Robert Blake (27 September 1598 – 7 August 1657) was an English naval officer who served as general at sea and the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1656 to 1657.

Blake is recognized as the "chief founder of England's naval supremacy", a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy well into the early 20th century.

[2][3] Despite this, due to deliberate attempts to expunge the Parliamentarians from historical records following the Stuart Restoration, Blake's achievements tend to remain relatively unrecognized.

"[15] The Blake family had a seat for several generations at (and were Lords of the Manor of) Tuxwell, in the parish of Bishops Lydeard, near Bridgwater, Somerset.

[17] After his departure from university in 1625, it is believed that Blake was engaged in trade, and a Dutch writer subsequently claimed that he had lived for 'five or six years' in Schiedam.

Blake also produced the navy's first ever set of rules and regulations, The Laws of War and Ordinances of the Sea, the first version of which, containing 20 provisions, was passed by the House of Commons on 5 March 1649,[20] listing 39 offences and their punishments—mostly death.

[21] The Instructions of the Admirals and Generals of the Fleet for Councils of War, issued in 1653 by Blake, George Monck, John Disbrowe and William Penn, also instituted the first naval courts-martial in the English navy.

Taunton was of great strategic importance as it was situated where all the main roads converged, commanding all lines of communication, which at the time Blake alone understood.

[25] With Deane committed in Scotland, Blake's first naval commission was in 1649, as second in command of the Dutch Navy[26][2][27] against a domestic enemy with the objective of crushing the weary remnants of the Royalist party.

King Charles I's followers were completely conquered and expelled from the mainland in England, but they still continued to fight on the sea and were taking many prizes, causing outcries from many of the merchants.

[34] With his refurbished and well supplied fleet, Blake put to sea in February 1650 and dropped anchor off Lisbon in an attempt to persuade the Portuguese king to expel Rupert.

[35][36] Blake now bore the risk and responsibility of a prolonged blockade, where now neither food nor water were accessible from the shore, making it necessary to periodically dispatch ships to Vigo or Cádiz for supplies,[37] to which Richard Bidley, 1899 was given the charge.

Two days later Rupert's other ships in the area were driven ashore attempting to escape from Cartagena, securing Parliamentarian supremacy at sea, and the recognition of the Parliamentary government by many European states.

[39] In 1651 Blake received orders to remove the Royalist Sir John Granville from the Isles of Scilly, where he had been appointed Governor by Charles II after a local rebellion.

Blake subsequently decided to secure Tresco and Bryher first, which would give the Commonwealth force a safe anchorage at New Grimsby harbour.

[45][46] The proper war started in June with an English campaign against the Dutch East Indies, Baltic and fishing trades by Blake, in command of around 60 ships.

Blake's main objective was to intercept Lieutenant-Admiral Tromp, who was expected to escort a large merchant fleet from the Mediterranean to the Netherlands.

On 18 February the Dutch fleet of seventy-five ships came into Blake's view, but his squadrons had not yet grouped into their formations, having arrived there in haste at short notice.

[55] Peace with the Dutch achieved, Blake sailed in October 1654 with 24 warships as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet,[56] successfully deterring the Duke of Guise from conquering Naples.

[57] In April 1655 Blake was selected by Cromwell to sail into the Mediterranean again to extract compensation from the Duke of Tuscany, the Knights of Malta, and the piratical states of North Africa, that had been attacking English shipping.

On 20 April 1657 Blake totally destroyed another armed merchant convoy, the Spanish West Indian fleet, in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife—a port so well fortified that it was thought to be impregnable to attack from the sea[5]—for the loss of just one ship.

Although the silver had already been landed, Blake's victory delayed its arrival at the royal treasury of the Spanish government and earned the new English Navy respect throughout Europe.

The first item, consisting of a paragraph, began with, "I bequeath my soul unto the hands of my most merciful Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ..." He left the towns of Bridgwater and Taunton £100 each to be dispersed among their the poor.

Among other items bequeathed to other family members and friends, he left the gold chain that was awarded him by the Parliament to his nephew Robert, son of his deceased brother.

[64] After again cruising off Cadiz for a while, Blake, aboard his flagship George turned for home, but on 7 August 1657 at ten o'clock in the morning he died of old wounds within sight of Plymouth where a hero's welcome was planned for him.

[68] Present at the ceremony were Oliver Cromwell and the members of the Council of State (although his internal organs had earlier been buried at St Andrew's Church, Plymouth).

[69] After the restoration of the Monarchy his body was exhumed in 1661 and placed in a common grave in St Margaret's churchyard, adjoining the Abbey, on the orders of the new king, Charles II.

[2] A modern stone memorial to Blake and the other Parliamentarians reburied in the churchyard has been set into the external wall to the left of the main entrance of the church.