BLAKE, ROBERT, a British naval officer, born at Bridgewater in 1599. He studied at Oxford and was elected a mem ber for Bridgewater in the Parliament of 1640. This being soon dissolved he lost his election for the next, and sought to advance the Parliamentary cause in a military capacity in the war which then broke out. He soon distinguished him self, and in 1649 was sent to command the fleet with Colonels Deane and Pop ham. He attempted to block up Prince Rupert in Kinsale, but the Prince es caped to Lisbon, where Blake followed him. Being refused permission to attack him in the Tagus by the King of Portugal, he took several rich prizes from the Portuguese, and followed Rupert to Malaga, where, without asking permis sion of Spain, he attacked him and nearly destroyed the whole of his fleet. In the Dutch War which broke out in 1652 he was attacked in the Downs by Van Tromp with a fleet of 45 sail, the force of Blake amounting only to 23, but Van Tromp was obliged to retreat. In Febru ary following he put to sea with 60 sail, and soon after met the Dutch Admiral, who had 70 sail and 300 merchantmen under convoy. During three days a run ning fight up the Channel was maintained, resulting in the loss of 11 men-of-war and 30 merchant ships by the Dutch, while that of the English was only one man-of-war. In this action Blake was
severely wounded. On June 3 he again engaged Van Tromp and forced the Dutch to retire, with considerable loss, into their own harbors. In November, 1654, he was sent with a strong fleet to enforce a due respect to the British flag in the Mediterranean. He sailed first to Algiers, which submitted, and then de molished the castles of Goletta and Porto Ferino, at Tunis, because the Dey refused to deliver up the British captives. A squadron of his ships also blocked up Cadiz, and intercepted a Spanish plate fleet. In April, 1657, he sailed with 24 ships to Santa Cruz, in Teneriffe; and, notwithstanding the strength of the place, burned the ships of another Spanish plate fleet and came out without loss. He died Aug. 17, 1657, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, whence his body was removed at the Restoration and buried in St. Margaret's Churchyard.