Benjamin Bullivant was appointed by

Joseph Dudley Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...

as the first

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

of the

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was a short-lived administrative union of English colonies covering all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies, with the exception of the Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvani ...

. Bullivant was a founder, and the first churchwarden of

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in ...

, Boston. Bullivant was brought up in a noble household in England, and resided in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

prior to moving to

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

. By roughly 1685, Bullivant moved from London to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Bullivant's professions were that of a

Physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

Apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

. While living in Boston, Bullivant was apprehensive on becoming Attorney General, but because of his knowledge of the laws, he was forced to accept the position. According to friend of Bullivant,

John Dunton John Dunton (4 May 1659 – 1733) was an English bookseller and writer. In 1691 he founded The Athenian Society to publish '' The Athenian Mercury'', the first major popular periodical and first miscellaneous periodical in England. In 1693, for ...

, Bullivant's stint as Attorney General was not extreme and focused more on peaceful approaches to problems. Bullivant likely brought a wife over from England, as his daughter Hannah was baptized January 3rd 1685/86, at the

Old South Church Old South Church (also known as New Old South Church or Third Church), is a historic United Church of Christ congregation in Boston, Massachusetts, first organized in 1669. Its present building at 645 Boylston Street was designed in the Gothic R ...

. Although it seems neither he nor his wife were members of said church. Bullivant was the Senior Warden of King's Chapel from 1686-1687. Bullivant was appointed to Attorney General under

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714; also spelled ''Edmond'') was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the Dominion of New England. Andros' rule as governor was authoritarian and turbulent, which caused him to be overthrown in the

1689 Boston revolt The 1689 Boston revolt was a popular uprising on April 18, 1689, against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England. A well-organized "mob" of provincial militia and citizens formed in the town of Boston, the ca ...

. Bullivant, who had played a "conspicuous" part during his administration was in turn arrested and imprisoned for 8 weeks in a common jail. He was then detained for many months in Boston before escaping to England, after his petitions to the

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

. Although it seems he must have returned to Boston later in his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullivant, Benjamin) Massachusetts attorneys general Lawyers from colonial Massachusetts Year of birth missing Year of death missing Emigrants from the Kingdom of England