Sir john hawkins biography definition

  • How did sir john hawkins die
  • John hawkins relationship with elizabeth 1
  • Sir john hawkins fun facts

    • •

    Sir John Hawkins (–) was one of the most notable sailors and naval commanders of the sixteenth century. He is known for his pivotal role in the maritime history of England and the rise of the global slave trade.

    John Hawkins' early life

    Hawkins was born into a wealthy maritime family in Plymouth. His father, William Hawkins had visited the New World in and traded in Guinea and Brazil. He was also a prominent figure in the court of Henry VIII. By his mid-twenties, Hawkins was already making voyages to many major ports such as the Canary Islands. While mainly trading in textiles and sugar, there are accounts involving Hawkins and piracy.

    The Sea Dogs: pirates or privateers?

    In the 15th Century, there was a thin line between piracy and a privateering. A privateer was an individual licensed to attack and raid shipping belonging to an enemy government, usually during a war. These private contractors would then pay a cut of their bounty back to the government.

    In this case, Sir J

    •

    Sir John Hawkins: Queen Elizabeth’s Slave Trader, by Harry Kelsey ()

    By Mark Sheaves

    Following his successful biography of the famous English kapare, Francis Drake, Harry Kelsey turns to Drake’s lesser-known but equally adventurous cousin, John Hawkins (). Born into a family of rugged traders and pirates in southwest England, Hawkins grew into a successful merchant and maritime navigator by his early twenties. This upbringing in a notoriously violent environment, Kelsey argues, created a fierce and pragmatic streak in the young trader. An ambitious individual, he turned his attention to Spain’s prosperous colonies establishing trading networks with merchants in the Canary Islands. Exposure to the emergent slave trade peaked Hawkins’ interest in this odious practice. In three separate voyages, he raided for slaves off West Africa and sold his cargo in the Spanish colonies of Santo Domingo and Venezuela. Despite Spanish legal restrictions against dealing with foreigners, Hawkins in

    •

    John Hawkins (naval commander)

    English slave trader (–)

    For other people with the same name, see John Hawkins.

    AdmiralSir John Hawkins (also spelled Hawkyns) ( – 12 November ) was an English naval commander, naval administrator, privateer and slave trader.

    Hawkins pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. He is considered to be the first English merchant to profit from the Triangle Trade, selling enslaved people from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies in the late 16th century.[1]

    In , Hawkins served as a Vice-Admiral and fought in the victory over the Spanish Armada, for which he was knighted for gallantry. As Treasurer of the Navy, Hawkins became the ledare architect of the Elizabethan Navy. He redesigned the navy so the ships were faster, more manoeuvrable and had more firepower.

    Hawkins' son, Richard Hawkins, was captured by the Spanish. In response, along with his cousin Sir Francis Drake, he r

  • sir john hawkins biography definition