Everything about Francis Nicholson totally explained
Francis Nicholson (
12 November 1655 –
5 March 1727 or
1728) was a British military officer and was colonial governor or acting governor of
New York,
Virginia,
Maryland,
Nova Scotia, and
South Carolina.
Nicholson was born in the village of
Downholme,
Yorkshire, England. He became a page for the Marquis of Winchester. In 1678 he was made an ensign and he fought in
Flanders. He rose to the rank of captain and became an assistant to Sir
Edmund Andros, governor of New England, with whom he sailed to the American colonies.
Nicholson served as lieutenant-governor of
New York from
1687 to
1689 and as Governor from
1689 to
1690. Nicholson then served as lieutenant-governor of
Virginia from
1690 to
1692. While in Virginia, he was instrumental in the creation of the
College of William and Mary and named as one of its original trustees. He served as
governor of Maryland from
1694 to
1699, and played a leading role in moving the state capital from
St. Mary's to Anne Arundel, which was renamed
Annapolis in honor of then-
Princess Anne. Nicholson returned to Virginia in
1699 as
governor, a position he held until
1705. During this term, Nicholson oversaw the transfer of Virginia's capital from
Jamestown to
Middle Plantation, which was renamed
Williamsburg.
During
Queen Anne's War, Nicholson was part of the military force that lost Nova Scotia to the French. He placed the blame on his commander,
Samuel Vetch, and petitioned Queen
Anne of Great Britain to have him lead an expedition to recapture the lost colony. Nicholson succeeded, leading the forces that captured
Port Royal, Nova Scotia on
October 2,
1710. Nicholson published an account of the expedition in his 1711 "Journal of an Expedition for the Reduction of Port Royal." The victorious Nicholson returned to
England, taking five
Iroquois chiefs with him, to petition Queen Anne to approve an expedition to capture
New France. The
resulting naval expedition was led by Admiral
Hovenden Walker. Nicholson led an associated land expedition against Quebec. When news arrived of Walker's failure, Nicholson called off his land expedition.
Nicholson was appointed governor of
Nova Scotia and
Placentia as well as auditor of colonial accounts, serving from
October 12,
1712 through August,
1717. Having been knighted in 1720, Nicholson next served as the governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725 when he returned to England.
In England, Nicholson was promoted to lieutenant-general. He lobbied for a proposal that the colonies be united in order to provide for their common defense, mainly from the French and Indians. He thought the colonies should be united under a single viceroy and share a standing army. The plan was recommended to the legislatures of the colonies. Virginia opposed the measure.
Nicholson died in
London on
March 5,
1728, and was buried in the parish of St George, Hanover Square.
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