English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader
1532 CE
to 1595 CE
Admiral Sir John Hawkins (also spelled as John Hawkyns) (Plimouth 1532 – 12 November, 1595) is an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader.
As treasurer (1577) and controller (1589) of the Royal Navy, he rebuilds older ships and helps design the faster ships that withstand the Spanish Armada in 1588.
He later devises the naval blockade to intercept Spanish treasure ships.
One of the foremost seamen of 16th-century England, he is the chief architect of the Elizabethan navy.
In the battle in which the Spanish Armada is defeated in 1588, Hawkins serves as a vice admiral and is knighted for his role.
William, John's father, is a confidant of Henry VIII of England and one of the principal sea captains of England.
Sir Francis Drake, John's second cousin, helps him in his 2nd voyage.
The first Englishman recorded to have taken slaves from Africa is John Lok, a London trader who, in 1555, brings to England five slaves from Guinea.
A second London trader taking slaves at this time is William Towerson whose fleet sails into Plymouth following his 1556 voyage to Africa and from Plymouth on his 1557 voyage.
Despite the exploits of Lok and Towerson, John Hawkins of Plymouth is widely acknowledged to be the pioneer of the English slave trade, because he is the first to run the Triangular trade, making a profit at every stop.
