Thomas Cochrane was not a popular man. His friends would say that he was “independent” or “strong-willed.” His enemies called him flippant, insubordinate, and stubborn.
Born to minor Scottish nobility in 1775, he served in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. During his military career, he gained a reputation for both hot-headedness and skill. Cunning and arrogance. Bravery and foolishness. After the Napoleonic Wars ended and he was kicked out of the British Navy (stock market fraud, we don’t have to get into it), he sailed to South America and trained the navies of Chile, Brazil, and Peru, helping them win their wars for independence.