Benjamin Fletcher

Fletcher was the son of William Fletcher and Abigail Vincent.^[5] His father was killed in 1643 during the Siege of Gloucester in the First English Civil War.^[6]

Since the 1680s, New York city had had to deal with a new, nearby, maritime rival, Philadelphia, which had boomed since its founding. As added attractions, Philadelphia had "the purest bread and strongest beer in America." Despite such appeal, the pirates preferred the safe confines of New York city and brought considerable wealth into the port of New York, whose commerce had been endangered by the fighting of King William's War. Because of these circumstances, New Yorkers – from the governor on down – turned a blind eye to the criminals. In fact most of New York city eagerly dealt with the various pirates who entered its harbor. The local merchants, along with Fletcher, saw the freebooters as men who carried real money into the colony.^[7]

Many New Yorkers were cheating the revenue laws by smuggling, some of them sent out ships to trade with pirates for stolen goods, and some of them became pirates themselves.^[8] One of the privateers was Captain William Kidd, later hanged in England after being convicted of piracy. Kidd used some of his wealth to build a fine home and helped establish the first Trinity Church. Other financiers of piracy were Frederick Philipse, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Peter Schuyler, and Thomas Willet.^[9]

Though strict in religious observances he was fond of luxury, and of extravagant habits, and continually in want of money, both Fletcher and some of his council were in the habit of receiving valuable gifts – amounting to blackmail – from the different pirate ships.^[10]

Gov. Fletcher granted "trading licenses to ships which everybody knew were interlopers engaged in "the Red Sea trade," as trading with the pirates of Madagascar was politely called; privateering commissions were given to ships which everybody knew were going to sea as pirates; under his government smuggling was carried on by the leading merchants of the city and he granted the licenses and he permitted the smuggling because he was bribed".^[8] Fletcher had gotten payments from pirates – mostly small sums except when some grateful buccaneers gave the governor their ship, which netted him £800. Edward Randolph, the Crown's agent overseeing trade, amassed evidence that doomed Fletcher's tenure and helped anoint Lord Bellomont as the new governor of New York.^[7]

Fletcher returned to England and retired to Boyle, County Roscommon in Ireland where he died on 28 May 1703.^[1]

Fletcher's first lieutenant in New York, and possible birth son, was Peter Mathews. Mathews was at a minimum a protégé, and Fletcher may have raised him.^[12] Mathews named one of his children Vincent (Fletcher's mother's maiden name). Multiple children in the Mathews family carried the name Fletcher and Vincent, including Fletcher Mathews, Tory supporter during the American Revolution and brother of New York City Mayor David Mathews, and Vincent Mathews.

Fletcher Street in Lower Manhattan is named after him.^[13]

• List of colonial governors of New York
• List of colonial governors of Pennsylvania