Thomas Lovell and Francis Drake

Lovell's Slavery Voyage

In late 1566, Plymouth seaman Thomas Lovell led a slaving expedition following the course set by Hawkins, his kinsman. Lovell’s fleet of three ships owned by the Hawkins brothers (John and older brother William), the Paul (140 tons, captained by Lovell), the Solomon (120 tons, captained by James Raunce) and the Pasco (40 tons, captained by Robert Bolton), sailed from Plymouth on 9 November. Francis Drake, also a Hawkins relative, who may have sailed with Hawkins on both his previous slavery voyages, certainly served with Lovell as an ordinary seaman.

It is probable that Lovell collected his African cargo much like Hawkins did previously; by trading, capture and theft. Although Lovell off-loaded the Africans in various ports throughout the Spanish Main, the trip was not as profitable as Hawkins' voyages, given that his trading and diplomatic skills with the Spanish did not match those of Hawkins. The fleet arrived back at Plymouth in September 1567.

Francis Drake

Francis Drake was born, according to various accounts, anytime between 1539 and 1545. His family farmed land at Crowndale, about a mile west of Tavistock, whilst his father, Edmund, was a sometime farmer, seaman and priest.

As a boy, Drake was sent to live in Plymouth where he was raised and educated by the Hawkins family in Kinterbury Street. It was not unusual in sixteenth-century England for ‘cousin-brethren’, as Drake was, to be brought up by wealthier kinsmen. In common with all boys brought up In the Hawkins house, Drake would have been well educated, taught the ways of sea and seamanship, and would have listened to tales of foreign lands. Like John Hawkins, Drake was destined for a life at sea.

Learn more about slavery and abolition and the Plymouth connection:

John Hawkins

Slave Trade Triangle

Abolition

Conclusion

Glossary

Suggested reading

Slavery and abolition web links