Death of Hawkins and Drake

Reaction in England to San Juan de Ullea, the disastrous climax to Hawkins' third slavery voyage, was immediate. Plymouth effectively declared war with Spain; John Hawkins’ brother William had ships ready to put to sea and pleaded with the Privy Council to exact revenge. Lasting repercussions, set against a backdrop of on-going pan-Europe Catholic and Protestant hostility, pitched England and Spain against each other. Hawkins and Drake earned their reputations at the time as sea dogs, taking Spanish lives and financial compensation many times over.

Hawkins became Member of Parliament for Plymouth in 1571 and Comptroller of the Navy two years later. From the mid-1570s he was instrumental in preparing a rigorous and proficient English navy to meet an impending Spanish Armada. His designs improved ships’ capabilities, whilst he won better pay and conditions for sailors. Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. He left Plymouth on board the Pelican in 1577, with four other ships and 150 men. He returned to Plymouth in September 1580, on the (renamed) Golden Hind, with just 59 men. The following year he was knighted by the Queen and served as Mayor of Plymouth.

The Spanish Armada sailed up the Channel, and was defeated, in 1588. The battle consisted of several skirmishes, during which Rear Admiral Hawkins’ ship, the Victory, overpowered the Spanish vessel the Santa Anna, and Vice Admiral Drake, on Revenge, captured the Spanish galleon Rosario. In recognition of his success, Hawkins was knighted on deck by Charles Howard, Baron of Effingham and Lord High Admiral. In the years following victory over the Armada, both Hawkins and Drake involved themselves in sailors’ welfare. In 1590 they launched the Chatham Chest, a fund raising initiative to help injured seamen, and in 1594 Hawkins put his name to a naval hospital he established at Chatham.

Hawkins’ son Richard was captured by the Spanish in the South Atlantic in 1593. In response, a fleet of 27 ships, jointly commanded by Hawkins and Drake, left Plymouth on 29 August 1595. Neither admiral was to see his homeport again. The rescue mission was hampered by disagreement and slow progress, and in late October the Spanish, forewarned of Hawkins’ and Drakes’ intent captured the Francis (one of two small English ships that, along with the Delight, lagged behind the rest of the fleet) off the Virgin Isles. A despondent Hawkins died a few days later on the 12 November off the coast of Puerto Rico. In his Will, Hawkins left £50 to be distributed amongst the poor of Plymouth.

Drake continued to take the fight to the Spanish, across the Spanish Main and into Panama, but with little or no success. In January 1596, off Porto Bello in Panama, dysentery swept through the fleet. Drake succumbed. He wrote his Will on 27 January, leaving £40 to the poor of Plymouth. At four o'clock on the morning of 28 January, dressed in his armour so as to die like a soldier, Drake passed away. The next day, his body, like that of Hawkins before him, was interred to the sea.

Learn more about slavery and abolition and the Plymouth connection:

John Hawkins

Slave Trade Triangle

Abolition

Conclusion

Glossary

Suggested reading

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