Richard Hawkins
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins (or Hawkyns) (c. 1562 – 17 April 1622) was a 17th-century English seaman, explorer and privateer. He was the son of Admiral Sir John Hawkins.


Biography

He was from his earlier days familiar with ships and the sea, and in 1582 he accompanied his uncle, William Hawkins, to the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. In 1585 he was captain of a galliot in
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
's expedition to the
Spanish main During the Spanish colonization of America, the Spanish Main was the collective term for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. The term was used to di ...
, in 1588 he commanded a queen's ship against the Armada, and in 1590 his father's expedition at the coast of Portugal. In 1593 he purchased the galleon ''Dainty'' (built for the voyage of discovery), a vessel originally built for his father and used by him in his expeditions, and sailed for the West Indies, the
Spanish Main During the Spanish colonization of America, the Spanish Main was the collective term for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. The term was used to di ...
and the South Seas. It seems clear that his project was to prey on the oversea possessions of
Spanish crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
. Hawkins, however, in an account of the voyage written thirty years afterwards, maintained, and by that time perhaps had really persuaded himself, that his expedition was undertaken purely for the purpose of geographical discovery. After visiting the coast of
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, the ''Dainty'' encountered a storm off the mouth of the Magellan Strait and was blown eastward. On February 2nd, 1594, Hawkins saw land "... about nine of the clocke in the morning, wee descried land, which bare South-West of us, which we looked not for so timely and coming neerer and neerer unto it, by the lying, wee could not conjecture what land it could be.... It hath great Rivers of fresh waters; for the out-shoot of them colours the Sea … The Land, for that it was discovered in the Reigne of Queene Elizabeth, my Sovereigne Lady and Mistris, and a Mayden Queene, and at my cost and adventure, in a perpetual memory of her chastitie, and remembrance of my endevours, I gave it the name of Hawkins Maiden land … the Westernmost part lyeth some threescore leagues from the neerest Land of America.” This land is now known as the Falkland Islands. Hawkins then sailed back to the South American mainland and passed through the Straits of Magellan, and in due course reached
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
. Having plundered the town, Hawkins pushed north, and in June 1594, a year after leaving
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
, he arrived in the Bay of San Mateo, at the mouth of the Esmeraldas river, nowadays
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
, at the position . Here the ''Dainty'' was attacked by two Spanish ships. Hawkins was hopelessly outmatched, but ''Dainty''s crew defended her with gallantry. At last, when he himself had been severely wounded, 27 of his men killed, and the ''Dainty'' was nearly sinking, he surrendered on 1 July 1594 on the promise of a safe-conduct out of the country for himself and his crew. Through no fault of the Spanish commander, this promise was not kept. In 1597 Hawkins was sent to Spain, and imprisoned first at
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
and subsequently at
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. He was released in 1602, and, returning to England, was knighted in 1603 and elected
Mayor of Plymouth This is a list of some notable mayors and all the later lord mayors of the city of Plymouth in the United Kingdom. Plymouth had elected a mayor annually since 1439. The city was awarded the dignity of a lord mayoralty by letters patent dat ...
the same year. During the voyage, Hawkins made a series of observations about the efficacy of citrus fruits, specifically "sower oranges and lemmons," for successfully treating
scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
-- a debilitating disease for early explorers and sailors. While James Lind is often credited with proving the benefits of citrus for curing scurvy, Hawkins, more than a century earlier, was also convinced of its benefits and wrote about it: "This is a wonderful secret of the power and wisedome of God, that hath hidden so great and unknown virtue in this fruit, to be a certaine remedie for this infirmitie" In 1604 he became
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
and
Vice-Admiral of Devon The holder of the post Vice-Admiral of Devon was responsible for the defence of the county of Devon, England. History As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included pres ...
, a post which, as the coast was swarming with
pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
(following the prohibition of English privateering in 1603), was no sinecure. In this role, Hawkins was more sympathetic to English pirates than to their often-Spanish victims, rarely taking pirates to trial, instead either taking the pirates' loot or selling a "discharge" to them before releasing them. Aside from a brief suspension between August 1606 and April 1607, he retained this post till 1610. In 1605, Hawkins was named in the founding charter of the Spanish Company as one of the 557 founding members. In 1620 to 1621 he was vice-admiral, under Sir Robert Mansell of the fleet sent into the Mediterranean to reduce the Algerian corsairs. He died in London on 17 April 1622.


Works

Hawkins wrote the memories of his trip under the title ''Voiage into the South Sea'' (1622), which became the most famous adventure of the Elizabethan era, re-published by the
Hakluyt Society The Hakluyt Society is a text publication society, founded in 1846 and based in London, England, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of historic voyages, travels and other geographical material. In addition to its publishing rol ...
in 1847, and reworked in
Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...
's '' Westward Ho!'' (1855). He depicts the Spaniards in the Americas in a positive way, judging them as "temperate" and "gentle".The Observations of Sir Richard Hawkins in his Voyage into the South Sea Richard Hawkins published London 1622 as republished by the Hakluyt Society 1847


See also

*
Bill (2015 film) ''Bill'' is a 2015 British family adventure comedy film from the principal performers behind children's TV series ''Horrible Histories'' and ''Yonderland''. It was produced by Punk Cinema, Cowboy Films and BBC Films and was released in the UK on ...


Notes


References

* ; * Attribution: *


Further reading

* *


External links

* * Ricardo Hauqhines, {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Richard 1560s births 1622 deaths English privateers English admirals Members of the Parliament of England for Plymouth English MPs 1604–1611 English people of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) Mayors of Plymouth Members of the Spanish Company