Colonial governor, born in Pemmaquid, Maine, USA. He was successively shepherd, carpenter, and trader, and in 1687 recovered £300 000 from a wrecked Spanish ship off the Bahamas. This gained him a knighthood and the appointment as provost-marshal of New England. In 1690 he captured Port Royal (now Annapolis) in Nova Scotia, but failed in 1691 in a naval attack upon Quebec. In 1692 he became governor of Massachusetts, and the force behind the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 burned itself out when his wife was accused of witchcraft.
Sir William Phips (or Phipps) (February 2, 1651 or 1650 – February 18, 1694 or 1695), colonial governor of Massachusetts, was born at Woolwich, Maine, near the mouth of the Kennebec River.
Military career
Phips was the twenty-sixth child in his family, and was a poor shepherd until he was eighteen, and then a ship carpenter's apprentice in Maine for four years.
Of this amount much went to the Duke of Albemarle, who had fitted out the second expedition. Phips received £16,000 as his share, was knighted by James II, and was appointed sheriff of New England under Sir Edmund Andros.
He joined Cotton Mather's, North Church in Boston, and was appointed by the General Court commander of an expedition against the French in Canada. Phips generously bought at their par value, in order to give them credit in the colony, many of the colony's bills issued to pay for the expedition.
England
In the winter of 1690 he returned to England, vainly sought aid for another expedition against Canada, and urged, with Increase Mather, the colonial agent, a restoration of the colony's charter, annulled during the reign of Charles II.
Salem witch trials
On reaching Boston in May 1692, Phips found the colony in a disordered condition, and though honest, persevering and disinclined to further his own interests at the expense of the people, he was unfit for the difficult position.
In defending the frontier he displayed great energy, but his policy of building forts was expensive and therefore unpopular.
Death
While in London awaiting trial, he died on February 18, 1695.
References
^ Nash, Gary B. This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.|
Preceded by: Simon Bradstreet |
Governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 1692-1693 |
Succeeded by: William Stoughton |
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