ShmoopTube

00:08

John Hawkins.

00:09

Not everything is black and white. People are not either all good or all bad.

00:16

Want a perfect example? Take John Hawkins.

00:20

Okay, now put him back.

00:23

Depending on who you were and what your dealings were with the guy,

00:26

you might view Hawkins as a heartless villain…

00:29

or as a heroic adventurer.

00:31

Guess you could call him a polarizing figure.

00:34

So who was this dude and what was his deal?

00:38

For starters, Hawkins was the cousin of Sir Francis Drake…

00:41

who was, among other things, a pirate.

00:45

Maybe not the best role model a kid could have.

00:51

In 1561, Hawkins made his first journey to the West Indies.

00:55

Before long, he had hijacked a Portuguese ship, stolen their slaves,

00:58

and then sold them in the Caribbean settlements.

01:01

There must have been something in the Hawkins family genes.

01:04

John was, in fact, the first person to enter England into the Slave Trade.

01:09

Which might look impressive on his resume, depending on whom you ask.

01:14

Hawkins made himself a fortune in the slave business.

01:18

Some of the trading he handled himself, although he also formed an organization of well-to-do

01:22

merchants and traders to conduct some of the transactions for him.

01:26

Not content to simply make things difficult on the enslaved…

01:29

Hawkins decided to give England’s international foes a hard time as well.

01:33

He fought in the Battle of Vera Cruz and Mexico…

01:35

… where his fleet was severely depleted and he lost two ships.

01:39

It’s a major bummer whenever you lose ships because…

01:41

well, there are usually people on them.

01:45

Hawkins quickly bounced back from this bit of embarrassing entanglement,

01:49

and went on to add spy and war hero to his ever-expanding resume.

01:53

We’re surprised he didn’t also add “four years of ballet training at the Joffrey,”

01:57

to impress people. He then became an official Elizabethan Privateer,

02:01

making him a legally approved pirate – just like his good ol’ cousin Drake.

02:06

He was presented with a Letter of Marque, legalizing his

02:08

open raids on Spanish and Portuguese ships.

02:11

Although raids are never quite as much fun

02:13

when you’ve gotten the thumbs up from your government.

02:16

For Hawkins and his fellow pirates, it was all about the booty.

02:19

The quickest and easiest way for England to profit from the New World was not to establish

02:23

its own settlements, but to steal from Spanish gold ships.

02:26

It was kinda like how you convince your little brother to mow the lawn and then swoop in

02:30

and take all the credit.

02:31

Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

02:34

But then the hero Hawkins made another appearance.

02:36

He assisted in foiling an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth’s life.

02:41

Hawkins was a legit spy… he had stayed under deep cover within the enemy ranks, only revealing

02:46

his true loyalties at the end.

02:49

Things came to a head with the Spanish.

02:52

There was a big sea-battle, from which Hawkins and his men emerged victorious.

03:02

He was knighted for his participation and bravery in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

03:07

Wealthy merchant. Pirate. Spy. Warrior.

03:11

Hawkins was viewed as a multifaceted hero in England and was rewarded for his contributions…

03:17

… but you might see his actions in a different light if you were a Native African whom he

03:21

sold into slavery…

03:24

… or a Spanish settler or merchant captain who was robbed or killed by him.

Full Transcript