The National Archives
> Exhibitions > Black Presence
Adventurers and Slavers
The Atlantic slave trade resulted
in the enforced scattering of millions of Africans to the Caribbean,
the Americas and elsewhere - including Britain. A significant early English figure was John Hawkins. His
father, William Hawkins, made the first English expeditions
to West Africa in the1530s. William Hawkins was an adventurous
trader who set out to explore the Guinea coast. His voyages
were made in search of commercial materials such as
Exploration and trade were the most significant reasons for
people to move around the world during the 15th and early