Sir Richard Hawkins

 

 

Sir Richard Hawkins, sole son and heir of Sir John Hawkins, was nothing if not a chip off the old block. A respected naval commander and successful privateer, he may not have had quite the same impact on society his father had, but he certainly enjoyed a long and prosperous career as a state-sponsored sea robber.

 

 

Sir Richard Hawkins was the only son of Sir John Hawkins, who along with Sir Francis Drake, was one of the most prominent naval admirals, privateers and explorers of the Elizabethan era. Sir Richard followed in his father’s footsteps and had a successful, if not quite so brilliant, career as a privateer and explorer, also fighting in the British naval battle against the Spanish Armada. We know a certain amount about his life first hand, since he wrote a book entitled, The Observations Of Richard Hawkins In His Voyage Into The South Sea In The Year 1593. This was published shortly after his death, and, amazingly, is still in print today.

Family tradition

Sir Richard’s father, Admiral Sir John Hawkins, married twice. His first marriage was to Catherine Gonson, daughter of Benjamin Gonson, who was the treasurer of the Royal Navy. His second was to Margaret Vaughan. Richard was his son from his first marriage to Catherine Gonson, and his only heir. The young Richard grew up in a maritime environment dominated by his father’s reputation as an illustrious sea dog, so it was no surprise when he too continued the family tradition as a privateer.

Richard’s first important sea voyage was to Brazil, with his uncle, William Hawkins. In 1585, he made another significant journey, this time in the company of his father’s second cousin, Sir Francis Drake. The venture with Drake was a privateering one, to attack Spanish settlements along the coast of Florida and on the Caribbean islands. Richard was put in charge of a galliot, a small galley ship propelled by 20 oarsmen as well as by sails, armed with cannons, and carrying over 100 crewmen. On this expedition, the privateers brought home some stragglers from Roanoke Island, off North Carolina, who had survived Sir Walter Raleigh’s attempt to found a colony there.

 

Attack on the Spanish treasure fleet

We next hear of Richard Hawkins in 1588, when he commanded a privateer ship, the Swallow, in the battle against the Spanish Armada. He and his men fought bravely in what was an extraordinary battle against the mighty Spanish ships, who called themselves the ‘Armada Invencible’ – the Invincible Navy. With their superior organizational skills, the smaller English naval force managed to drive off the Spanish fleet, thus protecting England from invasion by the Spanish King Philip II.

Not surprisingly, after the battle, relations between the English and Spanish continued to be hostile, especially at sea, and two years later Richard Hawkins accompanied his father on a series of raids against the Spanish treasure fleet. These took place off the coast of Portugal, which was then in Spanish possession. King Philip II had imposed taxes on Spain’s many colonies around the world, which were paid in the form of such precious items as silver, gold, gems, silk, spices and tobacco. A heavily armed treasure fleet was needed to transport these goods back to the Spanish mainland, and this naturally enough became a target for the privateers and pirates who roamed the seas in search of booty. In addition, these ‘free enterprise’ individuals often had the backing of Protestant European monarchs such as Queen Elizabeth I, who had plenty of reason to resent and fear the imperialism of the Catholic king of Spain.

 

Bloodthirsty raids

Drake’s raids on the Spanish treasure fleet were not successful, and the English privateers returned home empty-handed. However, Hawkins Junior was not deterred. In 1593, he fitted out a ship, the Dainty, and embarked on another voyage, this time of exploration. Like Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake and his father before him, Hawkins intended to sail around the world, and saw his mission as one of geographical and scientific discovery. That said, the term ‘exploration’ in this period seemed to be something of a euphemism, since it included all manner of rather more aggressive activities, ranging from piracy on the high seas to bloodthirsty raids on Spanish cities, towns and settlements on land.

Sailing across the Atlantic, Hawkins followed Drake’s route up the Straits of Magellan and took the opportunity on the way to raid the city of Valparaiso, now in Chile. Not surprisingly, the Spanish were not pleased by this, and as the Dainty sailed into the Bay of Atacames, in northern Ecuador it was attacked by a fleet of six Spanish ships. A fierce battle ensued, lasting three days. Hawkins and his crew were vastly outnumbered, but they fought bravely, and Hawkins was badly wounded. Eventually, Hawkins surrendered, but only after receiving assurance that his crewmen would be safely transported back to England. As it happened, this promise was not fulfilled.

 

Pirate turned Member of Parliament

After conceding defeat, the Spanish imprisoned Hawkins in Peru. Three years later, he was taken to Spain and incarcerated there, first in Seville and then in Madrid. He was released in 1602, when stepmother, Margaret Vaughan, paid the authorities a ransom his release. By this time, his father Sir John had died, and by all accounts, Margaret was none to happy too stump up the money.

On returning to England in 1603, Richard was knighted by King James I for his pains. The following year, he received a post as Member of Parliament for Plymouth and vice-admiral of Devon, his role being to defend the coast from foreign attack, and to clamp down on piracy. This was a job he was well suited for, since he himself had effectively made a long and successful career out of robbery on the high seas.

Hawkins’ later years were taken up with naval activities, including serving as vice-admiral of the fleet under Sir Robert Mansell. Once again, he was brought in to deal with pirates – in this case, Algerian privateers known as the Barbary corsairs, who were terrorizing ships in the Mediterranean. His last voyage took place in 1620, at the age of 58. The voyage was not successful, and he died two years later, just as his memoirs were being published.