Sir William Hedges
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Sir William Hedges (21 October 1632 – 6 August 1701) was an English merchant and the first
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
(1681–1683) 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 ...
(EIC) in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. In later life, his positions included joint
sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...
for 1694.


Life and career

He was born in Coole in
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, Ireland, the eldest son of Robert and Catharine Hedges. The Hedges had their roots in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
, and had originally gone by the surname of Lacy. Details of Hedges' early career are unclear, but it is known that he went to Turkey as a trader for the
Levant Company The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...
. In his diaries, he refers to his knowledge of colloquial Turkish and
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
. Initially posted to the trading station (or ''factory'') in
Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
, by 1668 he had risen to the position of company treasurer in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. It is alleged, however, that the demands of this position became too much for him. Having arranged for a replacement from Smyrna, he quit Turkey and returned to England around 1670–71. In London, Hedges involved himself in a variety of ventures. He joined the Mercers' Company, supreme among the City's
Livery Companies A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...
. He invested £500 in the recently reformed Royal African Company. He served two stints as a Levant Company assistant. From 1677 to 1680, he was a
councilman A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regio ...
for his local ward of
Bassishaw Bassishaw is a Wards of the City of London, ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap (ward), Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west. It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the cour ...
. He was
Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
of the Green Regiment, London Trained Bands, in 1697. Through his first marriage, Hedges had also aligned himself with London's dissenting
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
movement. His brother-in-law and fellow merchant Jeremy Sambrooke was to become a leading dissenter. Hedges took part in the campaign against the Conventicle Act that forbade religious assemblies of more than five people outside the auspices of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. In the end, however, Hedges returned to the
Anglican church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
.


India

Nearly a decade later, Hedges got his
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 ...
posting. At the time, the Company's commercial interests in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
were managed from
Fort St George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English overseas possessions, English (later British Empire, British) fortress in India. The construction ...
in
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
, more than 800 miles down the coast. However, this arrangement was proving inadequate. Business in Bengal was expanding steadily, but at the same time the Company's interests were increasingly under threat from native rulers as well as from commercial parties keen on breaking its trade monopoly in that part of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Further, there were rumblings against the management in Madras and accusations of dishonesty against the Company's own officials. The Court of Directors therefore decided that the Bengal station needed more autonomy to cope with its various challenges, and created a separate Agency for the province. Hedges had already been elected as one of the Company's 24 directors in April 1681. On 3 September of that year, he was appointed the first chief agent and governor of the new Bengal Agency. He was instructed to put a stop to the growing exactions of the native rulers and their subordinates, to check the recently organised efforts of the 'interlopers' to break through the EIC's monopoly, and to punish the dishonesty of many of the company's own servants. In particular he was to arrest his predecessor, Matthias Vincent. Hedges sailed from the Downs on 28 January 1682, anchored in
Balasore Balasore, also known as Baleswar, is a city in the state of Odisha, about from the state capital Bhubaneswar and from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balasore district and the largest city as well as heal ...
Road on 17 July, and reached Hoogly on 24 July. His want of tact and prudence brought him into constant collision with his associates in the council at Hoogly, especially with Job Charnock, John Beard, and Francis Ellis, and in the end they proved too strong for him. His detention of Beard's letter to Sir
Josiah Child Sir Josiah Child, 1st Baronet, (c. 1630/31 – 22 June 1699) was an English economist, merchant and politician. He was an economist proponent of mercantilism and governor of the British East India Company, East India Company. He led the compa ...
, the contents of which he had contrived to know, subjected him to the ill-will of the latter. When he attempted to capture Matthias Vincent, the latter, aware that he was about to be taken prisoner, appeared with a party of well-armed soldiers and forced Hedges to retreat to the Dutch settlement of
Chinsurah Hugli-Chuchura (), also known by its former names Chinsurah or Hooghly-Chinsurah, is a city of Hooghly district and the district headquarters of Hooghly division in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the densely populated citie ...
, further inland. Vincent's position was further strengthened by the arrival of his protege Thomas "Diamond" Pitt with more men.


Return to England

On 21 December 1683 the EIC court issued a formal revocation of Hedges' commission, which reached him on 17 July 1684. He accordingly left Hoogly, embarked on 30 December, visited Persia on his way, and landed at Dover on 4 April 1687. On 6 March 1688, he was knighted by James II, and became a member of the Mercers' Company. On 26 May 1690, he, together with Thomas Cook, was put forward by the church party as a candidate for the shrievalty of the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, but neither won. In June 1693 he was chosen
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
along with Alderman
Thomas Abney Sir Thomas Abney (January 1640 – 6 February 1722) was an English merchant and banker who served as Lord Mayor of London from 1700 to 1701. Abney was the son of James Abney and was born in Willesley, then in Derbyshire but now in Leicestershi ...
. A month later he was elected alderman for Portsoken ward. In 1694 he was chosen one of the twenty-four directors of the 'New Bank' (
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
), and four or five years later resumed to a certain extent his connection with the East India Company. In 1698, the old company formed a 'grand committee' of twenty-six gentlemen associated with the twenty-six of their court to deal with certain resolutions hostile to their interests which had been passed by the Commons on 24 May. A similar committee was again formed in January 1699, and of this last Hedges and Sir John Letheuillier were members. The two were deputed on 17 January in that year to open negotiations for coalition with the new company. In 1700 Hedges was a candidate for the mayoralty, but was not successful. He died in London on 5 August 1701, and was buried, as directed in his will, with his first wife at Stratton St Margaret, Wiltshire, on the 15th. Their tomb can be seen in St Margaret's churchyard.


Personal life

He was twice married. His first wife, Susanna, eldest daughter of Nicholas Vanacker of
Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north ...
, Kent, died in childbirth at Hoogly on 6 July 1683, leaving two sons, William and Robert, and a daughter, Susanna. He married as his second wife, on 21 July 1687, Anne, widow of Colonel John Searle of Finchley, and by her had two sons, John and Charles. In 1693, Hedges bought land to the value of £200 in Stratton St Margaret in Wiltshire, and settled it for an augmentation of the vicarage and better maintenance of the vicar and vicars' widows for ever. He also directed that a sermon on charity should be preached annually by the vicar 'the next Sunday to the sixth of July,' the day of his first wife's death. The sermon is suspended, though the endowment continues.


References

;Attribution *


Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, William British governors of Bengal 17th-century English merchants London Trained Bands officers 1632 births 1701 deaths Levant Company