The Royal Navy's Other Francis Drakes

Pretty much everyone has heard of Sir Francis Drake (1540–1596).  But he was by no means the only Francis Drake to have attained some distinction in the Royal Navy.  It seems that the famed Elizabethan sea dog had numerous kinsmen in Devon, among them the Drakes of Buckland Monachorum, who also had a penchant for naming their sons "Francis" and sending them to sea.  In fact, in some cases brothers would be given the name, to be distinguished by their middle names.  Such was the case for the sons of Sir Francis Henry Drake (1693-1739), who named his male offspring Francis Henry, Francis Duncombe, Francis William, and Francis Samuel, of whom the two youngest rose to high rank in the Royal Navy, after joining the service as midshipmen when he was about 10, as was not unusual for the times.

?          Francis William Drake (1724-1787).  Rose rapidly due to fine service during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), and was commissioned a captain when he was just 23.  For a time governor of Newfoundland (1750-1753), during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), he saw considerable service from the West Indies to the Channel.  Promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue (i.e., the rear squadron) in 1778 he commanded a squadron in the Channel Fleet during the American Revolution, rising to Vice-Admiral of the Blue in 1780, but was forced to retire due to ill-health later that year.  Promoted to Vice-Admiral of the Red in 1787, he died shortly afterwards. 

?          Francis Samuel Drake (1729-1789).  Commissioned a captain at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756, commanded the 50-gun ship Falkland at Quiberon Bay (1759), and later took part in operations in the Caribbean that led to the capture of Dominica and Martinique (1761-1762).  During the American Revolution, having been promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue, commanded a division in the battles of the Chesapeake (1781), St. Kitts (1782), and the Saintes (1782), and during the relief of Gibraltar (1783).  In 1789, by which time he was a  member of parliament and a baronet, he was named a Commissioner of the Admiralty, but died shortly afterwards.

While their careers in the Royal Navy were perhaps not so spectacular as that of their distant kinsman Sir Francis Drake, both Francis William and Francis Samuel served with honor and distinction. 

Bellini Gets a Lesson in Anatomy

In 1479 Venice and Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II (r. 1451-1481) agreed to end a long war over control of various territories in Greece and the Aegean.  Rather than "peace," what followed was a "cold war" between the Serenissima and the wily Ottoman emperor, who not only wanted to acquire Venice's eastern territories, but was widely known to be interested in some Italian real estate as well.  So when Mehmet expressed a very un-Islamic interest in having his portrait painted by one of Italy's revolutionary new painters, the Venetians readily agreed.  In a move that would foreshadow the "confidence building measures" and "cultural exchanges" of the twentieth century's Cold War, the Venetians dispatched the artist Gentile Bellini (c. 1429-1507) to Constantinople, who would not only paint the Grand Turk's portrait, but also serve as a sort-of "cultural ambassador," and a spy as well.

Now Bellini's arrival in Constantinople in late 1479 greatly pleased Mehmet.  So naturally, Bellini prospered at the Sultan's court, securing numerous commissions.  The portrait of Mehmet, then about 48, that now hangs in the National Gallery in London is believed to be one of these.

Among the other the works that Bellini painted while in Constantinople was one that depicted John the Baptist, after his beheading.

Now Bellini had probably never seen an actual beheading, and apparently got it wrong.  In contrast, the Sultan was an old hand at the practice, having had occasion to indulge in it on an industrial scale.  Indeed, on August 14^th of 1480, while Bellini was still at his court, Mehmet had beheaded hundreds, perhaps thousands, of residents of Otranto, on the heel of Italy, which he had just captured, for refusing to convert to Islam; he did spare the bishop this penalty, preferring to have the old guy sawn in half instead.  So in the interests of artistic realism, Mehmet pointed out that the depiction of the Baptist's injuries was incorrect.

Bellini asked what was wrong. 

Rather than explain Bellini's error, Mehmet called over one of his body guards and a slave, and had the former demonstrate the process and its results on the latter.

It's not known how carefully Bellini studied the results of Mehmet’s little demonstration.  Nevertheless, despite the fact that he was making rather good money in Constantinople, by the end of the year Bellini had departed for home, surely happy that the Grand Turk had not chosen to demonstrate the consequences of decapitation on his person. .