Josias Fendall

Josias Fendall (* 1628 in England , † between 1687 and 1692 in what is now North Carolina ) was an English colonial governor of the Province of Maryland .

Life

The sources give no information about the early years of Fendall. In 1655 he was on the staff of the then colonial governor William Stone . This was temporarily driven out by a revolt of the Puritans . Stone put together his own force, with which he wanted to restore the old balance of power in Maryland and which also included Fendall. In this context it came on March 25, 1655 to the Battle of the Severn (Battle of the Severn), in which Stone was wounded and taken prisoner. The victorious Puritans meanwhile toyed with the idea of ​​executing him and Josias Fendall. There was a turning point in Maryland in 1657 when Lord Baltimore was reinstated in his old rights. William Stone, and with him Josias Fendall, have since been released.

After the end of the revolt (1657) Josias Fendall was appointed by Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, the old and new owner of the Province of Maryland, as successor to Stone as the new governor of the colony. At the same time, Fendall received a donation of land. As a result, the new governor strengthened the militia and he divided the province into different administrative districts. In March 1660, Fendall suddenly turned against Lord Baltimore and staged the so-called Fendall Rebellion . It also concerned the position of the colonial parliament and the question of whether it should be divided into two chambers (upper and lower house). After the return of King Charles II to the English throne and the associated reintroduction of the monarchy in England in May 1660, the rebellion lost its support in London and finally collapsed. Lord Baltimore appointed his brother Phillip Calvert as the new governor of Maryland in 1660 . Fendall was charged and charged with high treason but pardoned by the new governor. He then withdrew to his estate and held back politically for a few years. In 1678 he was elected to the colonial parliament. This seat was refused to him by the new governor Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore . This mistrusted Fendall and feared another attempt at rebellion. Indeed, Fendall began to act again against Calvert. He spread the rumor that the Lord wanted to exterminate the Protestants in Maryland with the help of Indian attacks. So Fendall planned another uprising. He was arrested and banished from Maryland for good in 1681. He moved to the south of the colony of Virginia, in an area that later became Perquimans County , North Carolina . There he was also linked to civil unrest. The dates of his death are given differently in the sources. It is between the years 1687 and 1692.

Web links

• Mention of Fendall at Colonial Encounters
• Fendall at Family Search
• Josias Fendall in the Archives of Maryland