One of the first things you’ll find out about Uncharted’s protagonist, Nathan Drake, is that he’s a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, one of history’s greatest explorers, fuelling him to carry on his legacy. The history buffs out there will tell you that Franci♌s Drake never had any children, something which Elena points out as soon as she hears it.
As Nate replies, “History can be wrong, you know.” As the series progresses, Nate’s connection to Francis Drake is brꦐought up several times, and his most defining character trait is brought into quest🍌ion - is Nathan Drake really related to Sir Francis Drake?
History Can Be Wrong
As mentioned above, the first Uncharted brushes the question off as history being wrong and Nathan being an unrecorded ancestor. Nate has quit꧒e the connection with Francis Drake through the game, quoting him whenever he can, being in possession of his ring, and having an emotional moment when he runs into his decaying corpse.
Ho🎶wever, late into the tale, Nate decid𒁏es to call off the adventure when things get too hot, causing him to shrug off his supposed ancestry. Elena eventually brings him back by giving him his ring and the adventure ends with the case closed.
That's Not Your Real Name, Is It?
Uncharted 2 doesn’t make any big mention of Sir Francis Dr🐬ake, or Nathan’s connection to him, but it’s given a lot of importance in Uncharted 3. Here it’s revealed that Nate stole Sir Francis Drake’s ring from a museum in Colombia, where he runs int💙o Sully for the first time. This brings Nate’s claims of being related to Francis Drake into question, although even as a child he claims that it belongs in his family.
The 🐼first real evidence to suggest that Nate isn’t a Drake happens when Marlowe captures him in the streets of Yemen. Marlowe has a file on Nate and tells him, “I suspect I know you better than anyone Mr Drake. Of course, that’s ꦗnot your real name, is it?”
This heavily implies that Nate isn’t actually related to Sir Francis Drake and simply took on his name in the orphanage, although the exact reasons remain unknown at the time. When Marlowe drowns in quicksand at the end of the game, she holds onto Sir Francis Drake's ring and tries to tempt Drake into saving her to get it back, but he lets it sink into the sand, implying that he has given up on his obsession. Uncharted 4: A Thieves End is where all is revealed, finally telling us whether Nate is an ancestor of Sir Francis Drake.
The Truth Revealed
Alongside the revelation that Nate has a brother, Sam, it’s revealed that their last name is Morgan and that their mother was an archaeologist and history buff. After going to find her possessions, they run into a friend of their mother who says that they both had a theory that Sir Francis Drake had heirs. Soon after, the old lady has a heart attack and dies, causing the two boys to run away from the police. Th𒐪ey decide to flee the orphanage and take up the mantle Drake to honour their mother and start their life of adventure.
This confirms that neither Sam nor Nate were related to Sir Francis Drake and instead took the name to escape from their old life at the orphanage and pay tribute to their mother at the same time. Although Nate isn't related to Francis Drake, he and Sam take his legacy as theirs because of their mother's connection to his work, making it arguably even more important to them both.
Uncharted fans have taken this as confirmation that Sam and Nate aren't related to Sir Francis Drake, but it doesn't necessarily prove that Drake never had any ancestors. The idea that "history can be wrong" is one that permeates throughout Uncharted, after all.
