LEISLER 151

In regard to the main events of this troubled
time there is, fortunately, little dispute, although
they are so complicated that they require close
attention. When James II fled from England at
the end of the year 1688 and was succeeded by
William and Mary, the affairs of the American
provinces were thrown into a state of chaos. The
change of government was not known in Massa-
chusetts until March, 1689. The immediate result
of the news was to fan the popular wrath against
Sir Edmund Andros, then in Boston, into such a
flame that the Governor was seized and thrown
into prison before he was able to make his escape
to New York. His imprisonment left Lieutenant-
Governor Nicholson, Andros's deputy at New
York, in a difficult position. Andros was still
Governor and Nicholson was unable to communi-
cate with him. Some people held that Nicholson
thus became acting Governor; others claimed that
the whole existing machinery of government was
swept away by the abdication of James and that
the provinces were free to govern themselves till
they could learn the will of the new sovereigns.

Nicholson was a weak man, and his vacillation
produced the impression that he might be engaged
in a conspiracy to bring back the rule of James.