Francis Drake of Yardbury

Colyton, Devon

Colyton is a small town in Devon, England. It is located within the East Devon local authority area. It is 3 miles away from Seaton and 6 miles away from Axminster. Its population in 1991 was 2,783.-History:...

 and Wells

Wells

Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...

, was a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 diplomat, holding positions at Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 and Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 during the Napoleonic Wars.

Francis Drake was the son of Rev. Francis Drake, Vicar of Seaton

Seaton, Devon

Seaton is a seaside town in East Devon on the south coast of England. It faces onto Lyme Bay, to the west of the mouth of the River Axe with red cliffs to one side and white cliffs on the other. Axmouth and Beer are nearby...

 and Beer

Beer, Devon

The village of Beer is in south-east Devon, England, on Lyme Bay.- Location :The village of Beer is situated on the 95-mile long Jurassic Coast, England's first natural World Heritage Site and its picturesque cliffs, including Beer Head, form part of the South West Coast Path.Beer lies about two...

. In 1790 Drake was appointed Secretary of Legation to the Court of Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

., moving on to be Minister Resident at Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 before becoming envoy to Genoa in 1793.He took leave to return from Genoa to England to marry in 1795. In 1799 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary to the Elector Palatine, and Minister to the Diet of Ratisbon

Regensburg

Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...

. He kept up correspondence with French informants, and in 1804 was politically embarrassed when some letters, revealing the plans of Charles Pichegru

Charles Pichegru

Jean-Charles Pichegru was a French general and political figure of the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars.-Early life and career:...

 and Georges Cadoudal

Georges Cadoudal

Georges Cadoudal , sometimes called simply Georges, was a French/Breton politician, and leader of the Chouannerie during the French Revolution....

 to mount an uprising on the left bank of the Rhine, were intercepted by the French government and circulated to foreign ministers in Paris.

External links

• Papers of Francis Drake of Yardbury and Wells at Somerset Record Office