Thomas Doughty

Who was Thomas Doughty?

Thomas Doughty was an English nobleman, soldier, scholar and personal secretary of Christopher Hatton. His association with Francis Drake, on a 1577 voyage to interfere with Spanish treasure fleets, ended in a shipboard trial for treason and witchcraft and Doughty's execution.

Although scholars doubt the validity of the charges, and question Drake's authority to try and execute Doughty, the incident set an important precedent: According to a history of the English Navy, titled To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World by Arthur Herman, Doughty's execution established the idea that a ship's captain was its absolute ruler, regardless of the rank or social class of its passengers.