Sir Francis Bernard (1712-1779), royal governor of colonial Massachusetts from 1760 to 1769, witnessed the rapid dissipation of happy sentiment stemming from Anglo-American victory in the French and Indian War and the first stirrings of colonial radicalism. The writs of assistance case, the Stamp Act riots, and the ensuing boycotts of British manufactures all happened on his watch. Bernard himself proved to be a controversial figure. His most vociferous opponents accused him of aggressively pursuing customs violations to augment his own income. Others believed that he had deliberately misrepresented political conditions in Boston in order to persuade authorities in England to dispatch troops to support his troubled administration. At the end of his governorship, the Massachusetts House of Representatives petitioned for his recall, even as the king awarded him a baronetcy for his loyal service. Once home in England, Bernard slipped easily into the role of an expert on colonial affairs and helped devise imperial policies that would exacerbate the growing crisis.
Bernard's letters and other incidental papers provide abundant insight into the personalities and bitter controversies agitating Boston in the pre-Revolutionary period. Often consulted by scholars in transcripts and on microfilm, they constitute one of the most important sources on the period, yet this edition is the first comprehensive selection of his letters to be published. The explanation for this neglect can only be that, as far as American readers are concerned, he was on the wrong side of the conflict. Read side-by-side with the papers of John and Samuel Adams, Bernard's letters allow us to understand fully events in Massachusetts leading up to the Revolution.
This is the first of three volumes of selected letters, to be followed upon completion by a calendar of documents covering his life and career.
Distributed for the Colonial Society of Massachusetts

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 1) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

History

Bernard, Francis

Americas

Colonial Society of Massachusetts

The second volume of The Papers of Francis Bernard records the reaction of the royal governor of colonial Massachusetts to the tumultuous events surrounding the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765. Because the response to the new legislation in Boston set the pattern for the reaction of all the other colonies, these letters constitute firsthand observations on the birth of the American movement for independence. This is the second of four volumes of selected letters, to be followed upon completion by a calendar of documents covering Bernard's life and career.

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 2) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

As governor of colonial Massachusetts between 1760 and 1769, Francis Bernard was charged with shoring up British imperialism during the first period of sustained American opposition to the authority of the King-in-Parliament. The documentary record of the middle years (1766 and 1767) of Bernard’s troubled administration reveals a governor at odds with his American charges and discomfited by the knowledge that his British masters did not appreciate his predicament.As a commentator on the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765-66, Governor Bernard was a candid and self-effacing narrator with a penchant for revelation and a talent for dramatization.Bernard’s correspondence of 1766 and 1767 illuminates two major causes of the Revolution. The writings demonstrate why British policymakers were prepared to take a firmer line with the Americans and send British Regulars to Boston in 1768, and why many Americans convinced themselves that the British government was predisposed to ignore their aspirations and grievances. The Papers of Francis Bernard provide historians with enlightening details as well as hard evidence of how British imperialism was negotiable in the decade before the War of Independence.Distributed for the Colonial Society of Massachusetts

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 3) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

Governor Francis Bernard's historical reputation rests on his role in pushing the American colonists toward revolution. Bernard was the kind of government official without whom revolutions might not occur: A thwarted modernizer, despairing of metropolitan inertia and resentful of local power shifts that undermined his own authority, he sought and found retribution in a hostile portrayal of his opponents and critics. In 1768, the colonists and their governor vied to control information flowing to London. But it was Bernard who triumphed in the war of information, convincing the British government to send British troops to Boston to avert a possible insurrection and support the civil government. The colonists, meanwhile, struggled to find evidence that their governor was misrepresenting their cause. That evidence is presented here in full for the first time.Distributed for the Colonial Society of Massachusetts

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 4) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

British Regulars marched into Boston at midday on Saturday 1 October 1768. For weeks there had been rumors that the landing would be resisted. But by four in the afternoon the two regiments were parading on the Common without incident. The troops were there to deter rioters, cow radicals, and support the civil government. There was no revolt to crush. No one expected war in 1769, but it was no longer unthinkable to Bostonians living alongside British soldiers or to British politicians discussing the allegedly treasonable activities of Bostonians. Their differences hinged on what Francis Bernard had been telling the British government. This fifth volume of the Bernard Papers examines the evidence and debates as they unfolded in Boston and London. The stakes could scarcely have been higher in peacetime. When the British recalled Bernard with honor, the troops remained: the Boston Massacre was his legacy.Distributed for the Colonial Society of Massachusetts

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 5) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

The Barrington-Bearnard Correspondence

Channing, Edward

Coolidge, Archibald Cary

BiblioLife

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

The Barrington-Bernard Correspondence and Illustrative Matter 1760 - 1770: Drawn from the 'Papers of Sir Francis Bernard' Sometime Governor of Massach

Nabu Press

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Books by Bernard, Francis

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bernard, Francis. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 1) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 2) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 3) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 4) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

The Papers of Francis Bernard: Governor of Colonial Massachusetts, 1760–1769 (Volume 5) (Colonial Society of Massachusetts)

The Barrington-Bearnard Correspondence

The Barrington-Bearnard Correspondence

The Barrington-Bearnard Correspondence

The Barrington-Bearnard Correspondence

The Barrington-Bernard Correspondence and Illustrative Matter 1760 - 1770: Drawn from the 'Papers of Sir Francis Bernard' Sometime Governor of Massach