Sir John Watts (c. 1554–1616) was an English merchant,

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and shipowner. He is also one of the founders of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, active in the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...

and was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

in 1606. He is best known for organising joint stock expeditions to the

Spanish main During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish Main was the collective term used by English speakers for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of ...

which were highly successful during England's long war with Spain.Bicheno p. 314

Life

The son of Thomas Watts of

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, he was the owner of the ''Margaret'' and ''John'', one of the ships paid by the city of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1588 to sail against the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

. Watts himself served in her as a volunteer and saw action. In 1590 the same ship was one of a fleet of merchantmen coming home from the Mediterranean, which successfully fought and repelled the Spanish galleys near Cadiz, though Watts was not on board.

Career

Joint stock expeditions

Throughout the war he equipped and financed

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s led by Michael Geare, William Lane and

Christopher Newport Christopher Newport ( – ) was an English seaman and privateer. During the war with Spain Newport was one of the most successful ' Elizabethan Sea Dogs' to venture to the Spanish Main, making large profits. Newport is best known as the c ...

, the

Elizabethan Sea Dogs The Sea Dogs were a group of English privateers and explorers authorised by Queen Elizabeth I to raid England's enemies, whether they were formally at war with them or not. Active from 1560 until Elizabeth's death in 1603, the Sea Dogs primari ...

in highly lucrative joint stock expeditions. A few of his notable successes include his financed and organised expedition to the Spanish main in 1590, the expedition to Cuba the following year and

James Lancaster Sir James Lancaster (c. 1554 – 6 June 1618) was an English privateer and trader of the Elizabethan era. Life and work Lancaster came from Basingstoke in Hampshire. Lancaster was brought up in Portugal as a merchant and soldier, but retu ...

's expedition to Recife in April 1595. Watt's received significant prize money from the success of these expeditions. Another in July 1601 took into

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

a prize coming from the Indies laden with China silks, satins and

taffeta Taffeta (archaically spelled taffety or taffata) is a crisp, smooth, plain woven fabric made from silk, nylon, cuprammonium rayons, acetate, or polyester. The word came into Middle English via Old French and Old Italian, which borrowed the Pers ...

s. At this time he was an alderman of London (Tower ward), and had been suspected of being a supporter of

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...

East India and Virginia Companies

He was one of the founders of the East India Company, and on 11April 1601 was elected its governor, during the imprisonment of Sir Thomas Smythe. He served as a Sheriff of the City of London in 1597. On the accession of James I he was knighted on 26July 1603, becoming

in 1606–1607. The Spanish ambassador however noted his displeasure in this appointment in a letter to the king of Spain, Philip III, describing Watts as "the greatest pirate that has ever been in this kingdom". During the following years he was an active member of the

. In the city of London, Watts was a member of the Clothworkers' Company. Watts died at his seat in Hertfordshire in September 1616, and was buried on the 7th of the month at

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

Family

By his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir James Hawes, knt. (lord mayor in 1574), he left four sons and four daughters. The eldest son, John, served in the Cadiz expedition and was knighted for his good service in 1625; he subsequently served under

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham ( ; 20 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and self-described "lover" of King James VI and I. Buckingham remained at the heigh ...

in the Rhé expedition, and under Count Mansfeldt in the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

; he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Bayning, and aunt of Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning, and left numerous issue. His eldest son (grandson of the lord mayor), who also became Sir John Watts, served an apprenticeship in arms under his father. He was knighted in 1642, and received a commission to raise a troop of arms for the king. Having been expelled from the governorship of

Chirk Castle Chirk Castle () is a Grade I listed castle located in Chirk, Wrexham County Borough, Wales, from Chirk railway station, now owned and run by the National Trust. History The castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk, uncle of Roge ...

, he attached himself to

Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (20 February 16089 March 1649), of Hadham Hall and Cassiobury House, Watford, both in Hertfordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he was raised ...

, and was one of the defenders of

Colchester Castle Colchester Castle is a Norman architecture, Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, d ...

(August 1648). He compounded for delinquency by paying a fine, and was discharged on 11May 1649; however, he was forced to sell to Sir John Buck his manor of Mardocks in Ware. After the Restoration he was made receiver for Essex and Hertfordshire. He died about 1680, and was buried in the church of Hertingfordbury. William Watts, First English Consul in Malta, (Testamente 1610 Notary Gio Simone de Lucia), married to Antonia Logiovanne, their eldest son Alberto Watts, was married in 1623 to Maltese lady Maria Chiantar, their daughter Lady Domenichella Watts was married in 1649 at Saint John's Co-Cathedral in Malta to Italian knight Leonardo de Candia, with issue in the Kingdon of the Two Sicilies (Testamente 1689); first cousins of Robert Watts, who emigrated to the United States, and the father of John Watts, a New York City merchant.The Watts family reference – History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol III, 1836, London, by John Burke, Esq, pages 393 -397, A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, enjoying territorial possessions or high official rank, and univested with heritable honours, by Burke, John, 1787-1848 https://archive.org/details/genealogicalhera03burk/page/392/mode/2up His descendants live on to this day, still remaining in the UK,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and the Americas.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, John 1550s births Year of birth uncertain 1616 deaths 17th-century English knights 16th-century births 16th-century English merchants 17th-century English merchants Sheriffs of the City of London 17th-century lord mayors of London Directors of the British East India Company English people of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) People from Buntingford