Simon Bradstreet - Governor

Governor

In early 1679 Governor John Leverett died, and Bradstreet as deputy succeeded him. Leverett had opposed accommodation of the king's demands, and the change to an accommodationist leadership was too late. Bradstreet would turn out to be the last governor under its original charter. His deputy, Thomas Danforth was from the commonwealth faction. During his tenure, crown agent Edward Randolph was in the colony, attempting to enforce the Navigation Acts, under which certain types of trade involving the colony were illegal. Randolph's enforcement attempts were vigorously resisted by both the merchant classes and sympathetic magistrates despite Bradstreet's attempts to accommodate Randolph. Juries frequently refused to condemn ships accused of violating the acts; in one instance Bradstreet tried three times to get a jury to change its verdict. Randolph's attempts to enforce the navigation laws eventually convinced the colony's general court that it needed to create its own mechanisms for their enforcement. A bill to establish a naval office was vigorously debated in 1681, with the house of deputies, dominated by the commonwealth party, opposing the idea, and the moderate magistrates supporting it. The bill that finally passed was a victory for the commonwealth party, making enforcement difficult and subject to reprisal lawsuits. Bradstreet refused to actually implement the law, and Randolph published open challenges to it. Bradstreet was in some degree vindicated when he won re-election in 1682, and he then used his judicial authority to further undermine the law's effects.

Randolph's threats to report the colonial legislature's intransigence prompted it to dispatch agents to England to argue the colony's case; however, their powers were limited. Shortly after their arrival in late 1682, the Lords of Trade issued an ultimatum to the colony: either grant its agents wider powers, including the ability to negotiate modifications to the charter, or risk having the charter voided. The general court responded by issuing the agents instructions to take a hard line. Following legal processes begun in 1683, the charter was formally annulled on October 23, 1684.