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Jacob Leisler | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Thestatue of Jacob Leisler (1913) on North Avenue inNew Rochelle, New York | |
| 8th Colonial Governor of New York | |
| In office 1689 – 1691 in rebellion | |
| Monarchs | William III andMary II |
| Preceded by | Francis Nicholson |
| Succeeded by | Henry Sloughter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1640 |
| Died | May 16, 1691(1691-05-16) (aged 50–51) |
| Spouse | |
| Profession | Merchant, Lieutenant governor of New York |
| Signature | .png) |
Jacob Leisler (c. 1640 – May 16, 1691) was a German-born politician and colonial administrator in theProvince of New York. He gained wealth inNew Amsterdam (laterNew York City) in theNorth American fur trade and tobacco business. In what became known asLeisler's Rebellion following theGlorious Revolution of 1688, he took control of the city, and ultimately the entire province, from appointees of deposed KingJames II, in the name of the Protestant accession ofWilliam III andMary II.
Beginning in 1689, Leisler led an insurrection and seized control of the city by taking overFort James at the lower end of Manhattan. He took over control of the entire province, appointing himself as acting Lieutenant Governor of theProvince of New York, which he retained until March 1691, refusing to yield power until the newly appointed governor himself finally arrived. While Leisler claimed to have acted to support the Protestant accession againstJacobite officeholders in New York, he was arrested by the newly appointed governor of New York in March 1691. With opponents active against him, he was condemned and executed inNew York City fortreason againstthe Crown. His estate was forfeited to the Crown.
During his period of control, Leisler completed a major purchase of property fromSir John Pell, Lord ofPelham Manor, to set up aFrench Huguenot settlement north of Manhattan. This developed as the city ofNew Rochelle, New York. Leisler's son and supporters found the trial and conviction most unjust; it was mounted by his enemies. They worked to clear the names of Leisler andJacob Milborne (his son-in-law) and for the restoration of their estates to their heirs. They gained an act of Parliament in 1695 to achieve this. Remains of the two men were reinterred with honors at theDutch Reformed Church in Manhattan.
Leisler was born in the village ofBockenheim (now a part ofFrankfurt am Main,Germany, then theHoly Roman Empire), in March 1640, the son ofCalvinist French Reformed minister Jacob Victorian Leisler. After his father's death in 1651, Leisler was sent to military school.[1]
He went toNew Amsterdam (later New York) in 1660 as a soldier in the service of theDutch West India Company. Leaving the company's employ soon after his arrival, Leisler engaged in the lucrativefur trade and tobacco trade and became a wealthy man.[2] New York tax records from 1676 list Leisler as the third wealthiest man in the city.[3]
In 1674, Leisler was one of the administrators of a forced loan imposed byAnthony Colve.[4] While residing inAlbany in 1676, Leisler engaged in a theological dispute with the Rev.Nicholas van Rensselaer, who had been appointed to the Reformed pulpit by James, Duke of York (later KingKing James II).[2] His finances and reputation both suffered from this encounter, as he and fellow dissenterJacob Milborne were forced to pay all the costs of a lawsuit they had initiated in the dispute.[4] While on a voyage to Europe in 1678, Leisler was captured byMoorishpirates. He was forced to pay a ransom of 2,050pieces of eight to obtain his freedom.[2]
Leisler had endeared himself to the common people by befriending a family of FrenchHuguenots who had been landed onManhattan island. They were so destitute that a public tribunal had decided they should be sold intoslavery to pay their ship charges. Leisler prevented the sale by purchasing the freedom of the widowed mother and son before the sale could be held. French Huguenots were arriving in New York as refugees from religious persecution by Catholics in France. UnderThomas Dongan's administration in 1683, Leisler was appointed one of the judges, or "commissioners," of the court of admiralty in New York, ajustice of the peace for New York City and County, and a militia captain.[2]
TheGlorious Revolution of 1688 also played out inNew York, where people of a wide variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds divided into two well-defined factions. In general, the small shopkeepers, small farmers, sailors, poor traders and artisans allied against thepatroons (landholders), richfur traders, merchants, lawyers, and crown officers. The former were led by Leisler (although he was a wealthy man), the latter byPeter Schuyler,Nicholas Bayard,Stephen Van Cortlandt, William Nicolls, and other representatives of the eliteHudson Valley families. The Leislerians claimed greater loyalty to theProtestant accession.[5]
In 1688, Governor Dongan was succeeded by Lieutenant-GovernorFrancis Nicholson. In 1689, the military force of the city of New York consisted of a regiment of five companies, with Leisler as one of the company captains. He was popular with the men and was probably the only wealthy resident in the province who sympathized with theDutch lower classes, who were agitated by the attempts of theJacobite officeholders to retain power in spite of therevolution in England and the accession ofWilliam III andMary II to the throne.[2] When news was received that Governor SirEdmund Andros had been imprisoned inBoston by the opposition, the Leislerians took possession on May 31, 1689, ofFort James at the southern end ofManhattan Island. They renamed it Fort William and announced their determination to hold it until the arrival of a governor who was commissioned by the new sovereigns.[5]
Upon hearing of a report which claimed supporters of King James II were about to seize the fort and massacre settlers of Dutch descent, an armed mob gathered on the evening of June 2, 1689, to overthrow the existing government. The cry of "Leisler" was raised, and the crowd rushed to his house. At first, he refused to lead the movement, but when the demand was reiterated, he acceded and within an hour received the keys of the fort, which had been seized. The revolutionaries took advantage of the fort containing all the public funds, whose return Lieutenant Governor Nicholson demanded in vain.
Four hundred of the new party signed an agreement to hold the fort "for the present Protestant power that reigns in England," and a committee of safety of ten of the city freeholders assumed the powers of a provisional government of which they declared Jacob Leisler to be the head. They commissioned him as "captain of the fort." In this capacity, he began to repair the fort, strengthening it with a battery of six guns beyond its walls. This was the origin of the public park known asthe Battery in Lower Manhattan.[2] Thus began Leisler's Rebellion.[5]
The aristocrats also favored deposing James but preferred to continue the provincial government established by his authority, rather than risk the danger of an interregnum.[5] Nicholson and the council of the province, with the authorities of the city, headed by Mayor Stephen van Cortlandt, attempted to prevent the uprising, but without effect. Finally, becoming alarmed for his own safety, Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson sailed for England on June 24. The New York City mayor and other officials retired to Albany.[2]
Albany held out against Leisler's authority for a time. In November, Leisler sent Jacob Milborne to Albany with an armed force to assist in its defense against any Indians. Milborne was directed to withhold aid unless Leisler's authority was recognized. That was refused, and Milborne returned unsuccessful.[2] However, after thedestruction of Schenectady on February 19, 1690, by the French and their allied Indians, Christian Mohawk among them, Albany submitted to Leisler's authority.[6]
Under authority of a letter from the home government addressed to Nicholson "or in his absence, to such as for the time being takes care for preserving the peace and administering the laws in His Majesty's province of New York,"[7] Leisler had assumed the title of lieutenant-governor in December 1689. He dissolved the committee of safety, appointed a council, and took charge of the government of the entire province.[5][8] He appointedJacob Milborne as Clerk to the Council, Attorney-General, Advocate General and his Secretary.[9] Milborne married Leisler's daughter Mary.[10]
Leisler summoned the first Intercolonial Congress in America, which met in New York on May 1, 1690, to plan concerted action against theFrench andNative Americans in theongoing conflict in North America.[5] The congress planned an expedition againstCanada. It equipped and dispatched against Quebec the first fleet of men-of-war ever sent from thePort of New York. However, the expedition was unsuccessful.[6][8]
In the meantime, ColonelHenry Sloughter had been commissioned Governor of the Province of New York by William and Mary on September 3, 1689, but he did not reach New York until March 19, 1691.[5]
Acting on behalf of a group ofHuguenots in New York, Leisler brokered the purchase of land upon which they could settle. In 1689John Pell, Lord of Pelham Manor, officially deeded 6,100 acres (25 km²) to Leisler for the establishment of a Huguenot community north of Manhattan. On September 20, 1689, Leisler donated a third of this land to Huguenot refugees.[11] In addition to the purchase money, Leisler and his heirs and assigns were to yield and pay unto John Pell and his heirs and assigns (Lords of the Pelham Manor) one "Fat Calf" yearly, as acknowledgment of their feudal obligation to the Manor.[12] This settlement developed as the city ofNew Rochelle, New York.[2]
On January 28, 1691,English Army officerRichard Ingoldesby, who had been commissioned lieutenant-governor of the province, landed with two companies of soldiers in Manhattan and demanded possession of Fort James. Leisler refused to surrender the fort without an order from the king or the governor. After some controversy, Ingoldesby attacked the fort on March 17, during which Leisler's forces killed two of his soldiers and wounded several.[5]
When Governor Sloughter finally arrived in New York the following March, he immediately demanded Leisler's surrender. Leisler refused to surrender the fort until he was convinced of Sloughter's identity, and the governor had sworn in his council. As soon as the latter event occurred, he wrote the governor a letter resigning his command.
Sloughter responded by arresting Leisler and nine of his colleagues, including his son-in-law Jacob Milborne. All but Milborne were released after trial. Leisler was imprisoned and charged with treason and murder. Shortly afterward, he was tried and condemned to death. His son-in-law and secretary, Milborne, was condemned on the same charges. Leisler's son and other supporters were outraged by the trials, as they were considered unjust. The judges were the personal and political enemies of the prisoners, and their acts were described as "gross."[2]
Governor Sloughter was said to have hesitated to sign the death warrants but was trying to stabilize politics in the colony and did not have sufficient influence among the elite of New York City. He was said to have finally signed the warrants under the influence of wine.[2]
On May 16, 1691, Leisler and Milborne were executed.[5] Leisler's wife's nephews, Bayard and Van Cortland, were on the Council that insisted upon his execution.[13] The court had sentenced them to be hanged "by the Neck and being Alive their bodyes be Cutt downe to Earth and Their Bowells to be taken out and they being Alive, burnt before their faces...."[14] As was thecommon law punishment for treason, their estates were forfeited tothe Crown. Leisler's son and other supporters appealed for justice from the committee of thePrivy Council. It reported that although the trial was in conformity to the forms of law, they recommended the restoration of the estates to their heirs.[citation needed]
| Leisler's Restoration Act 1695 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act for reversing the Attainder of Jacob Leister and others. |
| Citation | 6 & 7 Will. & Mar. c.30Pr. |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 3 May 1695 |
| Commencement | 12 November 1694[a] |
Status: Current legislation | |
In 1695, by an act of Parliament,Leisler's Restoration Act 1695 (6 & 7 Will. & Mar. c.30Pr.), achieved through the efforts of Leisler's son and supporters, the names of Jacob Leisler and Milborne were cleared, and Leisler's estate was restored to his heirs.[15] Three years later theEarl of Bellomont, who had been one of the most influential supporters of Leisler's son, was appointed as governor of New York. Through his influence, the assembly voted an indemnity to Leisler's heirs.[2]
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Leisler married Elsie Tymens, the widow of Pieter Cornelisz van der Veen, in 1663.[5] They had three daughters:
Some descendants of Leisler use his surname as a middle name. The most prominent of them wasWalther Leisler Kiep, aCDU politician.
Wallace,
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Leisler, Jacob".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 402.
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded byas Governor and Lieutenant Governor of theDominion of New England | Governor of the Province of New York (in rebellion) December 1689-January 28, 1691 | Succeeded by |
| Monarchs |  | |
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| Administrators | ||
| Opponents | ||
| Background | ||
| Assimilated colonies | ||
| Events | ||
