Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As captain of the third-rate HMS Berwick, he took part in the Battle of Toulon in February 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession. He also captured six ships of a French squadron in the Bay of Biscay in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre in October 1747.
Hawke went on to achieve a victory over a French fleet at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759 during the Seven Years' War, preventing a French invasion of Britain. He developed the concept of a Western Squadron, keeping an almost continuous blockade of the French coast throughout the war.
Hawke also sat in the British House of Commons from 1747 to 1776 and served as First Lord of the Admiralty for five years between 1766 and 1771. In this post, he was successful in bringing the navy's spending under control and also oversaw the mobilisation of the navy during the Falklands Crisis in 1770.
Hawke was the only son of Edward Hawke, a barrister of Lincoln's Inn, and his wife Elizabeth Bladen, a daughter of Nathaniel Bladen of Hemsworth in Yorkshire, and widow of Col. Ruthven. Hawke benefited from the patronage of his maternal uncle, Colonel Martin Bladen, a Member of Parliament.
Hawke joined the navy as a volunteer in the sixth-rate HMS Seahorse on the North American Station in February 1720. Promoted to lieutenant on 2 June 1725, he transferred to the fifth-rate HMS Kingsale on the West Coast of Africa later that month, to the fourth-rate HMS Portland in the Channel Squadron in April 1729 and to the fourth-rate HMS Leopard in November 1729. After that he moved to the fourth-rate HMS Edinburgh in the Mediterranean Fleet in May 1731, to the sixth-rate HMS Scarborough in January 1732 and to the fourth-rate HMS Kingston, flagship of Commodore Sir Chaloner Ogle, Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station, in December 1732.
After this, Hawke's career accelerated: promoted to commander on 13 April 1733, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Wolf later that month and promoted to captain on 20 March 1734, he became commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS Flamborough later that month. The following year he went on half-pay and did not go to sea again until July 1739 when he was recalled to become commanding officer of HMS Portland on the North American Station and was sent to cruise in the Caribbean with orders to escort British merchant ships. He did this successfully, although it meant his ship did not take part in the British attack on Porto Bello in November 1739 during the War of Jenkins' Ear.
Hawke became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Berwick in June 1743: he did not see action until the Battle of Toulon in February 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession. The fight at Toulon was extremely confused, although Hawke had emerged from it with a degree of credit. While not a defeat for the British, they had failed to take an opportunity to comprehensively defeat the Franco-Spanish fleet when a number of British ships had not engaged the enemy, leading to a mass court martial. Hawke's ship managed to capture the only prize of the battle, the Spanish ship Poder, although it was subsequently destroyed by the French. He was then given command of the second-rate HMS Neptune in August 1745.
Despite having distinguished himself at Toulon, Hawke had few opportunities over the next three years. However, he was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the White on 15 July 1747 and appointed second-in-command of the Western Squadron, with his flag in the fourth-rate HMS Gloucester in August 1747. He went on to replace Vice-Admiral of the White Sir Peter Warren as the Commander-in-Chief, English Channel in charge of the Western Squadron, with his flag in the third-rate HMS Devonshire, in October 1747. Hawke then put a great deal of effort into improving the performance of his crews and instilling in them a sense of pride and patriotism. The Western Squadron had been established to keep a watch on the French Channel ports. Under a previous commander, Lord Anson, it had successfully contained the French coast and in May 1747 won the First Battle of Cape Finisterre when it attacked a large convoy leaving harbour.
The British had received word that there was now an incoming convoy arriving from the West Indies. Hawke took his fleet and lay in wait for the arrival of the French. In October 1747, Hawke captured six ships of a French squadron in the Bay of Biscay in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre. The consequence of this, along with Anson's earlier victory, was to give the British almost total control in the English Channel during the final months of the war. It proved ruinous to the French economy, helping the British to secure an acceptable peace at the negotiations for the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
For Hawke, however, the arrival of peace brought a sudden end to his opportunities for active service. In December 1747, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the naval town of Portsmouth, which he was to represent for the next thirty years. He was not on good terms with the new First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Anson, although they shared similar views on how any future naval war against France should be waged. In spite of their personal disagreements, Anson had a deep respect for Hawke as an admiral, and pushed unsuccessfully for him to be given a place on the Admiralty board. Promoted to Vice-Admiral of the Blue on 26 May 1748, he became Port Admiral at Portsmouth serving in that post for three years. He was installed as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB) on 26 June 1749 and was recalled as Port Admiral at Portsmouth in 1755.
As it began to seem more likely that war would break out with France, Hawke was promoted to Vice-Admiral of the White on 4 February 1755 and ordered to hoist his flag in the first-rate HMS St George and to reactivate the Western Squadron in spring of that year. This was followed by a command to cruise off the coast of France intercepting ships bound for French harbours. He did this very successfully, and British ships captured more than 300 merchant ships during the period. This in turn further worsened relations between Britain and France, bringing them to the brink of declaring war. France would continue to demand the return of the captured merchant ships throughout the coming war. By early 1756, after repeated clashes in North America, and deteriorating relations in Europe, the two sides were formally at war.
Hawke was sent to replace Admiral of the Blue John Byng as commander in the Mediterranean, with orders to hoist his flag in the second-rate HMS Ramillies, in June 1756. Byng had been unable to relieve Menorca (historically called "Minorca" by the British) following the Battle of Minorca and he was sent back to Britain where he was tried and executed. Almost as soon as Menorca had fallen in June 1756, the French fleet had withdrawn to Toulon in case they were attacked by Hawke. Once he arrived off Menorca, Hawke found that the island had surrendered and there was little he could do to reverse this. He decided not to land the troops he had brought with him from Gibraltar. Hawke then spent three months cruising off Menorca and Marseille before returning home where he gave evidence against Byng. Hawke was subsequently criticised by some of Byng supporter's for not having blockaded either Menorca or Toulon. He was promoted to Admiral of the Blue on 24 February 1757.
Hawke blockaded Rochefort in 1757 and later in the year he was selected to command a naval escort that would land a large force on the coast of France. The expedition arrived off the coast of Rochefort in September. After storming the offshore island of Île-d'Aix, the army commander Sir John Mordaunt hesitated before proceeding with the landing on the mainland. Despite a report by Colonel James Wolfe that they would be able to capture Rochefort, Mordaunt was reluctant to attack. Hawke then offered an ultimatum – either the Generals attacked immediately or he would sail for home. His fleet was needed to protect an inbound convoy from the West Indies, and could not afford to sit indefinitely off Rochefort. Mourdaunt hastily agreed, and the expedition returned to Britain without having made any serious attempt on the town. The failure of the expedition led to an inquiry which recommended the court-martial of Mordaunt, which commenced on 14 December 1757 and at which he was acquitted.