Sir William Berkeley

(noun)

A colonial governor of Virginia and one of the Lords Proprietors of the Colony of Carolina; he was appointed to these posts by King Charles I of England, of whom he was a favorite.

Related Terms

Examples of Sir William Berkeley in the following topics:

  • Virginia

    • Sir William Berkeley, the governor of Virginia from 1642–1652 and 1660–1677, tried to push for diversification in the economic activities of the colony.
    • Berkeley remained popular after his first administration and returned to the governorship in 1660.
    • Berkeley successfully established autocratic authority over the colony.
    • To protect this power, Berkeley refused new legislative elections for 14 years.
    • Subsequently, Berkeley managed to eliminate the remaining rebels.

  • Bacon's Rebellion

    • About a thousand Virginians rose (including former indentured servants, poor whites, and poor blacks) because they resented Virginia Governor William Berkeley's friendly policies towards the Native Americans.
    • Berkeley had refused to retaliate for a series of Indian attacks on frontier settlements, so others took matters into their own hands, attacking Indians, chasing Berkeley from Jamestown, Virginia, and torching the capital.
    • Outnumbered, Berkeley retreated across the river.
    • Governor Berkeley returned to power.
    • Nathaniel Bacon led an uprising against Virginia Governor William Berkeley in 1676.

  • Peace Overtures and the Evacuation of Philadelphia

    • The commission was headed by the Earl of Carlisle and included William Eden, a British statesman and diplomat, and George Johnstone, former Governor of West Florida.
    • Following France's entry into the war, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton was ordered by the government to abandon Philadelphia and defend New York City, now vulnerable to French naval power .
    • Portrait of Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle by Sir Joshua Reynolds 1769

  • The Glorious Revolution

    • In February 1689, William and his wife became joint monarchs as William III and Mary II of England .
    • Portrait of King James II & VII, by Sir Godfrey Kneller,
    • King James was deposed in the Revolution of 1688 by William III.
    • Prince of Orange Landing at Torbay, engraving by William Miller after J M W Turner, 1852
    • William of Orange successfully invaded England with a Dutch fleet in the Glorious Revolution of 1688

  • The Glorious Revolution in America

    • In 1686, Sir Edmund Andros, the former governor of New York, was appointed as Dominion governor.
    • With the birth of his son and potential successor James III in June 1688, some Whigs and Tories set aside their political differences and conspired to replace James with his Protestant son-in-law, William of Orange.
    • This was particularly problematic for Massachusetts because its long frontier with New France was exposed to French and Indian raids with the 1689 outbreak of King William's War.
    • The resulting Province of Massachusetts Bay, whose charter was issued in 1691 and began operating in 1692 under governor Sir William Phips, combined the territories of both colonies, along with the islands south of Cape Cod (Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands) that had been part of New York.
    • Darley, William L.

  • Colonies in Crisis

    • They arrested dominion officials as a protest against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England.
    • Darley, William L.

  • The War in the North

    • For the first two years of the war, he could spare few troops to reinforce North America and urged the commander in chief in North America, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, to maintain a defensive strategy.
    • On February 21, Sir George Prevost passed through Prescott on the opposite bank of the river with reinforcements for Upper Canada.
    • Secretary of War William Eustis from office.
    • The British also were decisively defeated by General William Henry Harrison's forces on their retreat toward Niagara at the Battle of the Thames in October 1813.
    • This 1865 painting by William H.

  • Freedom of Expression and its Limits

    • John Peter Zenger, a New York newspaper editor, began to voice opposition to several policies implemented by the newly appointed colonial governor William Cosby.

  • Yalta and the Postwar World

    • Also present are USSR Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (far right); Field Marshal Alan Brooke, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham, RN, Marshal of the RAF Sir Charles Portal, (standing behind Churchill); George Marshall, Army Chief of Staff and Fleet Admiral William D.

  • The Dominion of New England

    • Joseph Dudley, a Massachusetts-born colonial, was made provisional president of the Council of New England on October 8, 1685, a move intended to secure the Dominion while political support was raised for Sir Edmund Andros, who was to take permanent command.
    • With the birth of his son and potential successor James III in June 1688, factions of English conspired with the Dutch prince to replace James with his Protestant son-in-law, William of Orange.
    • The nearly bloodless "Glorious Revolution" followed in November and December of 1688 and established William and his wife Mary as co-rulers of England.
    • This was particularly problematic for Massachusetts because its long frontier with New France was exposed to French and American Indian raids with the 1689 outbreak of King William's War.
    • The resulting Province of Massachusetts Bay, whose charter was issued in 1691 and began operating in 1692 under governor Sir William Phips, combined the territories of both colonies, along with the islands south of Cape Cod (Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands) that had previously been part of New York.