John Hawkins, Sir John Hawkins

The Pirate's Realm

Interesting Facts-
- John Hawkins was the older cousin of Francis Drake - pioneered the efforts to break Spain's hold in the Caribbean - His streamlining of ships contributed to England's defeat of the Spanish Armada.

John Hawkins was born in 1532 in Plymouth, England to a prosperous merchant family.He went to sea as a young man like many others from the area, and soon had a highly profitable business stealing slaves from Portuguese ships off West Africa and selling them illegally all over the Spanish Main.

Queen Elizabeth eventually became one of his backers despite increasing strain between England and France, and she was protected by Hawkins from the plots of Spain to remove her from the throne.

Beginning in 1577 as naval treasurer and later as chief administrator, Hawkins spent time on land streamlining both the navy's finances and her ships, as well as backing his cousin Sir Francis Drake. His efforts led to receiving knighthood and contributed greatly to the ultimate defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

John Hawkins wished to deal the Spanish a deathblow, and so he sailed with Frobisher in an attack on the Spanish Treasure Fleet in the Azores in 1590. The operation was a tactical failure but an inspirational success; it started a growing movement of pirates and piracy that would help to break the hold of Spain in the New World.

He spent several more years occupied with his business before sailing one last time with Francis Drake to South America in 1595. It seems this trip was more personal for Hawkins, for some report that he was attempting to rescue his son Richard from captivity in Peru. He died at 63 of an unknown illness aboard his ship near Puerto Rico.

• 16 Famous Pirates: Buccaneers and Privateers
  13 Apr 2009 at 5:02am
  Sir John Hawkins was an older cousin of famed explorer Sir Francis Drake, also a privateer. Hawkins used his commission from Queen Elizabeth as a license to plunder. However, his streamlining of ships contributed to England's defeat of ...
  
• People: The Queen's Privateer
  2 Jun 2010 at 10:59am
  Despite his late-in-life regrets over the means of his success, Sir John Hawkins certainly paved the way for the exploits of sea dogs like Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish. He was one of the first to strike against the trading ...
  
• The Legend of Graybeard
  8 Aug 2010 at 3:56am
  Believing that it takes a pirate to catch a pirate, the Queen chose Capt. Jay Hawkins, grandson of the notorious Elizabethan sea dog, Sir John Hawkins, to command the flotilla. The fleet quickly assembled and set out with Godspeed after ...
  
• ADMIRAL JOHN HAWKINS
  21 May 2010 at 10:15pm
  William commanded privateers (pirates licensed by Kings & Queens) to Brazil at least three times and then continued to develop the trade from home to his immense profit. He became infamous to the Spanish and Portuguese colonies where ...
  
• Pirates of the Caribbean - Sir Francis Drake
  14 May 2010 at 3:38am
  He persuaded his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, to return with him into the Caribbean in 1595. There they found that their luck had run out. The Spanish had fortified many of their coastal towns. Then fever struck aboard the ship. ...
  

John Hawkins, Sir John Hawkins