Abolition

Sir John Hawkins was the first established English slave trader.

He plundered Spanish and Portuguese shipping in the West Indies, he was the treasurer of the Navy and ran the Dockyard in Chatham and with Drake defeated the Spanish Armada. He was also a slaver, which made him his fortune. He led the very first slaving expedition in 1561 and Queen Elizabeth I gave him two ships for the purpose, the Jesus of Lubeck and the Minion.

His coat of arms includes, as well as the usual heraldry of the time, the effigy of a slave. That was a part of his life. For Hawkins, slaves were just a commodity.

For Hawkins, the trade ended in 1567 when his fleet, which included a ship commanded by Francis Drake, took shelter from a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish were also there. In the chaos and fight that followed, many of his men were killed. The Queen's Jesus of Lubeck was lost. Hawkins escaped in one ship and Drake in another. He'd lost 325 men on that voyage but it still showed a financial profit.

The Hospital of Sir John Hawkins in Chatham was an almshouse for the sailors who had helped him defeat the Spanish and his profits from slavery helped fund the institution.

Today the building provides eight flats for retired mariners, who carry on the Hawkins' legacy.