Background
Robert Hunter was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1666. He was the son of James and Margaret (Spalding) Hunter.
(Excerpt from Androboros: A Biographical Farce in Three Ac...)
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Robert Hunter was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1666. He was the son of James and Margaret (Spalding) Hunter.
According to William Smith, the early historian of New York, he was apprenticed as a youth to an apothecary, only to flee from his master and join the English army; but Hunter's friend Cadwallader Colden later questioned Smith's statement.
Hunter manifested marked ability as a soldier and distinguished himself with the forces of the Duke of Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession. He fought in the battle of Blenheim in 1704, probably with the 5th Royal Irish Dragoons. Shortly afterwards he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, in which capacity he served until 1707. The Earl of Orkney, governor of Virginia, secured for Hunter, who was a stanch Whig, the lieutenant-governorship of that colony.
He embarked for America in 1707 but was destined not to reach Virginia, being captured en route by an enemy privateer and taken to France as a prisoner. The French evidently treated their captive leniently and his confinement was soon translated into a series of social successes. These successes continued when he was returned to England in an exchange of prisoners which brought the Bishop of Quebec back to France. It was his wide acquaintanceship, his record as a soldier, his versatility in language and literature, and the influence of his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Orby and widow of Brigadier-General John Hay, that caused Hunter to be considered anew as a Crown official in America. In 1709 he received an appointment as captain-general and governor-in-chief of New York and New Jersey, thereby succeeding John, Lord Lovelace, who died in May of that year.
He left for America in the early spring of 1710, and arrived at New York City on June 14. Thus commenced an administration which was to endure until July 1719, and which was to prove one of the most successful in the annals of American colonial history. At the outset of the administration both New York and New Jersey were torn by factionalism, the former still being harassed by feuds which lingered from the old Leislerian conspiracy. The years 1710-15 were marked by a struggle between governor and assemblies over the constitutional problem of the control of finance, in which the assemblies ultimately gained the upper hand. It took years to allay partisan feelings, to smoothe the rivalry between the legislative houses, and to secure a settlement of the financial problems, but in the end Hunter was largely successful. Furthermore he had made himself popular, a rare achievement in the New World, where royal officials were viewed with suspicion and distrust.
On coming to New York Hunter brought with him about three thousand refugees from the Rhenish Palatinate, who were to engage in the production of naval stores for the use of British vessels. The immigrants were settled on the banks of the Hudson River where there was an abundance of pine trees from which tar and pitch could be derived. High hopes were entertained at the outset of the project and it was believed that it would entirely relieve England from the necessity of purchasing naval stores from Sweden, but the scheme was doomed to failure, inasmuch as the British government was lax in its support and did not furnish the money (estimated at £15, 000 per year) necessary for its continuance. Hunter tried to prolong the venture at his own expense and indeed he claimed that in so doing he went in debt to the amount of £21, 000 but his efforts were unsuccessful. With the abandonment of the enterprise some of the Germans left New York for Pennsylvania, while still others departed from their original settlements and went to Schoharie on the western frontier of the province.
Frequently disaffected, the Rhenishers caused the Governor no little embarrassment during his entire administration. Inasmuch as the War of the Spanish Succession dragged on until 1713, the defense of the frontier against the French in Canada was a major problem. Hunter not only rallied his own provinces, but at the Congress of New London (June 1711) and later he endeavored to influence the neighboring colonies to take an active part in the campaign. One expedition resulted in failure because the English fleet which was to cooperate with the provincial land forces was wrecked. Continuance of the campaign was abandoned, much to the disgust of Hunter and other colonial leaders. In connection with the war preparations, Hunter and Joseph Dudley, governor of Massachusetts Bay, inaugurated an express between Boston and Albany, probably the first organized postal service in English America. Although the Treaty of Utrecht concluded formal hostilities between France and England, Hunter continued to devote no little attention to the frontier and among other measures ordered the construction of a fort in the Indian country.
He was responsible also for the erection of a court of chancery in New York which expedited the collection of quit-rents owed the Crown. It was with genuine sorrow that New York saw Hunter return to England in 1719, and the farewell address of the legislature reveals the respect which the colonists held for him. He was succeeded by William Burnet, with whom he exchanged his governorship for the position of comptroller of the customs. For several years he remained in England, where he was frequently consulted as an authority on colonial problems. Later (1727) he was appointed governor of Jamaica, that turbulent island where economic and social issues were paramount. This post he held until his death in 1734.
Hunter's principal writings were his letters from the New World to the English government and to friends, including Jonathan Swift and the Earl of Stair. Cadwallader Colden mentions him as an occasional contributor to the Tatler and as being the author of "some elegant little pieces of poetry, which never appeared in his name. " To divert himself, says his friend Colden, he composed the farce Androborus with the assistance of Lewis Morris, satirizing the Senate and lieutenant-governor, and thus turned the people into "a laughing humour. " A unique copy of this first play known to have been written and printed in America is now in the Huntington Library, San Marino, Cal.
(Excerpt from Androboros: A Biographical Farce in Three Ac...)
A member of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and active in the support of the church, he was nevertheless attacked by the High-Church party in the colony.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Orby and widow of Brigadier-General John Hay.
