William Bull (politician, 1710)

William Bull II (born September 24, 1710 in Charleston County , Province of South Carolina , † July 4, 1791 in London , England ) was a multiple colonial governor of the Province of South Carolina.

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William Bull was born the son of the colonial governor of South Carolina, William Bull I (1683–1755), on his Ashley Hall Plantation . He graduated from Westminster School in London and then studied medicine at the University of Leiden . However, he did not practice as a doctor later. After returning to South Carolina, he worked as a planter and began a political career. Between 1736 and 1749 he was a member of the colonial parliament, which he chaired in the meantime. He was an ally of his father. Since 1749 he was a member of the local Royal Council . Ten years later, in 1759, he became chairman of that body and lieutenant governor of the Province of South Carolina. He held this office until 1775. During this time he was five times acting governor of the colony. In total, he had eight years of service as governor. His first term lasted from April 5, 1760 to December 22, 1761. This period was overshadowed by the events of the ongoing Seven Years' War in North America . He tried hard to make peace with the Cherokee .

Bull's second term as acting governor (May 1764-June 1766) was marked by the first serious crisis between the colonists and the British government in London. It was about the controversial Stamp Act . Bull ran into a dilemma in this conflict. He was from South Carolina himself and he disagreed with the law. On the other hand, he was a British civil servant and as such had to enforce the law. He came into conflict with the colonial House of Representatives. Independently of this, Bull promoted the shifting of the settlement boundary of the colony to the west, where new places, administrative districts with the associated infrastructure were created. His third term in office between May and October 1768 passed without any particular incident.

Since the beginning of the 1770s, South Carolina was increasingly affected by the looming conflicts between the colonists of the 13 British colonies on the American east coast and the government in London. During this time, Bull's fourth term as acting governor fell between July 31, 1769 and September 15, 1771. His fifth and final term (March 6, 1773 to June 18, 1775) was dominated by the impending revolution . The colony became increasingly turmoil. The so-called security committee was created as a harbinger of the revolution. Politicians like Henry Middleton were leading American patriots . Middleton was, among other things, President of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia . Accordingly, the British governor had a difficult position. On June 18, 1775, William Campbell, the last British governor of South Carolina, took office. Just three months later he had to give way to the pressure of the revolution and flee to England. At the same time, William Bull resigned from the Royal Council and retired to his Ashley Hall plantation . In 1777 he refused to take an oath on the American government. He was then expelled from the country. He entrusted his property in trust to his nephew Stephen Bull, left South Carolina on May 4, 1777 and sailed for England.

After British troops retook Charleston and other parts of South Carolina in May 1780 , Bull returned there again. There he became head of the Charleston Police Department, which in fact exercised control over the city. He tried to mediate between the British and the Americans, but remained a loyal supporter of the crown. As a result of the further course of the Revolutionary War , the British had to withdraw from Charleston and South Carolina in December 1782. William Bull joined the withdrawing troops and sailed with them back to England. He later unsuccessfully returned to South Carolina. He died in London on July 4, 1791.

Web links

• Bull II at Encyclopedia.Com
• Bull II in the South Carolina Encyclopedia