John Saffin

He is best known for the work A Brief and Candid Answer, which was written in response to Samuel Sewall's The Selling of Joseph,[1] and for a small collection of poetry, most of which was not published until the 20th century.

Many early histories, often accepted by later writers, have placed his birth and family origin as Somerset, England, while others have claimed Exeter in Devon as his birthplace.

[11] The trade Saffin engaged in was fairly typical: lumber and fish from New England were shipped to Virginia, and tobacco and hides were sent north.

[13] King Philip's War, fought in the late 1670s, resulted in the conquering of Indian territories on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay.

In 1679 a Rhode Island court convicted him of attempting to uphold a foreign jurisdiction (in this case, that of Connecticut) over the disputed land.

[17] Saffin received revenge when in 1687 Joseph Dudley, also an Atherton Trading Company principal and then president of the Dominion of New England, restored his claim.

Following the Glorious Revolution in England in 1688, there was a revolt against the Dominion rule of Andros; Saffin sided with the rebels, and sat on the Plymouth Colony councils during the interregnum years from 1689 to 1692.

In 1692, when the Province of Massachusetts Bay was chartered, Saffin was made a judge of the court of common pleas for Bristol County.

Cowardly and cruel are those Blacks InnateProne to Revenge, Imp of inveterate hateHe that exasperates them, soon espiesMischief and Murder in their very eyes.Libidinous, Deceitful, False, and RudeThe Spume Issue of IngratitudeThe Premises consider'd, all may tellHow near good Joseph they are Parallel Saffin was well known for his pugnacious style, because of which he often ended up in court as a litigant.

The most notorious of these disputes involved a black indentured servant named Adam that Saffin had hired out on a seven-year contract in 1694.

[20] The court heard evidence claiming that Adam had failed to "chearfully quietly and industriously" fulfil the terms of the indenture, and he was found guilty.

In the meantime, Joseph Dudley, newly appointed governor, refused to reappoint Saffin to the high court in 1702, noting others "might have served the Queen better than they did".