Richard Hakluyt

Richard Hakluyt, born in fifteen fifty-two, was a prominent English geographer, writer, and Anglican Protestant priest. His literary contributions significantly advanced the English colonization efforts in North America, with notable works such as Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America published in fifteen eighty-two and The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation spanning from fifteen eighty-nine to sixteen hundred.

Educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, Hakluyt's career was marked by his role as chaplain and secretary to Sir Edward Stafford, the English ambassador to France, from fifteen eighty-three to fifteen eighty-eight. His ordination as a priest led him to hold significant positions at both Bristol Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, where he served as personal chaplain to Robert Cecil, the first Earl of Salisbury, who was a principal Secretary of State under both Elizabeth I and James I.

Hakluyt's advocacy for the colonization of Virginia was pivotal; he was the chief promoter of a petition to King James I that resulted in the granting of letters patent to the Virginia Company in sixteen hundred six. His legacy continues through the Hakluyt Society, established in eighteen forty-six, which is dedicated to publishing scholarly editions of primary records related to voyages and travels.