Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/710

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
*
650
*

HAWKINS. 650 HAWKINS. and wrote on various subjects, but especially on education, which engaged his chief interest. He was hirgely instrumental in securing the estab- lishment of the National Bureau of Education, and liis pani])hlets did much to open the eyes of the people to abuses practiced under the educa- tional laws of New York. His publications in- clude: Hiport oil Compulsory Education {1S74) ; ?Vie Duty of the State to Protect the Free Com- mon Scliools t>ii Organic Law (1871); and The Roman Catholic Church in Neic York City, and the I'uhliv Lund and Piihlic Money (1880). HAWKINS, Hamilton Smith (1834—). An American soldier, born in South Carolina. He graduated at the United States Military Academy in 1855, and in 1861 entered the army. In 1883 he attained the rank of major, and in 1889 was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel. In 1888 he became commandant at the United States Military Academy, in 1894 colonel, and in the same year commandant of the J^'^ort Leavenworth school. During the Spanish-American War he connnanded the division which took San Juan Hill in the .second day's battle at Santiago. In 1898 he was promoted to be brigadier-general, and retired. HAWKINS, or HAWKYNS, Sir John (1532-95). An En;.!lish naval commander, the son of William Hawkins, a merchant and sea-cap- tain of Plymouth, who had made several voyages to America. He was born at Plymouth. He fol- lowed the sea from an early age, and bj' 1561 had made several voyages as far as the Canaries. In 1562, with influential backing, he sailed from England with three ships, secured a cargo of 300 negroes on the coast of Sierra Leone, and then crossed the Atlantic to the West Indies, where he forced the Spaniards to take slaves in ex- change for hides, spices, sugar, and ginger. He himself returned to England, but sent two ship- loads of merchandise to Spain, where they were seized and the cargoes confiscated. This loss did not deter him from fitting out another expedition on a larger scale in 1564. in which the Earl of Pembroke and Robert Dudley, later Ear! of Lei- cester, were among his partners, and in which Queen Elizabeth herself was interested to the extent of lending him her ship Jesus. With four vessels he sailed to the African coast, where his cargoes of negroes were obtained only after hard fighting. After a show of arms at Burburata, Veneziiela, and at Rio de l.a Hacha, a 'satisfac- tory trade was opened,' and his negroes at length disposed of. Sailing northwaril, Hawkins relieved the French colony of Laudonni&re, on Saint John's River, Florida, leaving them provisions and a small ship, and thence sailed homeward. The voyage was exceedingly profitable for all the partners, and Hawkins was granted a coat of arms for his skill. The protests of the Spanish were so great at this threat to their trade mo- nopoly that it was not until 1567 that the Queen would consent to let Hawkins undertake another voyage. Then, indeed, she showed her favor so far as again to lend him the Jesus, quite likely becoming thereby a partner in the enterprise. On October 2d the little fleet of six ships, one of which, the Judith, was commanded by Francis Drake (q,v. ), a kinsman of Hawkins, set sail from Plymouth. Following the course of his previous voyages. Hawkins sailed first to Sierra Leone, where about 500 negroes were obtained. and where some Portuguese merchantmen were plundered and more than 70,000 pieces of gold .secured from them. Again force had to be used before the Spanish in the West Indies would trade with them. A large part of his cargo was disposed of at Rio de la Hacha, Cartha- gena, and other ports, and they had turned their prows toward home, when, according to Hawkins's account, a storm drove them into the harbor of San Juan de Lua (Vera Cruz) on the coast of Mexico, There, on September 17th, a day after they had entered the port, they were beset bj' a Spanish fleet of thirteen ships. After three days' negotiation a peaceful agreement was arrived at, and the Spanish fleet entered the har- bor. The truce was short-lived, however, and on the 24th a conflict was precipitated. Hawkins defended his sliips stubbornly, but the odds against him were overwhelming. The Jesus was disabled, and Hawkins transferred himself to the Mission, one of his smaller ships, in which lie finally escaped to sea. The Judith, with Drake in command, was the only other English ship that got away from the harbor. After this disastrous voyage, Hawkins remained in England for some years, was elected to Parliament in 1572, and was made Treasurer and Comptroller of the Royal Navy, both of which oflices lie held for life. His practical experience as a navigator enabled liiiii to bring about a number of important im- jiroveiiients in the rigging and construction of the ships of the navy; and in spite of charges of dishonesty in contract work, the navy was made more eflicient than it had ever been before. In 1588 he took part as a rear-admiral in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, personally commanding the Victory, and winning knighthood for his bravery in action. In 1595 he accompanied Sir Francis Drake in his successful expedition to the West Indies, but died at sea oft' Porto Rico, He as one of the foimders, with Drake, of the fund for disabled seamen knowii as 'the chest at Chatham,' and in 1592 built the Sir John Haw- kyns Hospital at Chatham. Consult: Campbell, l.ircs of the Admirals (London, 1812-17) ; Southev, Lives of the British Admirals (London, 1833-40) : The Baukins's Voyages, Hakluyt So- ciety Publications (London, 1877) ; and Win- sor. Xrirnitire and Critical History of America, voL iii. (Boston, 1884). HAWKINSi, Sir John (1719-89). An Eng- lish writer on music. He was born in London: became a lawyer, and devoted his leisure to his favorite study of music. His marriage to a wealthy woman in 1753 enabled him to indulge his passion for acquiring rare works of music, and he bought the collection formed by Dr. Pepuseh, which he subsequentl.v presented (1779) to the British Museum. On such ma- terials he founded his celebrated work on the General History of the f>cicnce and Practice of Music (1776: republished 1853 and 1875), which, although badly written, contains much of his- torical value. Hawkins was a member of two of the small chilis which Dr. .Johnson founded, thouah he was pronounced by the lexicographer a 'most unclubable man.' He drew Johnson's will for him and became one of his executors. Haw- kins afterwards wrote a life of Johnson, which appeared with an eleven-volume edition of his works (1787-89), but was soon superseded by Boswell's biography.