Plans submitted for board explaining Sir Francis Drake's links to slave trade
West Devon Borough Council planners will determine the fate of the application at a later date
Plans for an information board - which will explain Sir Francis Drake's links with the slave trade - have been submitted for the statue of the famous seafarer in Tavistock.
Calls had been made and rejected last year to remove the statue of Drake on the roundabout in Plymouth Road due to his involvement in the slave trade.
Tavistock town council at the time said they had no plans to remove the statue of Sir Francis Drake, but in the interests of historic completeness, it is clear that more could, and should, be done to portray his whole history.
They passed a motion to put an interpretation board or plaque at a safe location, explaining the explorer’s links to the slave trade, and now, plans for that board have been submitted to West Devon Borough Council.
The board would be located opposite the statue and include details of his heroism for being the first Englishman to sail right around the world and defending England from the Spanish Armada, but that he was also involved in several horrific slave trading expeditions.
A statement submitted with the planning application, submitted by the town council, adds:
"There is a need to reflect the life and times of Sir Francis Drake to inform the public not only of his successes in battles at sea and his global voyages, but also of his involvement in the darker times of the slave trade routes he was a party to.
"An information sign providing both visual as well as written history is proposed, and its position opposite the statue provides context as well as particular detailed information on the Statue itself.
"The sign is to be in colour with a QR code to allow access to further website information, and there is no negative impact on the Conservation area or the Statue opposite. The sign is a pedestrian information point, so given its size, typeset heights etc, its impact on vehicle users will be negligible as it is clearly not a road user information/ speed sign."
The proposed signage would say:
"Sir Francis Drake was a famous Tudor mariner. His life story is full of contrasts. He was seen as a hero for being the first Englishman to sail right around the world; and he played a major role in defending England from the Spanish Armada. But 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."
It would also more details of his role in the slave trade, as a privateer, his circumnavigation of the globe, the victory over the Spanish Armada, a timeline of Drake’s life, as well as the statue itself.
It adds: "In 2020, following a campaign to remove this statue of Sir Francis Drake, Tavistock Town Council – in partnership with Tavistock Heritage Trust – decided to provide some missing information about his life."
The move is part of a wider education programme given impetus by the Black Lives Matter campaign to give context to his deeds in Elizabethan times.
West Devon Borough Council planners will determine the fate of the application at a later date.