Authorised form of name | Player; Sir; Thomas (- 1686); merchant and politician |
Dates | - 1686 |
Nationality | British |
Date of death | 14 January 1686 |
DatesAndPlaces | Burial: Hackney, London, England, Europe (20 January 1686) |
Activity | Career: Captain (1642), subsequently Colonel of the Yellow Regiment of the trained bands; Colonel of the White Auxiliary Regiment of Militia (1660); Commissioner for Assessment for Middlesex (1661-1680), and for London (1673-1680); Deputy Lieutenant of London (1662-1677); Leader of the Honourable Artillery Company (1669-1677); Assistant, Royal Africa Company (1672-1675); Lieutenant-Colonel, afterwards Colonel, Orange Regiment of Milita (1672-1677); Chamberlain of London (1672-1683); Commissioner for Recusants for Middlesex (1675); MP for the City of London (1678-1681); Commissioner for Disbandment (1679); fined 500 marks for participating in a riot at the election of sheriffs (1682) Honours: Kt 1660 Memberships: Haberdashers' Company (1659)
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Membership category | Fellow |
Date of election | 27/11/1673 |
Proposer | Seth Ward |
Date of ejection or withdrawal | 22 July 1685 |
Other Royal Society activity | Proposed on 20 November 1673; Admitted on 1 December 1673; Expelled due to non-payment of arrears |
Relationships | Parents: Sir Thomas Player and Rebecca Player Married: Joyce Kendall |
OtherInfo | Player was vocally opposed to a Catholic succession to the throne and as a member of parliament also sat on the committee to investigate the 'Popish Plot'. This did not facilitate a reconciliation with the Duke of York in 1685, when his estate was temporarily seized.
Player was also an assistant in the Royal African Company (RAC). The RAC was a British trading company established by Royal Charter in 1660 which enslaved and sold African people. The company was chartered by Charles II, the founding royal Patron of the Royal Society, which was also chartered in 1660. The RAC was made up of and funded by members of the Stuart royal family and London merchants many of whom were, or went on to become, Fellows of the Royal Society. The Royal Society itself held shares in the company from 1682 until 1699. The RAC held a monopoly on English trade on the west coast of Africa. The principal interest of the company was originally gold and secondarily other natural resources. The Company's second charter in 1663 mentions trade in enslaved people, who were mainly sold into slavery on British owned estates in the West Indies and America. |
Source | Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB (father's entry); Henning; ODNB |
Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/62949523 |
Code | NA3498 |