Francis Drake is remembered in the history books as an English sea captain. In 1884 he was commemorated with a bronze statue displayed on Plymouth Hoe, and many buildings around Plymouth have been named in his honour. However, what people fail to remember is Francis' contribution to the slave trade with his cousin John Hawkins, in which he would attack native villages or steal human cargo from Portuguese slave ships he attacked and transport the slaves to the Spanish Caribbean and sell them off to local plantations. Between 1552-1567, they made three voyages to Guinea and Sierra Leone and enslaved between 1,200 and 1,400 Africans. According to slavers' accounts of the time this would probably have involved the death of three times that number.

During the current Black Lives Matter protests it is vital that we all contribute to supporting the black community and having university buildings (Francis Drake Hall of Residence, Drake's Cafe) and outdoor areas (Drake's Place Gardens, Drake Reservoir) named after a slave trader merely mocks our efforts. We should not be celebrating a man who enslaved and slaughtered thousands of innocent lives and naming buildings and areas on campus after him suggests we condone his actions. Considering protesters have torn down the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol city centre this is clearly an indication that slave traders should no longer be celebrated. 

In conclusion, I am petitioning to have these university buildings and outdoor areas renamed as we should not be celebrating a man who made his fortune from the slave trade. We must continue to support the Black Lives Matter movement and remember the millions of lives lost and destroyed to this horrific time in history which carried on for over 400 years, not glorify the perpetrators who started this.