Such behavior in a Governor was too
strenuous, and Sir William Phips was summoned to England, where
he died while waiting his restoration to office and royal favor.
Failing both, he dreamed of still another treasure voyage, "for
it was his purpose, upon his dismission from his Government once
more to have gone upon his old Fishing-Trade, upon a mighty shelf
of rock and banks of sand that lie where he had informed
himself."
CHAPTER II. THE PRIVATEERS OF '76
The wars of England with France and Spain spread turmoil upon the
high seas during the greater part of the eighteenth century. Yet
with an immense tenacity of purpose, these briny forefathers
increased their trade and multiplied their ships in the face of
every manner of adversity. The surprising fact is that most of
them were not driven ashore to earn their bread. What Daniel
Webster said of them at a later day was true from the beginning:
"It is not, sir, by protection and bounties, but by unwearied
exertion, by extreme economy, by that manly and resolute spirit
which relies on itself to protect itself. These causes alone
enable American ships still to keep the element and show the flag
of their country in distant seas."
What was likely to befall a shipmaster in the turbulent
eighteenth century may be inferred from the misfortunes of
Captain Michael Driver of Salem.
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