Dawsonne Drake (1724–1784) was the first British governor of Manila from 1762 to 1764, during the British occupation of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. Prior to his term as the

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

administrator, he was the governor of

White Town Jyoti Prakash Mishra (born 30 July 1966), better known by his stage name White Town, is a British-Indian singer, musician, and record producer, producer. He is best known for his 1997 hit song "Your Woman". Early life Jyoti Prakash Mishra was ...

from 1742 to 1762.

Governorships

Born in

Madras, India Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian censu ...

(now

Chennai, India Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian censu ...

) in 1724, Dawsonne Drake was the second son of George Drake (4 December 1696 - 1741), a native of Buckland and descendant of

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

, and his wife, Sophia Bugden. In 1742, Dawsonne Drake joined the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

where he held the position as the clerk. At that time, he also became the governor of White Town, Madras. Because of his faithful service and good connection, he was promoted again and again until he became a member of the Madras Council. On 2 November 1762, he assumed gubernatorial office as the first British governor after the

Battle of Manila (1762) The Battle of Manila (; ) was fought during the Seven Years' War, from 24 September 1762 to 6 October 1762, between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Spain in and around Manila, the capital of the Philippines, a Spanish colony at ...

. He led the Manila Council, assisted by Claud Russell and Samuel Johnson. During his administration in the Philippines, his term was scandalized by bitter quarrels with various military officers, including Major Fell, Capt. Backhouse, and Capt. Brereto. Drake "had the difficult tasks of collecting the ransom, promoting trade, and defending the perimeter. It is no wonder he had difficulties, but it is remarkable that he did so badly."

Post-governorship

Upon his return to Madras in April 1766, he was tried by the Madras Council on criminal charges including extortion from the Chinese community and "abusing his authority to extort money from anyone who came into his power." He was found guilty and dismissed from the Council at Fort St. George, India on 2 December 1767. This sentence was later modified, and he was simply limited in his council rank.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Dawsonne 1724 births 1784 deaths Governors-general of the Philippines 18th-century British civil servants Politicians from Chennai People from the Spanish colonial Philippines Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Place of death unknown British East India Company civil servants