William Burnet (administrator)
| William Burnet | |
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| Governor of the Province of New York and New Jersey | |
| In office 1720–1728 |
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| Preceded by | Peter Schuyler (acting, New York) Robert Hunter (New Jersey) |
| Succeeded by | John Montgomerie |
| Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay | |
| In office 19 July 1728 – 7 September 1729 |
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| Preceded by | William Dummer (acting) |
| Succeeded by | William Dummer (acting) |
| Governor of the Province of New Hampshire | |
| In office 19 December 1727? – 7 September 1729 |
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| Preceded by | John Wentworth (acting) |
| Succeeded by | John Wentworth (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 February 1688 The Hague, Netherlands |
| Died | 7 September 1729 (aged 41) Boston, Massachusetts |
William Burnet (16 February 1688 – 7 September 1729) was a British civil servant and colonial administrator who served as governor of New York and New Jersey (1720–1728) and Massachusetts (1728).
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[edit] Early life
Burnet was the son of Gilbert Burnet, the Bishop of Salisbury, and Mary Scott. He was born at the Hague in the Netherlands in March 1688. He was the godson of William, Prince of Orange (later William III of England) and his wife Mary. He was an excellent but undisciplined scholar who entered Oxford at the age of 13, but was dismissed for disciplinary reasons. His later education came from private tutoring (including Isaac Newton as a tutor), and he was ultimately admitted to the bar.
His curiosity for intellect led him to write An Essay on Scripture Prophecy, Wherein it is Endeavoured to Explain the three periods Contain'd in the Xii Chapter of the Prophet Daniel With some Arguments to make it Probable that the FIRST of the PERIODS did Expire in the Year 1715, published anonymously in 1724. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1706 [1]
With friends in the government, he was appointed the Comptroller of Customs in England before his terms as a colonial governor. He was married twice. His first wife was the daughter of Dean Stanhope and she died in 1717. He married again in New York to Anna Maria Van Horne, the daughter of Abraham and Mary Van Horne, in 1722. They had three children.
[edit] Governor of New York
Burnet obtained the position of governor of New York by trading his job as comptroller of the customs with Robert Hunter through strong Whig connections. As governor, he followed the advice of Lewis Morris and James Alexander, two advisors of Hunter.
Antiproprietary men in the New Jersey Assembly did not openly criticise Burnet, but attempted to remove Morris from his position and failed. As a result, in 1722 Burnet created a second assembly, which would later pass the Loan Act in 1723.
In 1720, following a depression caused by the fluctuating currencies of New York and Pennsylvania, James Alexander and the many of the assemblymen called for a new paper currency. In 1726, Burnet took a census of New Jersey, totalling 32,442 people.
Burnet was a capable administrator and better than the average colonial governor, although his tenure was not without disputes. He was appointed governor of New York and New Jersey in the spring of 1720, and arrived in New York City on 16 September 1720. His most important accomplishment as governor was to strengthen the colony's position on the frontier. Governor Burnet encourage direct trade with Indian tribes to reduce the influence of French traders. Along with this initiative, he strengthened outposts like Fort Oswego. This was an effective strategy. Many of the goods bartered with the Indians for furs were produced locally, while the French imported theirs. Because of this British colonists could undercut French prices. He convened a meeting at Albany in 1722 of representatives from several colonies, that resulted in peace with Indian tribes for several years in New York, although the northern New England provinces were engulfed in Dummer's War.
But the costs of his actions earned opposition from establishment forces, like the DeLancey family. (It also interfered with their profits from selling goods to French fur traders). He also established the Courts of Chancery in 1727 and was censured by the assembly. The crown replaced him in 1728, not for this dispute but to make room for John Montgomerie who was favored by King George II He was reassigned as governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire and left New York on 15 April 1728, when his replacement arrived.
[edit] Governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire
Burnet is best known in Massachusetts for his hardnosed attempt to force the provincial assembly to grant crown officials (including the governor) a permanent salary. Since the institution of the royal charter in 1692, the assembly had resisted this, choosing instead to make periodic grants the governor. Local politicians found this an effective mechanism for influencing the governor to promote their policies, since the governor would never know when the next grant would be made, or how large it would be.
Like other governors appointed to Massachusetts, Burnet was instructed to secure a salary. He chose to take an extremely hard line: he refused to conduct any other business, or to dissolve the legislature, until the salary was decided. The legislature in turn refused to enact a salary bill. Burnet, in order to make life as difficult as possible for the legislators, relocated the assembly from Boston first to Salem and then Cambridge, increasing the costs of the legislators and forcing many of them from the comforts of their Boston-area properties. The legislators responded by sending Francis Wilks and Jonathan Belcher as agents to London to argue the province's case before the Board of Trade.
The dispute was ongoing when Burnet died in Boston from a stroke on 7 September 1729. Burnet was succeeded in office by Belcher.
[edit] See also
- List of colonial governors of New Jersey
- List of colonial governors of New York
- List of colonial governors of Massachusetts
- List of colonial governors of New Hampshire
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Peter Schuyler (acting) |
Governor of the Province of New York 1720–1728 |
Succeeded by John Montgomerie |
| Preceded by Robert Hunter |
Governor of the Province of New Jersey 1720–1728 |
Succeeded by John Montgomerie |
| Preceded by William Dummer (acting) |
Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay 19 July 1728 – 7 September 1729 |
Succeeded by William Dummer (acting) |
| Preceded by John Wentworth (acting) |
Governor of the Province of New Hampshire 19 December 1727 – 7 September 1729 |
Succeeded by John Wentworth (acting) |
