Hawkins, Sir John

Hawkins, Sir John (1532-95), sailor, b. Plymouth, Devon, England.

John Hawkins made three voyages as a slave trader, carrying slaves from West Africa to the West Indies. On the third, in 1567, he lost most of his ships in an attack by Spaniards.

Later he became a Member of Parliament and was made Treasurer of the Royal Navy. He replaced the so-called 'great ships' with smaller galleons. These were the ships that beat the Great Armada in 1588.

In the Armada battle, Hawkins commanded the Victory and he was afterwards knighted.

At the age of sixty-three, he sailed with his relative, Sir Francis Drake, on a voyage to the West Indies and he died at sea near Puerto Rico.

See Harry Kelsey Sir John Hawkins