Sir William Hawkins

Sir William Hawkins (fl. c. 1600) was a representative of the English East India Company notable for being the commander of Hector, the first company ship to anchor at Surat in India on 24 August 1608. Hawkins travelled to Agra to negotiate consent for a factory from Emperor Jahangir in 1609.

The eldest son of William Hawkins or Hawkyns (d. 1589) and nephew of Sir John Hawkins (1532–1595), he served in Sir Francis Drake's voyage to the South Sea in 1577, presumably in the Elizabeth with John Wynter, though possibly in the Golden Hind with Drake himself. In October 1581 he was nominated, apparently at the request of his uncle, then treasurer of the navy, as lieutenant to Edward Fenton, appointed to command an expedition for the East Indies and China, which sailed from England in May 1582. Notwithstanding the connection between Fenton and John Hawkyns, who had married sisters, there was from the first a bad feeling between him and William Hawkyns, arising partly no doubt out of jealousy of the claims which had been put forward on behalf of young Hawkyns to command the expedition over Fenton's head; partly also, it may be, out of the insolent and insubordinate conduct of Hawkyns himself; the feeling was doubtless intensified by the formal instruction to Fenton not to remove him "but upon just cause cause duly proved and by consent of your assistants". When the little fleet was sailing from Plymouth, Hawkyns was still on shore, and Fenton put to sea without him; he was brought out in the Francis, one of the squadron, and put on board his own ship, the Leicester. Throughout the voyage the captain and the lieutenant seem to have quarrelled and thwarted each other on every occasion, and the Leicester finally arrived in the Thames with Hawkyns in irons. It does not appear that John Hawkyns gave his nephew any support in this quarrel; for five years afterwards he was on terms of confidential friendship with Fenton.

Hawkyns may probably be identified with the William Hawkyns who, in 1587, commanded the Advice on the coast of Ireland; and again with the William Hawkyns who, in 1588, commanded the Griffin against the Spanish Armada. It has been suggested that the commander of the Griffin was his father, then mayor of Plymouth; but this is impossible, for on 19 July the Griffin was at sea with Sir Francis Drake, and the mayor of Plymouth was on shore collecting reinforcements. Hawkins was, however, not an uncommon Devonshire name, and it is quite possible that the commander of the Advice or Griffin belonged to some other family.

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