Benjamin Fletcher (14 May 1640 – 28 May 1703) was colonial governor of New York from 1692 to 1697. Fletcher was known for the ''Ministry Act'' of 1693, which secured the place of

Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

as the official religion in New York. He also built the first Trinity Church in 1698. Under Col. Fletcher, piracy was a leading economic development tool in the city's competition with the ports of

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 ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. New York City had become a safe place for pirates. Fletcher was eventually fired for his association with piracy.

Early life

Fletcher was the son of William Fletcher and Abigail Vincent. His father was killed in 1643 during the Siege of Gloucester in the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

Life in America

Since the 1680s, New York city had had to deal with a new, nearby, maritime rival,

, which had boomed since its founding. As added attractions, Philadelphia had "the purest bread and strongest beer in America." Despite such appeal, the pirates preferred the safe confines of New York city and brought considerable wealth into the port of New York, whose commerce had been endangered by the fighting of

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...

. Because of these circumstances, New Yorkersfrom the governor on downturned a blind eye to the criminals. In fact most of New York city eagerly dealt with the various pirates who entered its harbor. The local merchants, along with Fletcher, saw the freebooters as men who carried real money into the colony.Philip Ranlet
"A Safe Haven for Witches? Colonial New York's Politics and Relations with New England in the 1690s"
, ''New York History'' Winter–Spring 2009 (

New York State Historical Association The Fenimore Art Museum (formerly known as New York State Historical Association) is a museum located in Cooperstown, New York on the west side of Otsego Lake. Collection strengths include the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indi ...

) (13 September 2012). Many New Yorkers were cheating the revenue laws by smuggling, some of them sent out ships to trade with pirates for stolen goods, and some of them became pirates themselves. One of the

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s was Captain

William Kidd William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in N ...

, later hanged in England after being convicted of piracy. Kidd used some of his wealth to build a fine home and helped establish the first Trinity Church. Other financiers of piracy were

Frederick Philipse Frederick Philipse (born Frederick Flypsen;Appleton, W.S. ''The Heraldic Journal, Recording the Amorial Bearings and Genealogies of American Families'', Wiggen & Lunt, Boston, 1867 1626 in Bolsward, Netherlands – December 23, 1702), first Lord ...

, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Peter Schuyler, and Thomas Willet. Though strict in religious observances he was fond of luxury, and of extravagant habits, and continually in want of money, both Fletcher and some of his council were in the habit of receiving valuable giftsamounting to blackmailfrom the different pirate ships. Gov. Fletcher granted "trading licenses to ships which everybody knew were interlopers engaged in "the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

trade", as trading with the pirates of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

was politely called; privateering commissions were given to ships which everybody knew were going to sea as pirates; under his government smuggling was carried on by the leading merchants of the city and he granted the licenses and he permitted the smuggling because he was bribed". Fletcher had gotten payments from piratesmostly small sums except when some grateful buccaneers gave the governor their ship, which netted him £800. Edward Randolph, the Crown's agent overseeing trade, amassed evidence that doomed Fletcher's tenure and helped anoint Lord Bellomont as the new governor of New York. Fletcher returned to England and retired to Boyle, County Roscommon in Ireland where he died on 28 May 1703.

Colonial Governor of Pennsylvania

While serving as Governor of New York, King William III appointed Fletcher as Governor of the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

, which he assumed in 1693.

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

was a friend of William's predecessor, James II, and was in political trouble in England at the court. King William wanted to end the pacifism in the Pennsylvania and mold the northern colonies into a unified military force for opposing the French in Canada. Fletcher was able to appoint provincial Council members and he pushed through a taxation bill (on lightly taxed Pennsylvania). However, in 1694, the Assembly reallocated a substantial portion of the tax revenue to Thomas Lloyd and William Markham (who Fletcher appointed as Deputy Governor in his absence). Fletcher then dissolved the Assembly. Eventually Penn was able to persuade King William to return the status quo in the colony of Pennsylvania (by promising to keep Fletcher's tax law and raising a militia) and Penn reassumed his role as Proprietor. Lloyd and Markham continued in their roles as Pennsylvania's political leaders (and render ineffective Fletcher's tax law) with Markham being appointed as Deputy Governor under Penn.

Legacy

Fletcher's first lieutenant in New York, and possible birth son, was Peter Mathews. Mathews was at a minimum a protégé, and Fletcher may have raised him. Mathews named one of his children Vincent (Fletcher's mother's maiden name). Multiple children in the Mathews family carried the name Fletcher and Vincent, including Fletcher Mathews, Tory supporter during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

and brother of New York City Mayor David Mathews, and Vincent Mathews. Fletcher Street in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

is named after him.Ulmann, Albert. A Landmark History of New York: Also the Origin of Street Names and a Bibliography, 1901, page 261

References

External links