Sixteenth-century warfare standards render Drake remarkably humane compared to contemporaries
Evidence
Given that lives were at risk in any armed contest, Drake’s raid on the Pacific coast of South America was remarkably bloodless. None of his prisoners was killed, although those who acted disingenuously, who attempted to withhold information or valuables, were sometimes dealt with severely indeed. Today, this brutality stimulates revulsion, but Drake lived in a world very different from our own, and he cannot fairly be judged by the ethics of the late twentieth century. We must locate his behaviour within the context of sixteenth-century conflict. — John Sugden, Sir Francis Drake, 517
Categorization
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John Sugden, Sir Francis Drake, 517
- XREF: connects to: San Juan d Ulua disaster transformed Drake into an implacable enemy of Spain — John Sugden, Sir Francis Drake, 169
Library Connections
- San Juan d Ulua disaster transformed Drake into an implacable enemy of Spain
#complicates(0.75) — John Sugden, Sir Francis Drake, 169