Sir Francis Drake was an astute politician.

Even though Drake is most renowned for his private and military pursuits, Sir Francis Drake was an astute politician throughout his time in England. Despite having been in parliament three times, there is little proof that he was engaged in Westminster while he was overseas.

In September 1581, upon his return from a globe voyage, Drake was elected mayor of Plymouth. On January 16, 1581, he was elected to the Camelford seat during the 4th session of Elizabeth I's Parliament. He wasn't actively participating, though, and on February 17, 1581, he was given permission to take a leave of absence from some of the duties he needed to do to serve His Majesty.

After Elizabeth I established the 5th Parliament, in 1584, Drake was once more elected to represent Bossiney, one of the corrupt Cornish counties which the parliamentary constituency in Cornwall. He was involved in early American colonization, fisheries, naval affairs, and matters mostly pertaining to Devon while serving in parliament. He worked on other projects and went on a trip to Portugal throughout the course of his following two legislative sessions. In 1593, he was elected to the parliament for Plymouth. He was involved in affairs pertaining to Plymouth's interests in general during that time, but he especially placed a strong emphasis on Spanish defense.