Francis Nicholson - Virginia and Maryland

Virginia and Maryland

Nicholson was lieutenant governor of Virginia until 1692, serving under the absentee Governor Lord Howard of Effingham. During this tenure, he was instrumental in the creation of the College of William and Mary and named as one of its original trustees. He worked to improve the provincial militia, and approved the establishment of additional ports of trade in the province. The latter was not without some opposition from some of the larger merchants in the province, who saw the additional ports as a competitive threat. During this time Nicholson was one of the only high-level representatives of Crown Rule in the colonies: most Crown Rule had been eliminated in the northern colonies, and the other southern colonies were governed by proprietary governors. Nicholson recommended to the King that, in order to better establish a common social order and a coordinated defense, Crown Rule should be established over all of the colonies as quickly as possible, including the conversion of the proprietary colonies to crown colonies.

Lord Effingham resigned the Virginia governorship in February 1692, beginning a contest between Nicholson and Andros for the Virginia governorship. Andros, who was in London and was a more senior figure, was awarded the post, much to Nicholson's annoyance. The episode deepened a growing dislike between the two men. One contemporary chronicler wrote that Nicholson "especially Sir Edmund Andros, against whom he has a particular pique on account of some earlier dealings", and Nicholson, placated with the lieutenant governorship of Maryland, worked from then on to unseat Andros. When Andros arrived in September 1692, Nicholson graciously received him before sailing for London.

Nicholson was still in England in 1693 when Maryland Governor Sir Lionel Copley died. Under provisions of his commission, and at the request of the Maryland governor's council, Andros went to Maryland in September 1693 to organize affairs, and again in May 1694 to preside over the provincial court. For these services he was paid £500. When Nicholson, now appointed governor of Maryland, arrived in July, he found the provincial treasury empty, and testily demanded that Andros return the payment. Andros refused, and Nicholson appealed to the Lords of Trade. They ruled in October 1696 that Andros had to return £300.

Nicholson, a committed Anglican, sought to reduce Catholic influence in the Maryland government, and moved the state capital from the Catholic stronghold of St. Mary's to Anne Arundel, which was renamed Annapolis in honour of Princess Anne. He chose its site and laid out the plan for the town, placing the church and the state house in well-designed public spaces. Architectural historian Mark Childs describes Annapolis, along with Williamsburg, Virginia, which Nicholson also laid out, as some of the best-designed towns in the British Empire.

Nicholson was a supporter of public education, promoting laws to support it, and funded the construction of King William's School (predecessor to St. John's College). He became embroiled in a dispute with William Penn over how to deal with the issue of piracy. In Maryland, Nicholson vigorously cracked down on the practices of some colonists to tolerate pirates, who brought goods and hard currency into the provinces. Aware that Penn's governor was similarly tolerant (he was said to be taking bribes to allow pirates to trade in Pennsylvania), Nicholson ordered that ships destined for Pennsylvania be stopped and searched in Maryland waters, and collected duties if they were carrying European finished goods. Penn protested to the Board of Trade, and the dispute subsided when Nicholson moderated his tactics. During Nicholson's rule in Maryland, he specifically denied that the colonists had the Rights of Englishmen, writing that "if I had not hampered them in Maryland, and kept them under, I should never have been able to govern them."

Nicholson's feud with Andros persisted, and Nicholson acquired a powerful ally in James Blair, the founder of the College of William and Mary. The two were able to gain the support of the Anglican establishment in England against Andros, and filed a long list of complaints with the Lords of Trade. These efforts were successful in convincing Andros to request permission to resign, and in December 1698, Nicholson was given the governorship of Virginia. Andros angrily refused to give Nicholson his records. During his term, which lasted until 1705, Nicholson was largely at the mercy of his council, which was dominated by a small group of powerful Virginia families. The Andros rule had been so unpopular in Virginia that Nicholson's instructions gave him little leeway in acting without their consent. At one point Nicholson characterized the Virginia council as "mere brutes who understand not manners". Nicholson made a number of unsuccessful attempts to alter the balance of power, including moving the provincial capital from Jamestown to Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg. Although he was opposed by the upper house, the colonial legislature was generally supportive of him, and he continued to be favored by the London government.

Nicholson was exposed to French activities on the Mississippi River while governor of Maryland. He warned the Board of Trade in 1695 that the French were working to complete the designs of explorer Robert La Salle to gain control of the river and dominate the Indian relations in the interior, which "may be of fatal consequence" to the English colonies. He reiterated the warning in a 1698 report, and suggested that the Board of Trade issue instructions to all of the governors encouraging the development of trade with Indians across the Appalachian Mountains. "I am afraid", he wrote, "the French will be able to do more damage to these Countrys, than they were able to do in ." These observations were among the earliest anyone made concerning the threat French expansion posed to the English, and some of his suggestions were ultimately adopted as policy. He actively promoted the idea of expansionist trade on the frontier with other colonial governors, including Bellomont of New York, and Blake of South Carolina.

Following a political crisis in England and the accession of Queen Anne to the throne in 1702, a Tory ministry emerged that sidelined most of Nicholson's Whig patrons. Despite his best efforts to retain his post, he was recalled and replaced in 1705 by Edward Nott. He returned to London, where he was active in the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and was awarded membership in the Royal Society for his scientific observations of North America. He also acted as a consultant to the Board of Trade, and thus maintained an awareness of colonial issues.