of Edmund Drake, who was a sherman of woolen cloth. And Edmund probably was a priest

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