Henry Hawley (colonial administrator)
Henry Hawley was an English colonial administrator who served as the governor of Barbados beginning in 1630. He came from a mercantile family; his father, James Hawley, was a successful merchant who held leases in Brentford, Middlesex, and later Boston Manor. Henry trained as a mercer and did an apprenticeship at the Three Cranes Tavern in London. Several of his siblings also pursued ventures in the New World.
In 1630 Hawley arrived in Barbados as a commissioner to James Hay, the Earl of Carlisle, who had become the island’s proprietor after a dispute over patents. Hawley governed under Hay’s ownership, during a time when Hay’s debts were shaping the island’s administration.
Hawley’s rule was marked by heavy taxes and tariffs designed to pay the Hay family’s debts. These measures damaged trade and made him highly unpopular. He died in debt in 1636, and trustees were appointed to manage his estate and its obligations.
Modern historians generally view his tenure as harsh and unpopular, describing him as tyrannical and a drinker. There is debate about whether he introduced an early slave code in 1636 that supposedly made enslaved Black people on Barbados enslaved for life. Some scholars, like Darryll Clarke, argue that such a code existed, but many historians doubt this, noting that the first official slave code is usually dated to 1661.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 01:34 (CET).