Boston Uprising

19th-century engraving depicting the arrest of Endros

The Boston Uprising is a popular uprising that took place on April 18, 1689 against the rule of Sir Edmund Endros , Governor of the Dominion of New England . A well-organized “crowd” of provincial militia and citizens formed in the city and arrested dominion officials. Followers of the Church of England considered the Puritans loyal to the ruling administration, so they were also taken into custody by the rebels. None of the parties suffered losses during the uprising. The leaders of the former Massachusetts Gulf colony then regained control of the government over the colony. In other colonies, members of governments displaced by the uprising returned to power.

Endros, becoming the governor of New England, earned himself a poor reputation among the local population by introducing restrictive navigational acts, denying the validity of land rights in the colony, restricting city meetings and appointing unpopular cadre officers at the head of the colonial militia, as well as a number of other actions. He was also hated by the Boston Puritans for his support of the Church of England, which many nonconformists among New England colonists had a negative attitude towards.