Blake, ROBERT, next to Nelson the greatest of English admirals, was born at Bridgewater, the eldest of the twelve sons of a merchant there, in August 1599. From the grammar-school of his native town he passed in 1615 to St Alban's Hall, and shortly afterwards to Wadham College, Oxford, where he remained till 1625. He seems next to have continued his father's business, and to have prospered, but may from time to time have himself made voyages to distant seas, as prosperous merchants at that time very often did. He led the life of a quiet country gentleman until he had reached his fortieth year, and was returned for Bridgewater to the Short Parliament of 1640, that precluded the Civil War. He cast in his lot with the parliament without hesitation, but did not become a member of the Long Parliament till 1645. An ardent Republican, and a man of blunt, straightforward manners, singularly devoid of fear, and of inflexible character, he was much respected by Cromwell, but he never became personally very intimate with him. He served under Popham in Somersetshire, and attracted notice by his conduct at the siege of Bristol, and his obstinate defence of Lyme, in Dorsetshire, in 1644 against Prince Maurice. His defence of Taunton for nearly a year against overwhelming odds, when the town was little more than a heap of ruins, covered him with fresh glory, and proved a turning-point in the war.
In 1649 he was appointed with two others to command the fleet, at that time in a state of disaffection and weakness. Before two years he had blockaded Lisbon, destroyed the squadron of Prince Rupert, and forced the royalists to surrender the Scilly Isles and Jersey, their last stronghold. Early in 1652 began the struggle with the Dutch for the supremacy of the seas, and Blake found himself pitted against such redoubtable seamen as Van Tromp, De Ruyter, and De Witt. In the first engagement on the 19th May, though his fleet numbered over forty ships to Blake's fifteen, Van Tromp retreated under cover of darkness with the loss of two ships. It is right to add that the English ships were larger than the Dutch, and their artillery superior. On the 28th September Blake gave battle to De Ruyter and De Witt off the mouth of the Thames, both fleets about sixty-five ships in number. The fight ended with the flight of the Dutch next day. On the 29th November a fleet of eighty vessels under Van Tromp encountered Blake with scarcely forty off the Godwin Sands. After a two days' hotly contested fight, victory remained with the Dutch. Blake lost six of his ships, but brought the remainder in a sadly shattered state into safety. In his report to the council of state he complains of the 'baseness of spirit, not among the merchantmen only, but many of the state's ships.' Van Tromp now scoured the Channel in triumph, and to this period belongs the apocryphal story of his having tied a broom to his mast-head. Blake asked to be released from his command, but by the middle of February 1653, he was again at sea with nearly eighty ships. On the morning of the 18th Van Tromp was sighted near Portland with about an equal force. A long running fight at once began, and lasted from Portland to Calais. Blake was severely wounded, but gained a complete victory, sinking five ships and capturing four, as well as over thirty merchantmen in Van Tromp's convoy. His ill-health prevented him from taking part in the engagement of the 31st July, which finally shattered the naval supremacy of Holland. In September 1654 he sailed with a fleet to the Mediterranean, where he soon made the English flag respected at Cadiz, Naples, and Leghorn alike. In April 1655 he sailed under the guns of Tunis, a nest of pirates, and burned a fleet of nine ships. He next sailed to Algiers, where the dey in terror submitted to his terms. At the approach of winter he returned to England, but early in the spring of 1656 was cruising again off Cadiz. In September, Stayner, one of his lieutenants, fell in with the Plate fleet and captured it—a loss to Spain of nearly two millions in treasure alone.
But the crowning exploit of Blake's career was his last. Hearing early in April 1657 that a fleet from America had arrived at Santa Cruz de Teneriffe, he at once sailed thither, and on the morning of the 20th arrived in the bay where there were sixteen ships lying at anchor, 'moored close along the shore, which lies in a semicircle, commanded as far as the ships lay by the castle, and surrounded besides with six or seven forts.' Before night he completely destroyed the fleet and the town, and contrived to draw off, owing to a favourable change of wind, with a loss of 50 slain and 120 wounded. The wonderful daring and success of this exploit excited the utmost enthusiasm throughout England, and admiration throughout Europe. But it was the last of the great admiral's glories. With health fast failing, he returned homewards to die just as his ship entered the harbour of Plymouth, 7th August 1657. Cromwell honoured his memory by a stately funeral, and caused him to be interred in Westminster Abbey, whence the body was ousted at the Restoration. A window to his memory was placed in St Margaret's, Westminster, in 1888. Blake's skill and courage were equalled only by his disinterested patriotism, sterling honesty, and love of justice; he not only gained a decided superiority over England's mightiest naval opponent, but, by the boldness and novelty of the tactics he introduced, taught English seamen to attempt every enterprise, however difficult and doubtful, with the same reckless and easy daring. See Hannay's Admiral Blake (1886) in 'English Worthies.'