Samuel Shute

Samuel Shute (born January 12, 1662 in London , England , † April 15, 1742 in England) was an English officer and colonial governor in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Life

Samuel Shute was a son of the businessman Benjamin Shute and his wife Elizabeth Caryll. His brother John Shute was an English theologian and politician who changed his family name to "Barrington" and was raised to Viscount Barrington in 1720 . Samuel studied at the University of Leiden and then entered the service of the English army. As an officer he took part in the War of the Spanish Succession , where he was under the command of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . In 1704 he was a captain in a cavalry unit. He was wounded at the Battle of Blenheim . At the end of the war he had risen to lieutenant colonel.

King George I , who came to the throne in 1714 , appointed him colonial governor of two colonies. He should perform this role simultaneously in the Province of Massachusetts Bay and the New Hampshire Colony . He held both offices between October 5, 1716 and January 1, 1723. In both colonies he encouraged the immigration of Irish and Scottish emigrants. Otherwise, his term of office was rather unhappy. In New Hampshire he came into conflict with his lieutenant governor George Vaughn, who had held the office of governor on a temporary basis before Shute's tenure. Shute reversed some of the decisions Vaughn had made while Shute was away. Eventually Vaughn was deposed and replaced by Samuel Penhallow. During his tenure as governor of his two colonies, they got into a conflict over land disputes, which was largely decided in favor of Massachusetts. This angered the politicians in New Hampshire and led to calls for the end of the personal union between the two colonies. In Massachusetts, Shute had bigger problems. There was a parliament here that insisted on its own rights vis-à-vis the governor. One of the points of contention was the issue of paper money. The conflict between the governor and parliament escalated because of differences in other areas. One of these points of contention was the (unsuccessful) attempt by the governor to restrict the freedom of the press in order to prevent pamphlets and articles against him. Finally, Parliament refused to approve Shute's regular salary. In addition to all these problems, there were also problems and conflicts between colonists and Indians and with neighboring French colonists in both colonies in which Shute was governor. In the end, Shute could no longer master the increasing tensions in both colonies. He only saw the possibility of returning to England and getting cover for his positions there. Shortly after Christmas 1722 he left North America and returned to England. The official end of his term of office is dated January 1, 1723. In the meantime, Shute hadn't given up. In London he brought charges against his political opponents in the colonies. He found supporters and opponents there too. Around 1727 it looked like his victory and his return to the colonies, also because he relied on the support of King George I. The king died, however, and his successor George II, or his new government, decided to fill the offices in the colonies. Shute came away empty-handed. He stayed in England and received a pension. In 1729 he once again had hope of returning when his two previous governor posts were vacated. But this hope was not fulfilled.

Samuel Shute, who remained unmarried, died on April 10, 1743. The small community of Shutesbury in Massachusetts was named after him.

literature

• Shute, Samuel . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 52:  Shearman - Smirke. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1897, pp. 171 - 172 (English).
• Shute, Samuel . In: James Grant Wilson, John Fiske (Eds.): Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . tape 5 : Pickering - Sumter . D. Appleton and Company, New York 1888, p. 520 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).

Web links

• Appointment of Shute as governor of Massachusetts by George I.