Today in Salem: The governor has been wiping his lips ’til they’re chapped, still feeling the imprint where he’d kissed the King’s metal ring. William Phips bows to no one, no one except the King that is, and even that’s difficult.
With that unpleasant experience behind him, and a six-week sail to Boston before him, Phips has plenty of time to imagine his entrance into the city. The King himself has appointed Phips to be the Royal Governor of Massachusetts, and how glorious it will be to wield that power over the merchants and politicians of Boston. They’ve always been quick to remind Phips of his humble beginnings and lack of education, to snidely dismiss him as undeserving of an opinion never mind success.
It’s true that he is fatherless, from a poor family. It’s true that he had to teach himself to read at age 21, that he’s had to convince people at every turn to support and even fund his ventures. It’s also true that he’s captained large ships, discovered vast wealth, and met with three kings. And now he’s the Royal Governor.
Phips looks out over the bow of the ship, but there’s nothing to see but ocean; a flat expanse of gray that extends all the way to the horizon. No matter. He licks his chapped lips and rubs them again. It’ll be smooth sailing, with nothing but gentle breezes and calm water ahead.
WHO was William Phips?
Age 41. The Royal Governor of Massachusetts. He was a large, compactly built man, with a true rags-to-riches story. With ambition and confidence (even arrogance), he bluffed his way past 3 British kings to rise from a poor childhood in Maine, first working as a shepherd, then as an apprentice to a ship’s carpenter. He moved to Boston and within the next 8 years captained a royal ship, found great fortune through treasure hunting, was knighted by the king, won a major battle against the French, was made a magistrate, and finally was appointed to be the Royal Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Phips was intelligent and driven, but he was also said to be an ambitious, self-promoter who bluffed his way past 3 kings to find success.
Upon being appointed Royal Governor, Phips returned to Massachusetts from London to find Salem’s witch hysteria well underway. He’s best remembered today as forming the court that would bring many of the accused to trial and execution. His own wife was accused of witchcraft, and within months he disbanded the court and pardoned those still in jail awaiting trial.
Phips never expressed remorse or introspection about the trials. Three years after they ended, he contracted a fever and died. He was 44. Case files: William Phipps