Richard Nicolls ( – 28 May 1672) was an English military officer and colonial administrator who served as the first
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
Province of New York
The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...
from 1664 to 1668.
Early life
Richard Nicolls was born in in
Ampthill
Ampthill () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies between Bedford, Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton. At the 2021 census it had a population of 8,825.
Histor ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
. He was the son of
Francis Nicolls, a
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
and politician, and his wife Margaret.
Francis and Margaret were married at
Abbots Langley in 1609; she was the daughter of
Sir George Bruce, a Scottish merchant who built
Culross Palace
Culross Palace is a late 16th to early 17th century merchant's house in Culross, Fife, Scotland.
The palace, or "Great Lodging", was constructed between 1597 and 1611 by Sir George Bruce of Carnock, George Bruce, the Laird of Carnock. The house ...
, and a niece of
Edward Bruce, 1st Lord Kinloss.
Career
He commanded a royalist troop of horse (i.e., cavalry) during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, and on the defeat of the king went into exile. Soon after the
Restoration he became
Groom of the Chamber to the
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
.
Province of New York
Through the influence of the Duke of York, in 1664 Nicolls was appointed to a commission with Sir Robert Carr (d. 1667), George Cartwright, and
Samuel Maverick, to conquer
New Netherlands from the Dutch and to regulate the affairs of the New England colonies and settle disputes among them. The expedition set sail from
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
on 25 May 1664, and arrived for the
capture of New Amsterdam on 27 August 1664.
New Amsterdam was surrendered to Nicolls on 8 September 1664. Under authority of a commission from the Duke (later King James) Nicolls assumed the position of deputy-governor of New Netherlands (New York).

He made
74th Street, beginning at the
East River
The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
, the southern border patent line (which was called the "Harlem Line") of the village of Nieuw Haarlem (later, the village of
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
); the English also renamed the village "Lancaster".
In 1663, one year prior to the English gaining control of the New Netherland colony and appointing Nicolls as governor, the
Esopus Wars concluded in present-day
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston, ...
. Waged over territorial disputes between the
Esopus natives and Dutch settlers, the conflict left lingering tensions that Nicolls sought to pacify to prevent future hostilities.
Ultimatley, the Nicolls–Esopus Indian Treaty was ratified in 1665.
Among the treaty’s many terms, the Esopus, “in the names of themselves and their heirs forever,” agreed to “give, grant, alienate, and confirme all their right and interest, claime or demand, to a certaine parcell of land,” including the city of
Kingston and extending to present-day
Kerhonkson. In exchange, the natives received “forty blankets, twenty pounds of powder, twenty knives, six kettles,
ndtwelve barrs of lead,” as well as “three laced red coats” presented as gifts to the tribal leaders. Furthermore, the British and Esopus established a system of trade that included a protected trade path for the Esopus to travel unharmed and a safe house where the Esopus could stay when visiting the village.
The treaty was respected for generations—as evidenced by records of commemorative annual gatherings attended by Esopus leaders and local residents—and it remains recognized and celebrated today by both the City of Kingston and descendants of the Esopus.
Legal System
His policy was vigorous but tactful, and the transition to the new regime was made smoothly and with due regard to the interests of the conquered people. The formerly Dutch colonists were guaranteed in the possession of their property rights, their laws of inheritance, and the enjoyment of religious freedom. The
English system of law and administration was at once introduced into
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
,
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
and
Westchester, where the English element already predominated, but the change was made much more slowly in the Dutch sections.
A code of laws, known as the "
Duke's Laws", drafted by the governor with the help of his secretary and nephew
Matthias Nicolls, was proclaimed at
Hempstead,
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, on 1 March 1665 and continued in force until 1683; the code was compiled from the codes of the
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
colonies, and it provided for trial by jury, for proportional taxation on property, for the issuance of new patents for land and for land tenure only by license from the duke.
Return to England
Nicolls returned to England in the summer of 1668 and continued in the service of the
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
. He was replaced by
Francis Lovelace as New York governor. He was killed by a cannonball
in the naval
battle of Southwold Bay on 28 May 1672. His monument at
Ampthill
Ampthill () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies between Bedford, Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton. At the 2021 census it had a population of 8,825.
Histor ...
incorporates the exact cannonball that killed him.
References
;Notes
;Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolls, Richard
1624 births
1672 deaths
Ampthill
Cavaliers
Governors of the Province of New York
People from Ampthill
People who died at sea
Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars
Military personnel from Bedfordshire
Deaths by cannonball