Overview
Richard Hakluyt the Elder helped lay the ideological foundation for English colonization of North America. Working closely with his younger cousin, Richard Hakluyt the Younger, he promoted overseas expansion and influenced England’s exploration policy. In 1585, he published Inducements to the Liking of the Voyage, which outlined the religious, economic, and political benefits of colonization.
Personal Facts
- Also Known As: Richard Hakluyt the Lawyer.
- Born: 1530.
- Died: Around 1591.
- Counterparts: Queen Elizabeth I, Richard Hakluyt the Younger, Walter Raleigh, Martin Frobisher, John Hawkins, and Francis Drake.
- Works: Inducements to the Liking of the Voyage Intended towards Virginia (1585).
- Part of: Age of Exploration.
- Significance: Richard Hakluyt the Elder is important to American History for the role he played in encouraging English exploration, promoting the establishment of colonies in North America, and inspiring Richard Hakluyt the Younger.
Biographical Notes
Early Life
Richard Hakluyt the Elder was born in Herefordshire, England, around 1530.
- His father was Thomas Hakluyt.
- In 1555, he was admitted to the Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Courts in London, to study law.
- Around 1557, likely became the guardian for his younger cousins, including another Richard Hakluyt, who is known as Richard Hakluyt the Younger.
- In 1558, Hakluyt the Elder was elected to Parliament, representing the town of Leominster in Herefordshire.
Advocacy for Colonization
Richard Hakluyt the Elder worked with his cousin, Richard Hakluyt the Younger, and supported English colonization of North America in the late 16th Century. Prior to their involvement, English knowledge of North America was limited and disorganized.
- The two of them lived and worked in places such as Bristol, Paris, Oxford, and London
- They were part of a group of explorers and writers who helped develop England’s overseas expansion policies during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
- Their efforts, along with those of their associates, helped England embrace colonization.
Connection to the Middle Temple
In the 1560s, Richard Hakluyt the Elder was a member of the Middle Temple in London, which was one of the Inns of Court where lawyers studied the law.
- During this time, the Middle Temple became linked with overseas exploration.
- Members of the Middle Temple included prominent Elizabethan explorers such as Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh, Martin Frobisher, and John Hawkins. He was also associated with Adrian Gilbert, the brother of Humphrey Gilbert.
- Hakluyt gained important knowledge about exploration during his time at the Middle Temple.
Unfortunately, there is very little biographical information that exists about Hakluyt. However, he is mentioned in the Middle Temple records and the writings of Richard Hakluyt the Younger.
Turning Point for Hakluyt the Younger
Around 1568, Hakluyt hosted his younger cousin, who was about 16 years old, at the Middle Temple.
- Hakluyt noticed his cousin studying a map and started explaining the political and economic systems of different parts of the world.
- He then read from Psalm 107 in the Bible about those who go to sea and witness God’s works.
- This moment inspired the younger Hakluyt to pursue an intellectual path that would influence the English understanding of the New World and colonization in the Western Hemisphere.
Hakluyt the Younger recalled this later, writing:
“…it was my hap to visit the chamber of Mr. Richard Hakluyt my cousin, a gentleman of the Middle Temple, well known unto you, at a time when I found lying open upon his board certain books of cosmography, with a universal map: he, seeing me somewhat curious in the view thereof, began to instruct my ignorance by showing me the division of the earth into three parts after the old account, and then according to the latter and better distribution into more: he pointed with his wand to all the known seas, gulfs, bays, straits, capes, rivers, empires, kingdoms, dukedoms and territories of each part, with declaration also of their special commodities and particular wants, which by benefit of traffic and intercourse of merchants are plentifully supplied.”
Proposal for a World Map
Around this same time, Hakluyt the Elder connected with Abraham Ortelius, a cosmographer from Flanders.
- Hakluyt suggested the development of a new map of the world.
- He also proposed the construction of a piece of furniture to display maps in homes.
- In 1570, Ortelius published a collection of 57 maps, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Atlas of the World), which was influenced by information provided by Hakluyt.
Search for the Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage was a legendary sea route through northern North America that shortened the journey from Europe to the Far East. Explorers sought the passage for more than 200 years, which contributed to the early exploration of North America and territorial claims of European nations along the Atlantic Coast. Despite Hakluyt’s support, the Northwest Passage was not found during the Age of Exploration.
In 1576, Humphrey Gilbert published “A Discourse of a Discoverie for a New Passage to Cataia,” which suggested that a northern route from Europe to the Far East, the “Northwest Passage,” had not yet been discovered.
- In 1578, Queen Elizabeth I granted Gilbert a patent to explore lands that had not yet been claimed by Christian nations.
- Gilbert led an expedition that failed to find the passage.
Hakluyt was intrigued, believing additional discoveries could be made if the Northwest Passage was found.
- He believed finding the Northwest Passage could bring honor to England, which would also benefit from trade with Japan and Cathay (China).
- Hakluyt supported the establishment of colonies in the New World, on the Atlantic Coast, between present-day Maine and Pennsylvania.
- Hakluyt believed the colonies could become self-sufficient through agriculture and the production of goods that could be traded.
Hakluyt devised instructions for English explorers to follow when visiting the New World. These were eventually published for the public to read by Richard Hakluyt the Younger.
- In 1578, Gilbert commissioned Hakluyt the Elder to write a pamphlet on colonization and the selection of a settlement site.
- In 1579, he wrote the instructions for an expedition to Persia to study manufacturing and dyeing carpets, which was funded by the Dyers’ Company.
- He also wrote instructions for the Muscovy Company (1580) and compiled information for the Levant Company (1582).
In 1583, Gilbert led an expedition that claimed Newfoundland for England. During the return voyage, Gilbert’s ship was lost at sea, and he was never seen again. Afterward, his patent for exploration was passed on to his half-brother, Walter Raleigh, who had also been a partner in Gilbert’s expeditions. Raleigh followed in Gilbert’s footsteps, intending to establish a colony in America.
Hakluyt the Elder’s Argument for Colonizing North America
In 1585, in support of Raleigh, Hakluyt the Elder wrote Inducements to the Liking of the Voyage Intended towards Virginia. In it, Hakluyt listed the benefits of colonization and the potential goods to be obtained or cultivated in North America as a result of Raleigh’s expeditions.
- He summarized the goals of colonization as “1. To plant Christian religion. 2. To trafficke. 3. To conquer. Or, to doe all three.”
Hakluyt emphasized the religious purpose of colonization, calling for the “glory of God by planting religion among those infidels.” He argued that colonization would “increase the force of the Christians” by converting indigenous people to Protestantism.
Other benefits included:
- Bringing glory to Queen Elizabeth I.
- Finding new markets for English goods.
- Possibly discovering the Northwest Passage.
He also believed that colonization would provide jobs for unemployed or underemployed youth, which he referred to as “our people void of sufficient trades.”
- Hakluyt included a list of skilled workers needed for a colony.
- He provided examples of agricultural products commonly found in North America.
AHC Note — Hakluyt also suggested that England could improve itself by sending the “offals of our people” to the New World. Some historians view this as part of a “humanitarian effort.” Hakluyt the Younger echoed his cousin’s sentiments, saying Virginia could be a place for the “wandering beggars of England” but also argued it might give them a chance to “…be unladen…” and “…better bred up…”
Hakluyt the Elder’s Declining Legacy
Hakluyt the Elder supported Raleigh’s expeditions that attempted to establish a colony on Roanoke Island. Raleigh’s attempts to establish a colony ultimately failed, and the last group of settlers, known as the “Lost Colony,” disappeared.
- Over time, Hakluyt the Elder’s contributions to English colonization were overshadowed by his cousin.
- By the time of Hakluyt’s death around 1591, his cousin was recognized as the leading advocate for establishing English colonies in North America.
Despite this, Hakluyt the Younger credited Hakluyt the Elder as a significant source of information regarding North American locations, including Roanoke Island, New Spain, and Newfoundland.
Appendix
Contemporaries and Associates
Francis Drake (c. 1540–1596) — Drake was an English admiral, explorer, and privateer who became the first man to circumnavigate the globe and survive the journey. Celebrated in England for his raids against Spain and his role in defeating the Spanish Armada, he was reviled in Spain as the “Dragon” for his acts of piracy.
Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) — The daughter of Henry VIII, she was one of the most famous monarchs of England. She played an important role in the development of Colonial America by supporting Walter Raleigh’s expeditions, which led to the founding of the Roanoke Island Colony, the first English settlement in North America. Her death in 1603 ended the House of Tudor’s reign in England.
Martin Frobisher (1539–1594) — Frobisher was an English explorer, privateer, and naval officer who led three Arctic voyages in the 1570s seeking the Northwest Passage and gold. Although unsuccessful, his expeditions marked the first recorded European contact with the Inuit People and influenced later British exploration.
Richard Hakluyt the Younger (c. 1551–1616) — An English geographer and promoter of colonization who compiled accounts of explorers and advocated for English settlement in the Americas. His works, including Divers Voyages (1582) and The Principall Navigations (1589), encouraged expansion, conversion of Native Americans to Christianity, and the growth of English influence abroad.
John Hawkins (1532–1595) — Hawkins was an English naval commander and slave trader during the 16th century. Hawkins played a key role in the development of the English Slave Trade. Hawkins oversaw voyages to West Africa, where he captured and transported African slaves to be sold in the Spanish Colonies of the Americas.
Walter Raleigh (c. 1554–1618) — Raleigh was an English explorer, soldier, and courtier who played a significant role in early English colonization efforts in North America during the Elizabethan Era. A favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, Raleigh received a patent to explore and claim lands for the English crown. He financed and promoted the Roanoke Colony (1585–1587), the first English attempt at permanent settlement, though it ultimately failed. His efforts helped pave the way for later colonial ventures such as Jamestown. Raleigh fell out of favor under King James I, was imprisoned for treason, and executed in 1618.
Sea Dogs — A group of English Privateers and Pirates who operated during the Elizabethan Era in the late 16th Century. These seafaring adventurers, authorized by the English Crown, carried out raids and attacks against Spanish ships and colonies in the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean. Led by notable figures such as Francis Drake, John Hawkins, Martin Frobisher, and Walter Raleigh, the Sea Dogs played a significant role in challenging Spanish dominance at sea and contributing to England’s rise as a naval power.
