Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator who served as Governor of New York from 9 February 1674 to 18 April 1683 (succeeding Anthony Colve and preceding Thomas Dongan), as Governor of East Jersey from 1674 to 1681 (succeeding Philip Carteret and preceding Robert Barclay) and from 1688 to 1689 (succeeding Barclay and preceding Andrew Hamilton), as Governor of New England from 20 December 1686 to 18 April 1689 (succeeding Joseph Dudley), as Governor of Virginia from September 1692 to May 1698 (succeeding Francis Howard and preceding Francis Nicholson), and Governor of Maryland from September 1693 to May 1694 (preceding Nicholas Greenberry).
Biography[]
Early life[]
Edmund Andros was born in London, England in 1637, and he fled to Guernsey with his mother in 1645 during the English Civil War; in 1651, he was present at the surrender of Guernsey's Castle Cornet, the last royalist stronghold to surrender during the civil war. He remained a royalist even after the fall of the House of Stuart, and King Charles II of England commended the Andros family for its support after he returned to power in 1660.
Governor of New York and New England[]
Andros in Boston
In 1674, Edmund inherited the title of Bailiff of Guernsey, and he was also appointed by the Duke of York to serve as Governor of New York. He convinced the Dutch settlers in New Netherland to surrender in exchange for confirming their existing property holdings and allowing for them to continue practicing Calvinism. He was well received by the Iroquois and continued the supplying of arms to them, just as the Dutch had done, blunting French diplomatic successes with them. During King Philip's War, he refused to help Connecticut due to their previous hostile behavior shown towards him, and he sent soldiers to establish a fort at Pemaquid in 1676 with the goal of protecting New England from the Abenaki.
From 1677 to 1678, Andros returned to England, and he was knighted for his services. When he returned to New York, he befriended the Lenape sachems and convinced them to mediate between England and other Native American tribes. Andros then became Governor of New England in 1686. In 1688, the Abenaki began an offensive, so Andros led an expedition to Maine and raided a number of Indian settlements. He was eventually forced to return to Boston as the French-backed Abenaki continued their attacks, and Andros built additional fortifications to hold off Indian attacks.
Governor of Virginia[]
In 1689, soon after news of the overthrow of King James in the "Glorious Revolution" reached Boston, a revolt broke out against Andros' rule, and Andros was captured. He was eventually allowed to depart for England, and New England broke up into several smaller colonies. However, King William III of England expressed approval of Andros' service, remembering him from a visit to his court in the Netherlands, so King William sent Andros to serve as Governor of Virginia from 1692 to 1698. Andros generally had a cordial relationship with the House of Burgesses, and he founded the College of William and Mary in 1693, paying for its bricks himself. In 1698, complaining of fatigue and illness, Andros asked to be recalled, and he divided his time between London and Guernsey. He died in London in 1714 at the age of 76.