Thomas Willett: Difference between revisions

When the colony was reorganized with the name of New York, Willett was appointed the first mayor of the town (June 1665) with the approval of the English and Dutch alike; he had apparently maintained a residence in New Amsterdam for some years<ref>Burrows and Wallace, p. 78.</ref> in addition to his long-establish trading relationships. The next year he was elected alderman, and became mayor again for another year in mid-1667. He was a member of the New York governor's executive council at times from 1665 to 1672 under [[Francis Lovelace]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Jj8OAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA665&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q=willett&f=false Brodhead, John Romeyn (1871). ''History of the state of New York.'' New York: Harper & Brothers. '''II''': 144.]</ref>

 

 

One of the greatest services Willett provided to the colony for many years, along with his father-in-law John Browne, was maintenance of good relations<ref>Philbrick, pp. 197, 213-4, and 315-6.</ref> with the Pokanokets whose main village was near Rehoboth, close to Mt. Hope. The relations with the colony soured with Willett's absences to New York and for his other merchant activities, and even more so after his death. The military affairs of the colony were increasingly assumed by [[Josiah Winslow]], who pursued a much more aggressive approach. Alexander, Massasoit's eldest son who had become the leader of the Pokanokets, died while in the custody of Winslow in 1662.<ref>Philbrick, pp. 200-6.</ref> Philip, the next eldest son, then became the Pokanoket's leader; relations eventually deteriorated to the point of open warfare between the English colonies and most of the New England tribes in 1675. This became known as [[King Philip's War]].