page_title: Leisler's Rebellion
section_title: Leisler takes control
hierarchical_section_title: Leisler's Rebellion / Rebellion / Leisler takes control
caption_attribution_description: Engraving depiction colonial New York councilors Nicholas Bayard, Stephanus van Cortlandt, and Frederick Phillipse attempting to quiet revolutionary fears at the time of Leisler's Rebellion in New York City, 1689.
context_page_description: Leisler's Rebellion was an uprising in late-17th century colonial New York in which German American merchant and militia captain Jacob Leisler seized control of the colony's south and ruled it from 1689 to 1691. The uprising took place in the aftermath of Britain's Glorious Revolution and the 1689 Boston revolt in the Dominion of New England, which had included New York. The rebellion reflected colonial resentment against the policies of deposed King James II.
  Royal authority was not restored until 1691 when English troops and a new governor were sent to New York. Leisler was arrested by these forces, who tried and convicted him of treason. He was executed, but the revolt left the colony polarized, bitterly split into two rival factions.
context_section_description: At this point, the militia controlled the fort which gave them control over the harbor. When ships arrived in the harbor, they brought passengers and captains directly to the fort, cutting off outside communications to Nicholson and his council. On June 6, Nicholson decided to leave for England and began gathering depositions for use in proceedings there. He left the city on June 10 for the Jersey shore where he hoped to join Thomas Dongan, who was expected to sail for England soon thereafter.
  Leisler's control of the province was limited at first. His councilors were Dutch patroons Nicholas Bayard, Stephanus van Cortlandt, and Frederick Philipse, and they were still in the city. They did not recognize his authority, nor did the city's civil administration, with van Cortlandt as mayor. A proclamation was made in Hartford, Connecticut concerning William and Mary, and both sides of the controversy in New York raced to meet the messenger bringing copies of the proclamation. Leisler's agents won the race, and Leisler published the proclamation on June 22. Two days later, van Cortlandt received a copy of the official notice that William and Mary had prepared for Andros. The transmission of this document had been delayed at the behest of Massachusetts agents in London.
  It specifically retained all non-Catholic officeholders until further notice, and technically legitimized the rule of the council in Nicholson's absence. In accordance with this document, van Cortlandt fired the customs collector, who was Catholic, and replaced him with Bayard and others to oversee customs activities. Leisler objected to this assertion of power and descended on the customs house with a troop of militia. Accounts left by both sides of the dispute state that there was a near riot, and Bayard claimed to barely escape being killed by a mob. Bayard then fled to Albany, followed by van Cortlandt a few days later. Philipse withdrew from political life, leaving Leisler in effective control of the city.
  On June 26, a convention composed of delegates from a number of communities from lower New York and East Jersey established a committee of safety to oversee affairs. This committee essentially became the nucleus of Leisler's later government. They chose Leisler to be the province's commander-in-chief "till orders shall come from their Majesties."
  Through July and August, his hand-picked militia exercised de facto control over the city, financed by provincial funds which Nicholson had deposited in the fort. He was assisted by sympathetic officials from Connecticut who sent a troop of militia to assist in holding the fort. Nicholson's company of regulars was formally disbanded on August 1, about the same time that formal word arrived that France and England were at war.
  Leisler dispatched Jost Stoll and Matthew Clarkson to England on August 15 to bolster his position with the government in London. They carried documents intended to support accusations that Nicholson had been conspiring against the people of New York and to justify the propriety of Leisler's actions against his "oppressive" rule. The agents were instructed to request a new charter for the province and to claim that the united colonies could defeat New France without assistance from the home country. He made no specific requests that the new charter include any sort of democratic representation.
  An election ordered Leisler's committee of safety formally to turn van Cortlandt out of office in October, consolidating Leisler's command over New York except the Albany area. According to Bayard, the turnout in New York City was extremely low, with barely 100 voters participating. Councilors Bayard and Philipse issued a proclamation on October 20 calling Leisler's rule illegal, and ordered other militia commanders to stop supporting him. The proclamation had no effect.
caption: Nineteenth-century engraving depicting Nicholson's councilors attempting to quiet the rebellion
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