Jacob Leisler
Jacob Leisler was a prominent figure in colonial New York, known for his role as a trader, military officer, and political leader during a tumultuous period in the late 17th century. Born into a distinguished family in Germany, he migrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland, where he established a successful trading business and became involved in civic matters. Following the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Leisler emerged as a leader of the anti-colonial faction against the appointed governor, Francis Nicholson, and eventually assumed the title of lieutenant governor himself. His administration was marked by efforts to promote popular representation and legislative codification in New York.
However, Leisler's rule faced significant opposition, particularly from the elite and English settlers, leading to increasing tensions and accusations of autocracy. His downfall came after a stand-off with the new governor, Henry Sloughter, which resulted in his arrest and execution in 1691 for treason—a decision that sparked outrage and led to a posthumous recognition of his administration's legitimacy by the English Parliament. Leisler's legacy is significant; he has been viewed as an early advocate for democratic principles and representative governance, and his life and actions contributed to ongoing political divisions in New York and the development of American independence movements.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Jacob Leisler
German-born colonial American merchant, politician, and religious leader
- Born: March 31, 1640 (baptized)
- Birthplace: Frankfurt am Main (now in Germany)
- Died: May 16, 1691
- Place of death: New York, New York
As the acting leader of colonial New York from 1689 to 1691, Jacob Leisler established a legislative assembly that was not dominated by wealthy landowners and merchants. Later proponents of democratic representation were sometimes called Leislerians.
Early Life
Jacob Leisler (YAH-kawp LIS-luhr) was born into a prominent family of Calvinist ministers and bankers. His father was the Reverend Jacob Victorian Leisler, minister of a French Huguenot congregation in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. After the Reverend Leisler died in 1653, the family moved to Hanau, and Jacob attended a Protestant military academy. As a member of the Calvinist elite, he had early contacts with leading Calvinist intellectuals and leaders in both Europe and New England. In 1658, he moved to Amsterdam, where he worked as a translator for a wealthy shareholder of the Dutch West India Company . In 1660, the company appointed him as an officer of troops in the Dutch colony of New Netherland.
Soon after Leisler settled in New Amsterdam, he entered into the trading business. His exports included furs, tobacco, fish, whale oil, and agricultural products. He imported spices, finished cloth, indentured servants, and slaves. He quickly acquired the reputation of a hardworking and skillful trader. In 1663, he married a wealthy widow, Elsie Tymens van der Veen, and the couple eventually had seven children. By the time of his marriage, Leisler was investing money in land, and despite his youth, he was acquiring a substantial amount of wealth.
Life’s Work
In August of 1664, when the English invading fleet (led by James, duke of York and future King James II ) arrived at the tip of Manhattan, Leisler was among the prominent citizens who signed a remonstrance urging Governor Peter Stuyvesant to surrender. Following the surrender on September 7, Leisler quickly swore his allegiance to the duke of York’s new regime. Although the duke of York confiscated the property of the Dutch West India Company, he confirmed existing property rights of individual settlers. Leisler continued his business ventures with few changes, and he frequently served as a court-appointed arbitrator of economic disputes.
Leisler proved to be quite skillful at adapting to changing political regimes. When the Dutch recaptured New York in 1673, he became one of the advisers to the Dutch governor, and he also worked as a tax assessor. The next year, when New York was returned to the British, Leisler obtained the position of New York agent for Maryland governor Thomas Notely. Becoming increasingly active in civic affairs, Leisler was appointed commissioner to the Admiralty Court in 1683 and a New York County justice of the peace in 1685. For many years, he also served as a militia captain and was recognized by the mid-1680’s as the senior captain of the militia.
Leisler also remained an enthusiastic member of the Dutch Reformed Church in New York. By 1670, he was a deacon and a member of the consistory. In 1676, he became embroiled in a religious controversy when he declared that the preaching of a minister in Albany, Reverend Nicholas Van Rensselaer , did not conform to the orthodox creeds of the Reformed faith. When the minister sued him, the suit divided the citizens of New York until the governor ordered its end. In 1685, when Louis XIV terminated the rights of French Huguenots in France, Leisler led in the establishment of a refuge for them in New Rochelle. At this time, he left the Dutch Church and became a founding elder of the first French Huguenot Church in New York City.
In July of 1688, when King James II annexed New York to the Dominion of New England, committed Protestants such as Leisler were infuriated by the centralizing and pro-Catholic tendencies of the Stuart monarchy. In early 1689, most colonists were delighted to learn of the Glorious Revolution , in which King James II was replaced by William III and Mary II. In April, 1689, Bostonians took matters into their own hands by overthrowing the unpopular Dominion governor, Sir Edmund Andros . The lieutenant governor of New York, Francis Nicholson, tried to maintain his position by appointing an expanded council, which included Leisler and other strong Protestants. After Nicholson hesitated to recognize the abdication of James II, however, Leisler resigned from the council.
On May 31, 1689, the New York militia revolted and occupied Fort James. Leisler probably did not participate in the initial revolt, but within two days he emerged as the recognized leader of the anti-Nicholson faction. Nicholson was forced to flee for his life. He left behind his three chief counselors, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Nicholas Bayard, and Frederick Philips, who still refused to acknowledge the monarchy of William and Mary. In the provinces of New York and New Jersey, supporters of the revolution, called Orangists, sent representatives to establish a special Committee of Safety, which attempted to restore orderly government. In June, the committee named Leisler as captain of Fort James. On August 16, it promoted him to be the commander in chief of the province.
In December, Leisler assumed the title of lieutenant governor and sent a letter to King William III pledging his support to the new regime. In 1690, Leisler called for elections to an assembly based on direct popular representation, and he initiated the first codification of New York’s laws. His Orangist faction initially had the support of a broad coalition of Dutch settlers, workers, yeoman farmers and middle-class merchants. A rival Regent faction was supported by members of the wealthy elite and most Englishmen. Nicholas Bayard and other members of the Regent faction organized an anti-Leisler government in Albany. Faced with this opposition, Leisler increasingly acted in an arbitrary and autocratic manner. He dismissed the Committee of Safety, formed an executive council, and imprisoned Bayard as well as other leaders of the opposition.
Leisler’s letter of allegiance to King William was intercepted by the French and never delivered. In London, Francis Nicholson convinced the king that Leisler was disloyal and not to be trusted. In September, 1689, William appointed a new governor, Henry Sloughter, who had an unfavorable view of Leisler and his regime. The Board of Trade, composed of conservative Tories, was even more hostile. Meanwhile, in February, 1690, a French and Indian attack on the frontier town of Schenectady confirmed the colonists’ fears of a Papist threat from Quebec. Leisler called for an intercolonial conference, which met in June to organize an invasion of Canada. The delegates from New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut agreed to dispatch a two-pronged expedition, but it proved to be a fiasco.
In January, 1691, Sloughter’s military assistant, Captain Richard Ingoldsby, arrived in New York and demanded that Leisler turn over control of the fort. Leisler refused, in part because Ingoldsby did not have any written evidence of his authority. Leisler’s enemies supported Ingoldsby. After a stand-off of two months, fighting broke out, which resulted in six deaths. Two days later, Sloughter arrived, and Leisler agreed to surrender the fort. Sloughter ordered him to be arrested and tried for treason. Leisler protested that he had not sought personal power but had only acted to oppose “popery” and heresy. Found guilty in a hasty trial, both he and his brother-in-law, Jacob Milborne, were hanged and then beheaded on May 16, 1691.
Many people in America and Europe denounced the executions of Leisler and Milborne. In 1695, the English Parliament, with the encouragement of William III, reversed the judgments of the New York trials and recognized Leisler’s administration as legitimate. In 1702, the New York assembly voted an indemnity to his heirs.
Significance
For many historians, Leisler’s most lasting influence was his call for an intercolonial conference, independent of English authority. Although the Canadian expedition failed to achieve its objective, it helped prepare for future cooperation between Puritan New England and Dutch Reformed New York. It also provided inspiration for Benjamin Franklin’s Plan of Union, which was adopted at the Albany Conference of the next century.
Leisler was one of the strongest proponents of a representative assembly in seventeenth century New York. Following his death, he became a symbol for the idea of democratic government. During the next half a century, the division between the Leislerians and their conservative opponents continued to divide the politics of New York. Thomas Hutchinson (1711-1780), the last colonial governor of Massachusetts from 1771 to 1774, identified Leisler as one of the forerunners of the movement for American independence. Some historians have argued that the Leisler controversy contributed to the development of a two-party system in New York.
Bibliography
Andrews, Charles A. Narratives of the Insurrections. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1915. Includes three important seventeenth century documents—two that are anti-Leislerian and one that defends the rebellion.
Archdeacon, Thomas. New York City, 1664-1710: Conquest and Change. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1976. A detailed and useful account of the politics and culture of the colony during the turn of the century.
Burrows, Edwin, and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. In this large and impressive volume, chapters 7 and 8 include excellent accounts of the rebellion and its legacy.
Christoph, Peter, ed. Leisler Papers, 1689-1691. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1999. A scholarly collection of original documents with a helpful introduction and background information.
Hoffer, Peter Charles. The Brave New World: A History of Early America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. A succinct summary of Leisler’s rebellion within the broad context of colonial government and history.
Kammen, Michael. Colonial New York: A History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Scholarly work that places Leisler and the rebellion within the historical context of colonial New York.
McCormick, Charles Howard. Leisler’s Rebellion. Ithaca, N.Y.: Taylor & Francis, 1989. Scholarly account of the rebellion and its significance.
Osgood, H. The American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century. Vol. 3. Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1957. An old but still useful account of the colonial period, with a good account of Leisler and his rebellion.
Reich, Jerome. Leisler’s Rebellion: A Study of Democracy in New York. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953. A standard work on Leisler’s rebellion, with an emphasis on its democratic aspects.