ROBERT, a famous English admiral, born August 1589 at Bridgewater in Somersetshire, where he was educated at the grammar-school. He went from thence to Oxford in 1615, where he was entered at St Alban's Hall. From thence he removed to Wadham college; and on the 10th of February 1617, he took the degree of bachelor of arts. In 1623, he wrote a copy of verses on the death of Mr Camden, and soon after left the university. He was tinctured pretty early with republican principles, and disliking that severity with which Dr Laud, then bishop of Bath and Wells, pressed uniformity in his diocese, he began to fall into the puritanical opinions. His natural bluntness causing his principles to be well known, the puritan party returned him member for Bridgewater in 1640; and he served in the parliament army with great courage during the civil war: but when the king was brought to trial, he highly disapproved the measure as illegal, and was frequently heard to say, he would as freely venture his life to save the king, as ever he did to serve the parliament. But this is thought to have been chiefly owing to the humanity of his temper, since after the death of the king he fell in wholly with the republican party, and, next to Cromwell, was the ablest officer the parliament had.

In 1638-9, he was appointed, in conjunction with Colonel Dean and Colonel Popham, to command the fleet; and soon after blocked up Prince Maurice and Prince Rupert in Kinsale harbour. But these getting out, Blake followed them from port to port: and at last attacked them in that of Malaga, burnt and destroyed their whole fleet, two ships only excepted, the Reformation in which Prince Rupert himself was, and the Swallow commanded by his brother Prince Maurice. In 1652, he was constituted sole admiral; when he defeated the Dutch fleet commanded by Van Tromp, Ruyter, and de Wit, in three several engagements, in which the Dutch lost 11 men of war, 30 merchant ships, and according to their own accounts, had 1500 men slain. Soon after Blake and his colleagues, with a grand fleet of 100 sail, stood over to the Dutch coast; and forced their fleet to fly for shelter into the Texel, where they were kept for some time by Monk and Dean, while Blake sailed northward. At last, however, Tromp got out, and drew together a fleet of 120 men of war; and on the 3d of June, the generals Dean and Monk came to an engagement with the enemy off the North Foreland with indifferent success: but the next day Blake coming to their assistance with 18 ships, gained a complete victory; so that if the Dutch had not saved themselves on Calais sands, their whole fleet had been sunk or taken.

In April 1653, Cromwell turned out the parliament, and shortly after assumed the supreme power. The states hoped great advantages from this, but were disappointed. Blake said on this occasion to his officers, "It is not for us to mind state affairs, but to keep foreigners from fooling us."—In November 1654, Cromwell sent him with a strong fleet into the Mediterranean, with orders to support the honour of the English flag, and to procure satisfaction for the injuries that might have been done to our merchants. In the beginning of December, Blake came into the road of Cadiz, where he was treated with all imaginable respect; a Dutch admiral would not hoist his flag while he was there; and his name was now grown so formidable, that a French squadron having stopped one of his tenders, which had been separated from Blake in a storm, the admiral, as soon as he knew to whom it belonged, sent for the captain on board, and drank Blake's health before him with great ceremony, under a discharge of five guns, and then dismissed him. The Algerines were so much afraid of him, that, stopping the Sallee rovers, they obliged them to deliver up what English prisoners they had on board, and then sent them freely to Blake, in order to purchase his favour. This, however, did not prevent his coming on the 10th of March before Algiers, and sending an officer on shore to the dey to demand satisfaction for the piracies committed on the English, and the release of all the English captives. The dey, in his answer, alleged, that the ships and captives belonged to private men, and therefore he could not restore them without offending all his subjects, but that he might easily redeem them: and if he thought good, they would conclude a peace with him, and for the future offer no acts of hostility to the English: and having accompanied this answer with a large present of fresh provisions, Blake left Algiers, and sailed on the same errand to Tunis; the dey of which place not only refused to comply with his request, but denied him the liberty of taking in fresh water. "Here (said he), are our castles of Goletto and Porto Ferino; do your worst." Blake, at hearing this, began, as his custom was when highly provoked, to curl his whiskers; and after a short consultation with his officers, bore into the bay of Porto Ferino with his great ships and their seconds; and coming within musket-shot of the castle and the line, fired on both so warmly, that in two hours' time the castle was rendered defenceless, and the guns on the works along the shore were dismounted, though 60 of them played at a time on the English. Blake found nine ships in the road, and ordered every captain to man his long boat with choice men, to enter the harbour and fire the Tuniseens; which they happily effected, with the loss of 25 men killed and 48 wounded, while he and his men covered them from the castle by playing continually on them with their great guns. This daring action spread the terror of his name through Africa and Asia. From Tunis he sailed to Tripoli, caused the English slaves to be set at liberty, and concluded a peace with that government. Thence returning to Tunis, the Tuniseens implored his mercy, and begged him to grant them peace, which he did upon terms highly advantageous to England. He next sailed to Malta, and obliged the knights to restore the effects taken taken by their privateers from the English; and by these great exploits so raised the glory of the English name, that most of the princes and states in Italy thought fit to pay their compliments to the Protector, by sending solemn embassies to him.

He passed the next winter either in lying before Cadiz, or in cruising up and down the Straits: and was at his old station, at the mouth of that harbour, when he received information that the Spanish plate fleet had put into the bay of Sancta Cruz, in the island of Tenerife: upon this he weighed anchor, with 25 men of war, on the 13th of April 1657; and on the 29th rode with his ships off the bay of Sancta Cruz, where he saw 16 Spanish ships lying in the form of a half-moon. Near the mouth of the haven stood a castle furnished with great ordnance; besides which there were seven forts round the bay, with six, four, and three guns on each, joined to each other by a line of communication manned with musketeers. To make all safe, Don Diego Diagues, general of the Spanish fleet, caused all the smaller ships to be moored close along the shore; and the six large galleons stood farther out at anchor, with their broadsides towards the sea. Blake having prepared for the fight, a squadron of ships was drawn out to make the first onset, commanded by Captain Stayner in the Speaker frigate; who no sooner received orders, than he sailed into the bay, and fell upon the Spanish fleet, without the least regard to the forts which spent their shot prodigally upon them. No sooner were these entered into the bay, but Blake, following after, placed several ships to pour broadsides into the castle and forts; and these played their parts so well, that, after some time, the Spaniards found their forts too hot to be held. In the mean time, Blake struck in with Stayner, and bravely fought the Spanish ships, out of which the enemy were beaten by two o'clock in the afternoon; when Blake, finding it impossible to carry them away, ordered his men to set them on fire; which was done so effectually, that they were all reduced to ashes, except two, which sunk downright, nothing remaining above the water but part of the masts. The English having now obtained a complete victory, were reduced to another difficulty by the wind, which blew so strong into the bay, that they despaired of getting out. They lay under the fire of the castles and of all the forts, which must in a little time have torn them to pieces. But the wind suddenly shifting, carried them out of the bay; where they left the Spaniards in astonishment at the happy temerity of their audacious victors. This is allowed to have been one of the most remarkable actions that ever happened at sea. "It was so miraculous (says the earl of Clarendon), that all men who knew the place wondered that any sober man, with what courage soever endowed, would ever have undertaken it; and they could hardly persuade themselves to believe what they had done; whilst the Spaniards comforted themselves with the belief, that they were devils and not men who had destroyed them in such a manner." This was the last and greatest action of the gallant Blake. He was consumed with a dropsy and scurvy; and hastened home, that he might yield up his last breath in his native country, which he had so much adorned by his valour. As he came within sight of land, he expired.—Never man, so zealous for a faction, was so much respected and esteemed by the opposite factions. Disinterested, generous, liberal; ambitious only of true glory, dreadful only to his avowed enemies; he forms one of the most perfect characters of that age, and the least stained with those errors and violences which were then so predominant. The Protector ordered him a pompous funeral at the public charge: but the tears of his countrymen were the most honourable panegyric on his memory. The lord Clarendon observes, "that he was the first man who brought ships to contemn castles on shore, which had ever been thought very formidable, and were discovered by him to make a noise only, and to fright those who could be rarely hurt by them. He was the first that infused that degree of courage into seamen, by making them see by experience what mighty things they could do if they were resolved; and the first that taught them to fight in fire as well as in water."