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Sir John Hawkins - Privateer (1532
- 1595) |
Sir John Hawkins was a Privateer and the first
English slave trader. Along with his cousin,
Sir Francis Drake, he took part in several expeditions
to attack the Spanish and took part in the battle
against the Spanish Armada, for which he was
knighted. He served as the Treasurer of the
Royal Navy and designed ships that improved
the impact of the Navy.
This page details facts about Sir John Hawkins's
life and the events that shaped his history.
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Sir John Hawkins the Privateer
- Fun Facts for Kids ! |
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Sir John Hawkins Fact
1: |
John Hawkins was born in Plymouth, Devon
in England, in 1532. His father, William Hawkins, was a
merchant, a sea captain and had served in Parliament. |
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Sir John Hawkins Fact
2: |
Little is known of his early life although
he was well educated and followed the family trade by going
to sea. |
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Sir John Hawkins Fact
3: |
By 1562 John Hawkins had formed a syndicate
of wealthy merchants who wanted to invest in the trading
of slaves. He set sail for Guinea with three ships and attacked
a Portuguese ship loaded with slaves. In the same year he
married Katherine Gonson, the daughter Benjamin Gonson,
the Treasurer of the Royal Navy. His son,
Sir Richard
Hawkins, was born c1592. |
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 4: |
John Hawkins sailed
for the Caribbean with his valuable load and, following
his arrival at Santo Domingo in Hispaniola, sold them
in the Spanish colonies. This act established John Hawkins
as the first English slave trader.
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 5: |
The venture was very
profitable so a second expedition was planned for 1564.
Backed by investors which included Queen Elizabeth I,
Hawkins set sail with the Queen’s carrack ‘Jesus of
Lubeck’ and three other ships.
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 6: |
John Hawkins, accompanied
by his cousin,
Sir Francis
Drake, headed for the west coast of Africa. He captured
in excess of 400 slaves and crossed the Atlantic where,
once again, he traded them with the Spanish.
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Picture
of Queen Elizabeth I
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Sir John Hawkins Fact
7: |
The same year, accompanied once again
by Francis Drake, John Hawkins began his third slaving expedition.
While on this expedition, his fleet sailed to San Juan de
Ulua (modern day Vera Cruz) to shelter from a storm. A Spanish
fleet of 13 ships appeared and destroyed all but 2 of the
English ships. |
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Sir John Hawkins Fact
8: |
The ‘Minion’, commanded by Hawkins, and
the ‘Judith’, commanded by Drake, managed to escape and
headed for Plymouth where they arrived on 20 January 1569.
This incident led to the bitterness that arose between England
and Spain and resulted in the deploying of the Spanish Armada. |
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 9: |
In 1571 Hawkins
tricked the Spanish Ambassador when he appeared
to take part in a plot to replace Queen Elizabeth
I with Mary, Queen of Scots. He acquired the details
of the plan, known as the ‘Ridolfi Plot’ and informed
the government. Subsequently the plotters were arrested
and the plot foiled.
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 10: |
In c1577/8, following
the death of his father in law, Hawkins was designated
Treasurer of the Royal Navy. Using the skills he
had learned from his family business, he set about
improving the design and construction of the naval
ships.
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 11: |
In 1588 the newly
designed ships, which were faster and more manoeuverable,
played a major part in defeating the Spanish Armada.
Hawkins took part in the battle, alongside Drake
and
Sir Martin Frobisher, and was knighted for his
actions.
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Picture
of Sir Martin Frobisher
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 12: |
In 1589 Sir John
Hawkins, accompanied by Drake, made an unsuccessful
attempt to prevent Spain re-arming by attacking
their treasure ships on their return from Mexico.
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 13: |
In 1591 his wife
Katherine died and he married Margaret Vaughan.
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Sir John Hawkins
Fact 14: |
In 1595 Sir John
Hawkins joined Drake on an expedition to attack
Spanish ships in the West Indies. During the expedition
they both fell fatally ill. Sir John Hawkins died
at sea off the coast of Puerto Rico on 12 November
1595.
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Picture
of Sir Francis Drake
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Sir John Hawkins the
Privateer (1532 - 1595) Fun Facts Info for Kids
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