History of the United States

by John Clark Ridpath

Andros demanding the Charter of Connecticut.

11. His dominion ended suddenly. The English Revolution of 1688 was at hand. James II. was driven from his throne; the system of arbitrary rule which he had established fell with a crash, and Andros with the rest. The news of the accession of William and Mary reached Boston on the 4th of April, 1689. On the 18th of the month, the citizens of Boston rose in rebellion. Andros was seized and marched to prison. The insurrection spread; and before the 10th of May, New England had regained her liberties.

King William's War.

12. In 1689 war was declared between France and England. This conflict is known in American history as King William's War. When James II. escaped from his kingdom, he took refuge at the court of Louis XIV. of France. The two monarchs were Catholics, and on this account an alliance was made between them. Louis agreed to support James in his effort to recover the English throne. Parliament, meanwhile, had conferred the crown on King William. Thus the new sovereign was brought into conflict with the exiled James and his ally, the king of France. The war which thus originated in Europe soon extended to the French and English colonies in America.

13. The struggle began on the frontier of New Hampshire in June, 1689. Later in the same year, the English and the Mohawks entered into an alliance, but the latter refused to make war upon their countrymen of Maine. The Dutch settlements of New Netherland made common cause with the English against the French.

14. New England at length became thoroughly aroused. To provide the means of war, a congress was convened at New York. Here it was resolved to attempt the conquest of Canada. At the same time, Massachusetts was to cooperate by sending a fleet up the St. Lawrence against Quebec. Thirty-four vessels, carrying two thousand troops, were fitted out, and the command given to Sir William Phipps. Proceeding first against Port Royal, he compelled a surrender; the whole of Nova Scotia submitted without a struggle. The expedition was foolishly delayed until October; and an Indian carried the news to the governor of Canada. When the fleet came in sight of the town, the castle was so well garrisoned as to bid defiance to the English; and it only remained for Phipps to sail back to Boston. To meet the expenses of this expedition, Massachusetts issued bills of credit which were made a legal tender. Such was the origin of PAPER MONEY in America.

15. Meanwhile, the land forces had proceeded from Albany to Lake Champlain. Here dissensions arose among the commanders, and the expedition had to be abandoned. The war continued nearly five years longer, but with only here and there a marked event.

16. Early in 1697, commissioners of France and England assembled at the town of Ryswick, in Holland; and, on the 10th of the following September, a treaty of peace was concluded. King William was acknowledged as the rightful sovereign of England, the colonial boundary-lines of the two nations in America were established as before, and King William's war was at an end.

Salem Witchcraft.

17. The darkest page in the history of New England is that which records the Salem Witchcraft. In February of 1692, in that part of Salem afterwards called Danvers, a daughter and a niece of Samuel Parris, the minister, were attacked with a nervous disorder which rendered them partially insane. Parris pretended to believe the girls were bewitched, and that an Indian maid-servant was the author of the affliction. He accordingly tied the ignorant creature and whipped her until she confessed herself a witch. Here, perhaps, the matter would have ended had not other causes existed for the spread of the delusion.