Person Hill; Abraham (1633 - 1721); merchant Hill Abraham merchant 1633 - 1721 British Male 16 June 1635 16330418 5 February 1721 17210205 Baptism: St Dionis Backchurch, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe (16 June 1635) Burial: The chancel of Sutton-at-Hone Church, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe (14 February 1721)

Gresham College, London (1660); St John's also known as Sutton Manor, Sutton-at-Hone, Kent (1660-); Aldermanbury, London (1718)

Merchant; administrator Antiquities Languages Natural philosophy Education: Taught himself several languages and natural and moral philosophy Career: Entered his father's merchant business and inherited a legacy on death of his parents (1660); purchased the lease of St John's or 'Sutton Manor' estate, Kent (1660) and introduced apples and pears to the estate, for making cider and perry; colleague and sometime scientific confidant of Robert Hooke FRS; Assistant to the Royal African Company (1683-1685, 1688-1690); Deputy Governor (1691-1692); Commissioner for Trade, Board of Trade (1696-1702); Comptroller to John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury (1691-1694); collected coins and books; retired to his estate of St. John's in Sutton-at-Hone, Kent (1689) Parents: Richard Hill and Agnes Hill Married: 1) Anne Whitelocke (d.1661), daughter of Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke, Kt; 2) Elizabeth Pratt, daughter of Michael Pratt of Bromley-by-Bow, Middlesex Abraham Hill was an Assistant and later Deputy Governor of The Royal Adventurers into Africa, later Royal African Company (RAC) and as such played a significant role in its administration. 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 and as Secretary for the Royal Society in 1682, Abraham Hill was responsible for securing the investment which was approved by the Council of the Royal Society. The RAC held a monopoly on English trade on the west coast of Africa. The original interests of the company were gold and other natural resources. The Company's second charter in 1663 mentions trade in enslaved people, mainly transported to British owned estates in the West Indies and America. The Jesus College Cambridge Legacy of Slavery Working Party has stated that the RAC was responsible for selling more Africans into slavery in America than any other institution in the history of the Atlantic slave trade, and that they ran a brutal regime with the full knowledge of their investors. The company became insolvent in 1708, it survived until 1752 when its assets were transferred to the new African Company of Merchants, which lasted until 1821. Royal Society roles: Council: 1663-1666, 1672-1721; Treasurer 1663-1665, 1679-1700; VP 1715-1716; Secretary 1673-1675 Committee and panels: Committee for the quicksilver experiment (1661); Committee to examine Birchensa's synopsis of music (1662); to review Mersenne on the tenacity of bodies (1662); for the making of statutes (1663); to consider experiments for the entertainment of Charles II (1664), for ordinary meetings (1676, 1680); for agriculture, histories of trade, correspondence, experiments on diving (1664, 1679); for the Repository (1666); for the inventory of the Society's possessions (1676); for the prism experiment in the Newton-Linus dispute (1676); for publication (1676, 1682); for the purchase of property (1678-81, 1703); for the history of Barbados (1681); for verifying entries in the Society's journal and other books (1682); for the publication of the History of Fishes (1685-86) (14); for Estruscan inscriptions (1700) Founder Fellow 28/11/1660 27 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Davies; Wikipedia References: Lyons, H G. 1939. 'Two Hundred Years Ago: 1739', in Notes and Records, vol. 2, pp. 34-42 Turnbull, G H. 1953. 'Samuel Hartlib's Influence on the Early History of the Royal Society', in notes and Records, vol. 10, pp. 101-130 Maddison, R E W. 1960. 'Abraham Hill, FRS (1635-1722)', in Notes and Records, vol. 15, pp. 173-182 Govier, M. 1999. 'The Royal Society, Slavery and the Island of Jamaica: 1660-1700', in Notes and Records, vol. 53, pp. 203-217 Gribbin, J. 2004. 'The Fellowship' (Penguin Books) Malcolmson, C. 2016. 'Studies of skin colour in the early Royal Society' (Routledge) AssocMaterial: Correspondence of Abraham Hill from various repositories is listed in the Early Modern Letters Online catalogue, http://emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/forms/advanced?start=50&people=hill,%20abraham&start=0 Hill P002091.jpg ©The Royal Society International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH4083 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-9738 18 Apr 1633 - 5 Feb 1721 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed as part of Name Authority Project update. NA6148 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 17/12/2025 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/245730896 a59efd26-f396-4a0f-819b-d9210cf880c2