William Hawkins (died c. 1554)
William Hawkins | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1495 |
Died | c. 1554–55 |
Occupation(s) | Merchant, Sea captain |
Spouse | Joan Trelawney (m.) |
Children | William Hawkins John Hawkins |
William Hawkins or Hawkyns (c. 1495 – 1554–55) was an English sea-captain and merchant and the first Englishman to sail to Brazil.
Early life
William Hawkins, son of John Hawkins of Tavistock (died before 1490) and his wife Joan, daughter of William Amadas of Launceston, was probably born at Plymouth, where his father held land under the corporation. All evidence points to the Hawkinses being a Devonshire family, settled for many generations at Tavistock.[1]
Career
Early in the sixteenth century William Hawkins was a well-to-do freeman of Plymouth. He seems to have combined the businesses of shipowner, captain, and merchant, also serving occasionally as an officer of Henry VIII's ships. He may probably be identified with the Hawkins who in 1513 was master of the Great Galley, a ship of 700 tons and four hundred men. The captain of the Great Galley at this time was one John Flemyng, and in the same fleet William Gonson was captain of the Mary Grace.[2] In the next generation the families of Flemyng and Hawkins intermarried with that of Gonson. We may suppose that he was the William Hawkins who in 1523, and again in 1524, was associated with John Amadas as a collector of the subsidy in Devonshire.[3]
Voyages to Brazil
Hawkins is described by
Politics
In 1532–3, and again in 1538–9, Hawkins was
Personal life
Hawkins married Joan, daughter of William Trelawney, and left two sons,
In February 1554–5 he is spoken of as "recently deceased".[6]
Sources
- Prince's Worthies of Devon, p. 389;
- Hakluyt, Richard (1589). Principal Navigations. Vol. iii. p. 700. This account of Hakluyt's has been reprinted in The Hawkins's Voyages, edited for the Hakluyt Society by Clements R. Markham, whose biographical introduction embodies most of the little that is known. Miss Mary W. S. Hawkins's Plymouth Armada Heroes contains some interesting notes extracted from the Plymouth records.
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References
- ^ Laughton.
- ^ Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, i. 552.
- ^ Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, iii. 1362; iv. 233.
- ^ Hakluyt 1589.
- ^ "Plymouth | History of Parliament Online".
- ^ Hawkins, p. 6.
Bibliography
- Hasted, Edward (1798). "Parishes: Chatham". The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. Vol. 4. Canterbury: W. Bristow. pp. 191–226.
- Laughton, John Knox (1891). Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney (eds.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 25. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 227–228. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. . In
- Virgoe, Roger (1982). "Hawkins, William (c.1495-1554/55), of Plymouth, Devon". In Bindoff, S. T. (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons. London: Boydell & Brewer. n.p.