The English sailor and administrator Henry Worsley Hill (21 May 1799 – 14 October 1868) was a Captain in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and Governor of the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. He was the eldest son of Vice-Admiral

Henry Hill Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 – June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testif ...

(1775–1849) and Ann Worsley (1779–1805).jou ma

Biography

Hill was born in the village of

Freshwater, Isle of Wight Freshwater is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. The southern, coastal part of the village is Freshwater Bay, named for the adjacent small cove. Freshwater sit ...

, England. Hill was the eldest son of Vice-Admiral Henry Hill (1775–1849) and Ann Worsley (1779–1805). He entered the

on 24 March 1810. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 13 July 1824, he served under his father on starting on 20 December 1825. On 31 March 1826, he remained as a lieutenant under his father on . In January 1828, he was posted to HMS ''Tribune'', serving on the Royal Navy's South American station, and remained in this assignment until December 1831. From 21 September 1833 to 1 January 1834 he was an officer on , under the command of Henry Ducie Chads, in the East Indies. In December 1834 Hill returned to HMS ''Melville'', now the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of John Gore, in the East Indies for twelve months. Promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

, he was assigned to the command of , a , at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

and coast of Africa, from 14 April 1837 to 1841. During his tenure of command of HMS ''Saracen'', Hill captured the Spanish slave-holding

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Labradora'' on 31 March 1839 and emancipated its cargo of 248 slaves. After an investigation, it was learned that ''Labradora'' was to convey up to 300 slaves to the Island of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. On 7 February 1840, Hill seized the schooner ''Sénégambie'' in the port of St. Mary's, on the

River Gambia The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigable f ...

, while it underwent repairs. ''Sénégambie'' "was equipped in some respects for the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

." Its owner, M. Jacques Marbeau, was ordered to trial by the Vice-Admiralty Court for aiding and abetting the slave trade. On 6 March 1843 Hill was appointed the first 'proper'

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the British colony of the

, a position he retained until 8 March 1845. One of the highlights of Hill's governorship was the signing of the Bond of 1844. This treaty, signed by several chiefs, established British law in the area, including the abolition of human sacrifice and

panyarring Panyarring was the practice of seizing and holding persons until the repayment of debt or resolution of a dispute which became a common activity along the Atlantic coast of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. The practice developed from pawnshi ...

. On 1 July 1845 Hill married Amelia Jane Boyce (1821–1895), eldest daughter of Henry Pytches Boyce (1786–1858) and Lady Amelia Sophia (''née'' Spencer), daughter of George, third Duke of Marlborough. The couple would go on to have ten children. He died on 14 October 1868.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Henry Worsley 1799 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Royal Navy personnel Royal Navy officers Governors of the Gold Coast (British colony) People from Freshwater, Isle of Wight