Today in Salem: It’s the second smallest class of warship in the Royal Navy, built for speed, turning like a horse on a tight rein. 36 guns punctuate the ship like rivets; 18 on each side, ready to attack or defend without warning. Now the Nonsuch is arriving in Boston Harbor, peacefully, with the royally appointed Governor William Phips aboard.
Governor Phips has been sailing for weeks, and now he sways a little on his sea legs as he crosses the dock. In his right hand is the new Royal Charter, and he holds it aloft as he steps onto the shore. Someone else could have carried it; one of the lesser officials perhaps, or the ship’s captain. But the people of Massachusetts have waited eight years for this moment. They’ve had no government, no high court, no military protection, nothing, for eight years. And now it’s back.
The magistrates have been waiting to receive him in the Town House, and now the candles flicker as Phips begins to read his commission to them.
“By these prsents Doe Constitute and appoint you the said Sir William Phipps to be our Captain Generall and Governor in Chief in and over our said Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England and for your better Guidance and Direcc͞o͞n Wee doe hereby require you to doe and Execute all things in due manner that shall belong vnto the Trust Wee have reposed in you.”
There’s more, several pages more, but it’s growing darker. Tomorrow is the Sabbath, and the sun is about to set. There will be time later to read the words of the King and Queen. For now, though, it’s time to begin observing the Holy Day.
Meanwhile, the pace of arrests in Salem continues. Just today the magistrates have issued arrest warrants for nine more people, including three members of George Jacobs Sr.’s family. They also issue a second warrant for John Willard, who’s been in hiding for four days.
WHY was the Charter so important?
A “Charter” is a document that establishes a new colony, details how the government will be formed, and dictates what laws will be followed.
The story of the Charter and why it had such a huge effect on the Puritans can be divided into three stages: getting the first Charter, losing it through disobedience, and earning a new one.
Here are the general highlights.
Stage 1: The King gives the Puritans a Charter
In 1629, eight years after the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower, a thriving trade in fish and fur had evolved. So the English formed a Company to manage it. The King gave them a Charter, with permission to move to New England and form their own government, as long as they followed English law.
Many of the Company’s stockholders were Puritans, who’d been wanting to form their own religious commonwealth. They knew an opportunity when they saw one. So they bought out their non-Puritan colleagues and moved to New England by themselves, taking the Charter with them. In the next decade, about 20,000 more Puritans followed.
Stage 2: The Puritans break the rules and the Charter is revoked
Now, far away from the eyes of the King (Charles I), the Puritans began to bend the rules, reinterpret, and even ignore parts of the Charter to suit their own interests. Among many things, they cut England out of lucrative trade deals; started minting their own money (melting down English currency to do it); and bypassed English laws, creating their own (especially against other religions).
This continued for more than 50 years, but England was too busy with other problems to notice: A civil war broke out, the King was beheaded, there was no monarchy at all for ten years, and the Great Plague had decimated London.
In 1684, King #2 (Charles II) punished the independently-minded Puritans and revoked the Charter. They could still live in New England, he said, but they could no longer build their own government. Instead, the King would appoint it, and enforce English law.
The ink was barely dry when the King died.
Enter King #3 (James II), who went much, much further. Without a Charter, Massachusetts didn’t legally exist as its own entity, so it had no government or laws of its own. Instead, the King appointed an extremely unpopular governor who combined many of the colonies into one mega-colony, forced the Puritans to open their churches to Anglicans (the very religion Puritans were rebeling against), seized land from individual landowners, and imposed new taxes, which the furious colonists refused to pay.
Meanwhile, back in England, the King was overthrown. When the people of Boston heard about it, they rioted until the unpopular royal governor was gone. Then they decided to go back to their old way of running things, as if they still had a Charter (which they didn’t).
Now, in 1688, the Puritans had been without a charter for four years, and were subject to their fourth King (and his Queen). To keep things steady, England let them have their old Governor, who’d been in office when the Puritans had a Charter. But he had no real authority to govern.
It was the perfect storm: No Charter, no government, no high courts – and then the Witchcraft Hysteria broke out in Salem. With nothing more than local officials and jails, all they could do was arrest people and wait.
Stage 3: The Puritans are given a more restrictive Charter
Finally, in late 1691, King William III and Queen Mary II gave the Puritans a new Charter that restored their government, but on royal terms. Massachusetts was no longer autonomous: It was a royal colony, and the King would appoint the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Judges. The Puritans were required to tolerate other Protestant denominations. And all male property owners could vote, not just church members.
Not everyone was happy. Many people insisted on getting the original Charter back. That wasn’t possible, though, so their representatives negotiated as well as they could for a second Charter.
Although Massachusetts had lost much of its self-government, at least it had one now. The business of legislating could resume, as could the Court system.
This is the Charter that the royally appointed Governor William Phips carried with him from the King and Queen.
Tomorrow in Salem: INDICTED AND JAILED: former deputy John Willard. RELEASED: the pious Mary Esty.