William Hawkins Character Traits

William Hawkins was the captain of Hector in the third voyage set forth by the East India Company (1607). Not much is known about his early life except that, he had previously been in the West Indies and that he had been for some time in the Levant and knew Turkish. The only known person of his family is his brother Charles. Hawkins has been called and generally thought to be a professional sailor or a “bluff sea captain” as he was the commander of Hector. However this was not exactly the case because in those days the position of the commander was not necessarily attributed to someone with expert knowledge of navigation; Hawkins in all probability had been a Levant merchant and a servant of the East India Company. What could have made him more suitable for this position was his knowledge …show more content…
That too can be deduced from the fact that, as mentioned in the introduction, Muqarrab Khan looted Hawkins of all the presents and constantly tried with the Portuguese and the Jesuits to get rid of him. Muqarrab Khan had also reached the capital disgraced Hawkins, however, Hawkins demanded the payment of his dues against the khan*(pg.406) But, in any case, eventually, Hawkins was thrown out of the court and dismissed from service because of his unmannerly behaviour. Hawkins is called as a “vain fool” by Roe, he was blustering, haughty and boastful. He quarrelled with all of his companions. Jahangir allowed him many concessions.*# Hawkins’ account about the on goings in Jahangir’s court seems genuine. Being an invited Resident Ambassador of Jahangir, being so close to him, Hawkins does not shy from unabashedly mentioning the details about the kinds of punishments given by Jahangir, sometimes also mentions himself to be a witness to Jahangir’s cruelty. For example: “Againe he delighteth to see men executed himself, and torn in pieces with