Roger Drake (born 1721 or 1722) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

administrator in the

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 ...

. He served as President of Fort William in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

between 1752 and 1756 and was later reprimanded for his actions during the

Siege of Calcutta The siege of Calcutta was a battle between the Bengal Subah and the British East India Company on 20 June 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, aimed to seize Calcutta to punish the company for the unauthorised construction of fortifica ...

in 1756.

Biography

Born in 1721 or 1722, Drake was the nephew of financier Roger Drake, of the firm Drake and Long based in

Leadenhall Street __NOTOC__ Leadenhall Street () is a street in the City of London. It is about and links Cornhill, London, Cornhill in the west to Aldgate in the east. It was formerly the start of the A11 road (England), A11 road from London to Norwich, but th ...

and prominent director of the

. Drake joined the service of the East India Company and arrived in Bengal on 26 May 1737. He rose through the ranks and became President of Fort William on 8 August 1752 following the death of

William Fytche William Fytche (1716 – 10 August 1753) was an administrator of the English East India Company. He served as President of Bengal in the mid-eighteenth century. He was one of the last administrators before the Battle of Plassey allowed the comp ...

. In April 1756,

Siraj ud-Daulah Mir Syed Jafar Ali Khan Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah (1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of the Bengal Subah. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of th ...

became

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal (, ) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the mod ...

and sought to reprimand the company for abusing their privileged trading rights. He wrote a letter to both the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and British Company's requesting that they remove all fortifications at

Chandannagore Chandannagar (), also known by its former names Chandannagore and Chandernagor (), is a city in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is headquarter of the Chandannagore subdivision and is a part of the area covered by Kol ...

and

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

.J. Albert Rorabacher, Property, Land, Revenue, and Policy: The East India Company, C.1757–1825, Taylor & Francis, 13 Sep 2016, p.170 The French replied tactfully claiming they were merely repairing existing structures whilst Drake replied that he was improving the defences in case of war with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Siraj Ud Daulah was angered by Drake's perceived insolent response and tone and began plotting to punish the company. On 16 June 1756, Siraj Ud Daulah approached Calcutta with an army numbering 30,000 and within four days the town and Fort were captured.Daniel Baugh, Daniel A. Baugh, The Global Seven Years War 1754-1763: Britain and France in a Great Power Contest, Routledge, 22 Jul 2014, p.285 During the siege Drake controversially abandoned his post and with a handful of fellow officers sought refuge with the women and children on ships moored nearby Later, eye-witnesses reported that his ship was fired on by the men he deserted as he sailed away down the river.Hill, S. Charles, List Of Europeans And Others In The English Factories In Bengal, 1902, p.32 In his absence

John Zephaniah Holwell John Zephaniah Holwell (17 September 1711 – 5 November 1798) was a surgeon, an employee of the British East India Company, and a temporary Governor of Bengal (1760). He was also one of the first Europeans to study Indian antiquities and was ...

was placed in charge and led the defence until their capitulation in the evening of 20 June. Calcutta was subsequently sacked and the remaining Europeans were held captive in the

Black Hole of Calcutta The Black Hole of Calcutta was a dungeon in Fort William, West Bengal, Fort William, Calcutta, measuring , in which troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawabs of Bengal, Nawab of Bengal, held British Prisoner of war, prisoners of war on the night ...

. Drake was disgraced by his actions in the Siege and an inquiry was held to investigate his actions. He was officially removed from his post by the company on 13 November 1757. He was succeeded as Governor by

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for l ...

, who would re-capture Calcutta following the

Battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French Indies Company, French allies on 23 June 1757. The victory was made possible by the de ...

and firmly establish

Company rule in India Company rule in India (also known as the Company Raj, from Hindi , ) refers to regions of the Indian subcontinent under the control of the British East India Company (EIC). The EIC, founded in 1600, established its first trading post in India ...

. Despite his disgrace, Drake benefited from

Mir Jafar Mir Jafar ( – 5 February 1765), was a commander-in-chief or military general who reigned as the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expansion ...

's payment of compensation and damages following the Battle of Plassey, and in 1759 returned to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

with eight fellow Company officials and a considerable fortune.John F. Riddick, The History of British India: A Chronology, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, p.131

Personal life

He married Mary Coales on 10 January 1743 and they had a daughter Millicent. After Mary's death on 6 October 1749 he married her sister Martha Coales with whom he had three more children, Roger, Richard, and Nathaniel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Roger Presidents of Bengal English businesspeople British East India Company people Year of death missing 18th-century British civil servants Directors of the British East India Company Year of birth uncertain