TheObservations of Sir Richard Hawkins in his Voyage into the South Sea was the first volume issued by the Hakluyt Society, in 1847. It was edited by Admiral C. R. Drinkwater Bethune, C.B.; and most of his valuable foot-notes in the first edition have been retained, especially those explaining old sea terms and Spanish phrases. Some of the Admiral's notes have been omitted as having become obsolete, or from other considerations. As the first edition is now out of print, it has become necessary to reproduce it. The Council decided that the present volume should be made more complete, by including the narratives of the voyages of Sir Richard's grandfather William, of his father Sir John, and of his cousin William Hawkins. It is, therefore, intended to be a monograph of the naval enterprises of the great Elizabethan navigators of the name of Hawkins.

The first of that name made three voyages to Brazil in the time of Henry VIII, and was one of our earliest naval pioneers. The second was closely connected with the history of our navy, both as a gallant commander at sea and as an able administrator on shore, during upwards of thirty eventful years.