In the year 1661 Connecticut received from the hand of Charles the Second a very liberal charter granting to the people of the colony almost complete self-government and to the colony an enormous stretch of territory extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. For fifteen years the colony prospered under the generous charter. Then in 1676 trouble arose with the Governor of New York, Sir Edmund Andros, about the boundary line between the two colonies. Andros demanded authority over all the land west of the Connecticut River. Governor Treat of Connecticut refused to submit. Andros threatened to seize the disputed land. Treat defied him. Andros fitted out three ships, embarked a military force, and set out for Saybrooke, Connecticut. Treat ordered out the militia, garrisoned the fort at Saybrooke, and waited.
Our first scene is in the fort on the morning of July 9, 1676. The Governor is at breakfast when he hears—
VOICE [distance]
Sail, ho!
ALL [closer]
Sail, ho! Here they come; call the governor [etc.]
ALLYN [coming in]
Governor! Governor! The ships are coming into the harbor!
TREAT
Are you certain they are the ships of Governor Andros?