Sir John Watts (c. 1554–1616) was an English merchant,Alderman and shipowner. He is also one of the founders of theEast India Company, active in theVirginia Company and wasLord Mayor of London in 1606. He is best known for organisingjoint stock expeditions to theSpanish main which were highly successful during England'slong war with Spain.^[1]

The son of Thomas Watts ofBuntingford,Hertfordshire, he was the owner of theMargaret andJohn, one of the ships paid by the city ofLondon in 1588 to sail against theSpanish Armada. 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 successfullyfought and repelled the Spanish galleys nearCadiz, though Watts was not on board.

Throughout the war he equipped and financedprivateers led byMichael Geare,William Lane andChristopher Newport, theElizabethan Sea Dogs in highly lucrative joint stock expeditions. A few of his notable successes include his financed and organisedexpedition to the Spanish main in 1590, theexpedition to Cuba the following year andJames Lancaster'sexpedition to Recife in April 1595. Watt's received significant prize money from the success of these expeditions. Another in July 1601 took intoPlymouth a prize coming from the Indies laden with China silks, satins andtaffetas. At this time he was an alderman of London (Tower ward), and had been suspected of being a supporter ofRobert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.

He was one of the founders of theEast India Company, and on 11 April 1601 was elected its governor, during the imprisonment ofSir Thomas Smythe. He served as aSheriff of the City of London in 1597. On the accession ofJames I he was knighted on 26 July 1603, becomingLord Mayor of London 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".^[1] During the following years he was an active member of theVirginia Company. In the city of London, Watts was a member of theClothworkers' Company.

Watts died at his seat in Hertfordshire in September 1616, and was buried on the 7th of the month atWare.

By his wife Margaret, daughter ofSir 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 underGeorge Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham in theRhé expedition, and underCount Mansfeldt in theElectorate of the Palatinate; he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Bayning, and aunt ofPaul 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 ofChirk Castle, he attached himself toArthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham, and was one of the defenders ofColchester Castle (August 1648). He compounded for delinquency by paying a fine, and was discharged on 11 May 1649; however, he was forced to sell to Sir John Buck his manor of Mardocks in Ware. After theRestoration he was made receiver for Essex and Hertfordshire. He died about 1680, and was buried in thechurch 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 atSaint John's Co-Cathedral in Malta to Italian knight Leonardo de Candia, with issue in theKingdon of the Two Sicilies (Testamente 1689); first cousins of Robert Watts, who emigrated to the United States, and the father ofJohn Watts, a New York City merchant.^[2]

His descendants live on to this day, still remaining in the UK,England andWales, and the Americas.

• Bicheno, Hugh (2012).Elizabeth's Sea Dogs: How England's Mariners Became the Scourge of the Seas. Conway.ISBN 978-1-84486-174-3.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Watts, John (d.1616)".Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

• 1550s births
• 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

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
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• Year of birth uncertain