Sir James Hayes (1637–1694) was secretary to Prince Rupert and first Deputy-Governor of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

. He was born the son of James Hayes in Beckington, Somerset. He was educated at St Paul's School (London) and

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

, where he matriculated in 1649. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1649 and called to the Bar in 1656. In 1659 he was elected MP for Marlborough (Jan-May 1659) and appointed Recorder of Marlborough. In May 1663 he was a founding

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

. He secured the post as Secretary to Prince Rupert at a time when England and France were vying for the natural riches of what is now Canada. Hayes was behind the 1668 expedition whereby two French fur-traders,

Pierre-Esprit Radisson Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636/1640–1710) was a French fur trader and explorer in New France. He is often linked to his brother-in-law Médard des Groseilliers. The decision of Radisson and Groseilliers to enter the English service led to the fo ...

and

Médard des Groseilliers Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (1618–1696) was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada. He is often paired with his brother-in-law Pierre-Esprit Radisson, who was about 20 years younger. The pair worked together in fur trading and explor ...

, were financially supported in an effort to set up a permanent British trading post on the shores of Hudson Bay. Under Hayes guidance this in May 1672 became the

with the sole rights to trade in a huge area of North America. He became their first Deputy Governor under Prince Rupert, who was the first Governor. He was knighted in 1670. In 1682 he bought Bedgebury Manor in Gouldhurst, Kent from Thomas Culpeper and rebuilt Bedgebury House in a new location within the park. He died in 1694. He had married in 1664 Rachel, daughter of Anthony Hungerford and widow of

Henry Cary, 4th Viscount Falkland Henry Cary, 4th Viscount Falkland (1634 – 2 April 1663) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1659 and 1663. Life Cary was the son of Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland and his wife Lettice Morison, daughter of Si ...

. Their daughter Rachel married Lord David Hay, son of the Marquess of Tweeddale. The

Hayes River The Hayes River is a river in Northern Manitoba, Canada, that flows from Molson Lake to Hudson Bay at York Factory. It was historically an important river in the development of Canada and is now a Canadian Heritage River and the longest natura ...

which flows into Hudson Bay was named after him in 1684.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, James 1637 births 1694 deaths People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Original Fellows of the Royal Society English MPs 1659 Hudson's Bay Company people