Francis Drake
Drake is a man of action, exuding energy, decisiveness, boldness, courage, and a desire for adventure. His leadership ability stems from these qualities, but is also due to his exceptional navigational skills, gained from a young age when he was apprenticed to the captain of a barque, who will later bequeath him the ship for his outstanding service, loyalty and above all, his intelligence and seamanship.
Coming from humble roots, he has an innate understanding and empathy for others, which, combined with his good humour, allow him to build up good relations with most people, with the exception of the aristocracy, who regard him jealously as a parvenu,a piratical lout, who is disproportionately rewarded by the Queen.
He is a complex man with his own moral code, which extends to being merciful and generous to almost all his prisoners in an age known for its brutality, while displaying a relentless quest for revenge against the enemies who directly betray him. The complexity and moral code are most apparent in his transformation from slave trader to champion of indigenous peoples..
Drake’s weakness is his vanity: he wants to be respected. He wears flashy clothes and shows his wealth. The contradiction in him is that he wants to be feared but doesn’t want a reputation for brutality. A man of empathy and generosity who can’t stop fighting, yet doesn’t wish to kill needlessly.
Drake is a devout Protestant, who shows intense hatred for murderous Catholic dogmatism, although his instincts are for religious tolerance.
His life is that of adventure, from illicitly gaining an incomparable fortune, to circumnavigating the world through uncharted, hostile seas and finally defeating the mighty Armada.
DRAKE’S KEY CREW MEMBERS
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DIEGO
Diver
Diego’s village was destroyed by Arab slave traders and he and his wife, Kinse, were taken prisoner. Several members of their families were killed in the raid, and they were been separated from each other. Despite being deeply traumatised by the harsh treatment meted out upon them on the slave ship and then by the Spanish, Diego is smart, solution-oriented and brave. He becomes a close companion and friend of Drake, serving on his ship, with a particular skill for diving. He helps Drake befriend the Cimarrones (escaped slaves on the mainland) and influences his guerrilla tactics. Over the course of the series, Diego becomes a polished, sophisticated figure, dressing in finery when in London.
POTENTIAL CASTING: Alex Sawyer, Jonathan Daviss
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ROSIE
Gun Captain
A French Huguenot protestant, Rosie’s family were brutally killed by Catholics for whom she now has a deep hatred. Deeply traumatised by their deaths, she no longer believes in God - not least due to having seen the cruelty and fanaticism of zealots, of whom she has a deep wariness, be they Protestant or Catholic. Rosie joins Drake’s crew and proves herself to be a great combatant. She has considerable knowledge of warfare and weaponry due to her tough upbringing, in particular conducting a guerrilla campaign against Catholic forces in Antwerp. Rosie has a close relationship with Drake, with mutual respect for each other's attributes, which grows into (mostly) unrequited romance.
POTENTIAL CASTING: Lou de Laage, Alice Isaaz,Carmen Kassovitz
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JOHN OXENHAM
First Mate
Drake’s right-hand man and confidant, Oxenham later becomes famous for his own Panama adventure. Loyal but more hot-headed, always pushing for bolder action, he acts as a foil for Drake’s restraint. A critical member of Drake’s attack team, Oxenham is a dead shot archer. Over the course of the story, he learns that Drake’s patience — not just daring — wins treasure. John is plainspoken but quick with dry humour and as such provides camaraderie, and occasional friction e.g. “If we must drown, let’s at least drown on a Spanish frigate with our pockets full.”
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
DRAKE’S BROTHERS
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JOHN DRAKE
Drake’s Older Brother
Religious and God fearing, John is an earnest and pious man. He is very loyal to Drake but has a chip on his shoulder about taking orders from his younger brother. As such, he is often willing to challenge Drake, although he slowly learns not to do so in public. John has pent up anger that stems from his adored father seeming to prefer Drake, and this shows in battle scenes where he decapitates adversaries who are begging for mercy. He becomes even more religious after the death of his even younger brother Edward, coming to believe that God is punishing them.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD -
EDWARD DRAKE
Drake’s Younger Brother
Drake’s youngest brother. Edward Drake’s dramatic function is to be captured at the battle of San Juan and then to be tortured and executed by Don Martin, thereby providing the fuel for Drake’s vengeance. Prior to that, he took a shine to Rosie for which his brothers ribbed him.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
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JOSEPH DRAKE
Strong
Drake’s Tough Brother
Joseph is the strong man of the Drake brothers. He has an air of indomitable strength and inspires fear in his enemies. He is not a man of words. Straight talking. Wields a huge battleaxe.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
DRAKE’S ANTAGONISTS
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KING PHILIP II of SPAIN
The Catholic Monarch
Philip II of Spain is a studious, dutiful and quietly spoken man, who is cold, calculating and controlling. If he wasn’t king with the duty and opportunity to wield power, he might even be shy. He is a staunch believer in the Catholic faith and views Protestants as heretics who should be burned at the stake if they don’t repent. His hatred for them grows over time. He also becomes more ruthless and Machiavellian with age. His relationship with Elizabeth Iof England is interesting: he was married to her half-sister, Bloody Mary, the Catholic queen of England who died in 1558. When Elizabeth came to the throne, Philip proposed to her, but she played him off for a variety of political reasons mainly to do with her Virgin Queen strategy, which wasn’t just based on religion but especially to keep England independent of Spain and France. Philip became aware of the pirates Hawkins and Drake in the late 1560s and kept tabs on his nemesis Drake’s activities for the rest of his life.
POTENTIAL CASTING: [insert actors]
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DON MARTIN
Machiavellian Courtier
A Spanish courtier, Don Martin Enriquez is an arch manipulator, cloaked in civility. Calm, articulate and pious, he is actually scheming and untrustworthy. A sadistic, religious fanatic who tortures heretics, he enjoys attending torture sessions and is a rapist of young girls. Over the course of Season One, he emerges as Drake’s sworn enemy as his absolute control over New Spain diminishes under the attacks of Drake. After he tortures and murders Drake’s youngest brother Edward, he becomes Drake’s nemesis. Despising Drake’s charisma and courage, Don Martin blackmails the beautiful Isabela de Compostela to sleep with Drake and spy on him. As the series continues, he becomes increasingly desperate, distrustful and depraved, leading to his capture by Drake in Panama in Season 2, where he is put on trial. Drake nails him to a cross and he is crucified on the roof of a church in Panama town. Left for dead, he manages to survive but is severely injured and even more committed to vengeance against Drake at any cost.
POTENTIAL CASTING: Álvaro Morte
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ISABELA DE COMPOSTELA
Spanish Spy
A natural, sultry seductress, she is engaged by Don Martin to spy on and betray Drake. Her presence engenders much jealousy in Rosie, who tries to imitate her seductiveness. Initially, she is suspected of being a spy - a rumour gladly propagated by Rosie, she becomes accepted and trusted in Season 1 and accompanies Drake’s voyage in Season 2 as an interpreter. In Season 3, Spanish forces try again to pressure her into betraying Drake. She initially seduces Drake because she is scared. She’s just been taken captive. However she does develop a real attachment to him, and later she will be blackmailed by Don Martin, who threatens her family (parents - she has no children). By Season 3, the lead up to the Armada, she has become a full-scale spy for the Spanish, reporting on Drake’s movements, although she is conflicted about this role.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBC
DRAKE’S PATRONS
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JOHN HAWKINS
Slave Trader
A seasoned sailor and ruthless merchant, John Hawkins is pragmatic with an instinct for survival. A slave trader, he seeks control over men more than profit, and demands absolute loyalty from his captains and crew. He is politically very aware and notably more polished than Drake, with an ability to be pragmatic and calm under pressure. An ambitious man, he has a deep rivalry with Drake from the start and he is jealous of Drake's later success. Hawkins loses some of his aura in Season 1 with the defeat at San Juan, in which Hawkins feels Drake fled the battle early and betrayed him. Hawkins star continues to wane, though the two men later become reconciled and Hawkins invests in several of Drake’s voyages.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
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QUEEN ELIZABETH I
The Pirate Queen
The only surviving child of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I is the Queen of England and Ireland during Drake’s years as an adventurer. As the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor she is a charismatic and dogged survivor in an era when government was generally ramshackle and limited. Drake becomes one of her great heroes, both for his plundering of Spanish treasure, and of course his defeat of the Spanish Armada, leading to her knighting him.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
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SIR FRANCIS WALSINGHAM
Politician
Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster and her key advisor. A cynical manipulator who is very cognizant of the threats of Spain and France. He therefore sees an opportunity in Drake to weaken Spain and bolster the Queen’s coffers - and his own - while avoiding all out war.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
DRAKE’S CIRCLE
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PEDRO MANDINGA
Chief of the Cimarrones
The Cimarrones are a group of escaped Africans slaves who hate the Spanish with a vengeance. Their chief, Pedro, is hard and realistic, but by nature positive and decisive. He has a strong admiration for Drake, which is mutual, from hearing of his attacks on Venta Cruces and Nombre de Dios. As such, he and his people eventually ally with Drake in attacking the Spanish. As a parting gift, Pedro chooses the bejewelled scimitar that Drake had been given by Le Testu, which itself had been a gift from Gaspar de Coligny – the leading Huguenot.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
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MARY DRAKE
Estranged Wife
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POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
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KINSE
Escaped Slave
Kinse is resourceful, resilient, watchful and pragmatic. Both Diego, her husband, and she come from a fishing village, and have expertise with boats and diving. She doesn’t manage to escape with Diego and will remain in Don Martin’s captivity. She is a mirror into the world of Don Martin and the Spanish colonialists. She is raped by Don Martin and falls pregnant. She deliberately loses the baby during pregnancy. Due to these experiences, she is motivated by revenge against Don Martin and the Spanish. Her series goal is to escape and rejoin Diego. She never gives up.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
OTHER
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GUILLAUME LE TESTU
French Corsair
Mid 40s, Protestant. Wide experience of sailing and privateering. Underneath a dour, suspicious and hard-bitten exterior, he opens up to show brotherly warmth to Drake. Energetic, talented sailor and fighter.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
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RICHARD DOUGHTY
Young Gentleman Volunteer
An ambitious gentleman adventurer, Richard is less hardened than the other sailors on Drake’s ship. Bookish and idealistic by nature, he dreams of a knighthood and glory but is somewhat naïve about hardship, brutality and greed. His disillusionment provides its own journey for the audience as what starts as a romantic adventure becomes brutal reality. He has a flowery, poetic manner of speaking, sometimes quoting scripture or classical authors… “Fortune smiles not on the timid — let us write our names in the margin of history.” Ultimately he becomes something of a burden for Drake.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
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DON ALONSO
Spanish River Commander
A local Spanish captain charged with defending the Chagres River and Nombre de Dios, Don Alonso is ruthless, proud, and contemptuous of “English pirates” of whom he counts Drake as the epitome. Strong and determined in battle, he is also pragmatic when outmatched. In many ways, Don Alonso is representative of the Spanish Empire’s arrogance — confident at first, but increasingly rattled as Drake outmanoeuvres him.
POTENTIAL CASTING: TBD
DRAKE’S RELATIONSHIPS
NOTE: The following text is currently being assembled into diagrammatic form, as in the example below from Marco Polo.
ROSIE: A very close relationship with Drake that is forged in battle. An unobtainable romance, partly due to being on the same ship and the need for discretion, but after the appearance of Isabela, Rosie is consumed by a mixture of desire and jealousy. Growing mutual affection and they end up in the hammock together in episode 7, but Drake can't commit. She falls pregnant and on the voyage of circumnavigation gives birth to a stillborn child.
JOHN DRAKE: Prior to Rosie’s appearance in Ep. 1, John was Drake’s closest relationship, which he gradually relinquishes to her. He already resented taking orders from his younger brother, and becomes slightly more confused between the lures of deep fraternal loyalty, and resentment.
ISABELA DE COMPOSTELA: Drake is seduced by her beauty and elegance, which does much to complicate his relationship with Rosie. Although initially mistrustful, the accuracy of information wins over Drake. However, she still has family in Spain and pressure is brought to bear on her…
DIEGO: The relationship with the escaped slave becomes very important to Drake, as he trusts Diego’s judgement and loyalty. Is Drake partly driven by guilt from his slave trading past? Over the years, Diego passes from being a personal servant to a very close companion. He accompanies Drake to London where he encounters racism -- water off a duck’s back after slavery – but also stirs insecurity that he may be kidnapped and put back into slavery as a means to target Drake.
JOHN HAWKINS: The relationship between Hawkins and Drake is never entirely at ease. There is an instinctive rivalry, not only due to the family history, (where Hawkins’ family caused the poverty of Drake’s father), but also due to a different perspective on how to treat slaves- However, after Drake prematurely leaves the battle scene at San Juan D’Ulua. The rivalry and tensions grow with mutual accusations, especially when Hawkins arrives in London and tells his side of the story.
NOTE: Add Don Martin / Elizabeth I / Edward Drake / Sir Francis Walsingham / Perdo Mandinga
DRAKE’S CHARACTER
Energy
Drake exudes energy, exuberance and positivity. He is brave, brash, quick-thinking, bold, and risk-seeking. He is fearless, seeking extreme adventure, and takes huge, calculated risks at all times throughout his career even when already successful and very wealthy. He lives life to the full. The only check to this risk-taking is his sense of responsibility to his brothers and his crew. His energy, ebullience and need for adventure clash harshly with his wife, Mary, when he is ashore in England, putting pressure on the relationship.
From numerous treks through the Panamanian jungle, to countless bold hit-and-run attacks on Spanish ships and his surprise assaults on Venta Cruces or Nombre de Dios with just a handful of men, his energy does not flag for an instant.
In the final two seasons, although wealthy and glorified as a national hero, Drake continues to lead expeditions, showing a restless energy that ultimately will cause his downfall.
Leadership
He is a natural leader with foresight and good judgement, reinforced by his innate ebullience. He is unwaveringly loyal to his crew, which leads to loyalty in return.
There are many examples of his good judgement and careful planning throughout his career: he develops the fast hit-and-run tactics using only a pinnace or two in shallow waters where the Spanish ships can’t follow; he plans the storage of several caches of provisions in various hiding places where he and his crew can lay up after a raid; he leads outrageously bold attacks using the element of surprise on Venta Cruces and Nombre de Dios with just a handful of men, and raids most Spanish ports in the Pacific with one tiny ship; he builds a double hull in the Pelican (later to be the Golden Hind) for the voyage around the world, which saves the ship when it hits a reef in the Philippines; he knows when to retreat and live to fight another day, when the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against him, such as the Battle of San Juan and heartbreakingly abandoning the huge treasure at Nombre de Dios.
Empathy
Drake’s overriding character trait is that he likes people as individuals and has enormous empathy for all kinds of different persons. He intuitively understands people, which gives him the qualities to make the right decisions and say the right things that allow him to lead his men and for them to maintain their trust in him.
The manifestation of his liking people is everywhere in his dealings with them. For example, with prisoners, whom he always frees, often sending them home in their own ships with gifts, and especially with indigenous tribes and individuals. His close friendship with Diego, the runaway slave and also his deep friendship and respect for Pedro Mandinga, the leader of the Cimarrones (escaped slaves) and his band reflect this. Even when Drake’s men are later subjected to the utmost barbarities, Drake utters words of understanding and respect for the tribesmen and refuses retaliatory measures.
Drake liking people tends to result in others liking him. Pedro Mandinga and Guillaume Le Testu are examples of immediate positive responses to Drake in Season 1. His innate empathy for people also manifests itself in his major character arc, namely going from slave trader to defender of indigenous peoples in an age where this was unheard of. For example, Diego becomes his closest companion and all captured slaves are offered either employment on his ships or freedom with gifts.
Low Born
Drake is relatively low-born, and in an age of acute awareness of social standing, he never is entirely accepted into the aristocratic fold, despite his huge achievements. For example, there is enormous envy at court after his return from the circumnavigation, and despite Elizabeth favouring him enormously, there is constant backbiting, which is also fueled by his ostentatious vanity. In 1588 he isn’t made commander in chief of the fleet against the Armada. Also, his leadership style is very much to muck in with the common sailor, and to lead from the front, which probably caused tensions with the “gentlemen” on the circumnavigation voyage.
However, it is worth noting that he demands respect, obedience and some formality: when addressing him, any crew member has to wear headgear and Drake dines every day with his officers.
Moral Code
Drake is very religious. His father Edmund, was a preacher, and in an age where belief in God was a defining characteristic of all people, his religiosity shines like a beacon. He hates the Catholic Spanish, partly for religious reasons and partly for their intolerance of others’ beliefs and their subsequent brutality (Inquisition and burning at the stake of non-believers). However, he isn’t God-fearing: he believes that his faith is enough to guarantee salvation. Drake’s religious beliefs are probably at the root of his moral stance in many cases. In the mutiny off the coast of Argentina (season 2) he is visibly traumatised by the unavoidable decision to execute the chief mutineers after a trial following due process.
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DRAKE, JOHN & EDWARD
Family
Drake is very close to his brothers and protective towards them, partly driven by his father’s request for him to look after them (S1. Ep1), despite not being the eldest. He is very affected by the loss of young Edward (captured and tortured to death by Don Martin) and by the subsequent losses of Joseph (Spanish musket ball to the gut) and Edmund (yellow fever).The various brothers will be introduced gradually so as not to overwhelm the viewer.
Ambitious
Drake burns with ambition. He needs to prove himself beyond measure. He seeks glory and riches. This probably stemmed from his childhood poverty and manifests itself by his flaunting his wealth by wearing ostentatious clothes and being overly generous to relatives and friends. Later in his career, he is perceived to be a patriot and national hero, but this stems from his desire for individual glory.
Bravery
A word to Drake’s bravery: he takes responsibility and seeks out individual combat rather than allow a subordinate to risk his life. This he shows in S.1, Ep1 in the opening scene, but many times again, eg against natives in Argentina or the crowning example was his sailing his lone ship into the Spanish fleet in Cadiz harbour, when his fearful second-in-command of the fleet refuses to do so (Season 4).
