Sir John Hawkins (1532-1595), English adventurer and slave trader. Hawkins was one of the most gifted sailors of his age and made many advances in ship design. He made three long voyages between 1555 and 1569 that established the Triangular trade - manufactured goods were taken to Africa and bartered for slaves, these were then shipped to the Caribbean and sold for crops such as molasses which were brought back to England and sold - with a profit made at each leg. As secretary of the Navy he supervised the construction of new, sleeker ships that were used to great success against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Hawkins is credited with bringing potatoes to England and Ireland and may have been the first to import tobacco. He died at sea from a disease,