William Hedges (colonial administrator)

Sir William Hedges (21 October 1632 – 6 August 1701) was an English merchant and the first governor of the East India Company (EIC) in Bengal.

He was born in Coole in County Cork, Ireland, the eldest son of Robert and Catharine Hedges. The Hedges had their roots in Wiltshire, 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. In his diaries, he refers to his knowledge of colloquial Turkish and Arabic. Initially posted to the trading station (or factory) in Smyrna, by 1668 he had risen to the position of company treasurer in Constantinople. 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. 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 even a councilman for his local ward of Bassishaw.

Through his first marriage, Hedges had also aligned himself with London's dissenting Protestant 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. In the end, however, Hedges returned to the Anglican church.

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