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Biography & Autobiography Historical

The New England Knight

Sir William Phips, 1651-1695

by (author) Emerson W. Baker & John G. Reid

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Jun 1998
Category
Historical, Colonial Period (1600-1775)
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802009258
    Publish Date
    Jun 1998
    List Price
    $83.00

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

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Description

Born in 1651 in what is now Maine, William Phips became a sea captain out of Boston, an adventurer in search of Spanish treasure in the Caribbean. He captured and plundered Port Royal in Acadia, now Nova Scotia, and led an unsuccessful expedition against Quebec in 1690. He became the first royal governor of Massachusetts in 1692, put an end to the Salem witchcraft trials, and negotiated a treaty with the native Wabanaki.

This biography presents a well-rounded picture of Phips, one that looks at all phases of his colourful career. He was an unusual figure among colonial governors, and his very uniqueness, as well as his difficulties as governor, help us to understand the politics and society of New England during his era. Helped and hindered by his obscure origins, Phips struggled for advancement, and his struggle illustrates the fluid nature of the British Empire in the late seventeenth century.

Phips's life was left unexplored by scholars for the past seventy years. The New England Knight reconstructs his career using contemporary material that brings life and immediacy to the narrative. It interacts with recent studies in colonial, imperial, aboriginal, and marine history to set Phips's eventful life in context.

About the authors

Emerson W. Baker is a professor in the Department of History at Salem State College.

Emerson W. Baker's profile page

John G. Reid is a member of the Department of History at Saint Mary’s University and Senior Research Fellow of the Gorsebrook Research Institute. He has published books and articles on northeastern North America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

 

John G. Reid's profile page