Phips was famous in his lifetime for recovering a large treasure from a sunken Spanish galleon but is perhaps best remembered today for establishing the court associated with the infamous Salem Witch Trials, which he grew unhappy with and was forced to prematurely disband after five months.

As he was preparing for its maiden voyage in August 1676, planning to deliver a load of lumber to Boston, a band of Indians descended on the area during the Northeast Coast Campaign (1676).

[19] In any case, a reckless plan was concocted, probably by Narborough, whereby this New England native, despite having no background in the English navy, would be assigned as the commander of a 20-gun frigate, HMS Rose of Algiers, for a treasure hunt but given no other financial backing.

Just before the Rose set sail, things were complicated again when the Crown decided to place a minder on board named John Knepp "to look after the King's interest".

[25] In the English Navy, the purser acted as a sort of Company Store, tempting sailors far from shore with whiskey, tobacco and other desirables by offering them credit against their wages, (collected through the captain).

[26] It seems like a terrible idea to place a purser on a voyage like that of the Rose, on a shoestring budget, with the men receiving no wages and collectively buying and sharing food together.

[33] As Phips was creating chaos for the Massachusetts government, he continued to pursue his original intention of gathering diving equipment and divers to take to the Bahamas.

Two days after Phips left the Boston area, Increase Mather gave a rousing speech to the deputies and freemen advising them not to submit to the Crown and to resist the quo warranto.

To what extent he was swayed by the arguments of Randolph as they crossed the Atlantic, it is hard to know, but Phips certainly played the role with bluster, and he seems to have spoken up as a royalist to the Boston government in the meetings he had with Bradstreet and Stoughton, at least as recorded by Knepp.

By 1688, Phips had crossed over to Increase Mather's side and begun to consistently oppose Randolph and the Dominion government he helped bring about and with a vehemence that would seem to suggest some degree of shame and dismay for the role he played as Captain of HMS Rose in 1683–84.

The decisiveness with which Phips later returned and quickly located the treasure suggests that he was able to gather valuable knowledge and began to formulate a clear plan, though he would have to wait two years to bring it to fruition.

Phips utilized experience as a sailor and shipwright to select high quality anchors, chains, and cables to hold their ships securely in close proximity to the shoals for months as they tried to fish treasure from it.

After Phips was discreetly informed of their amazing find, he spent the next nine days preparing the ships and gathering enough food to sustain the men over months of bringing up treasure.

[42] (During the controversies that surrounded Phips at the end of his life, his critics like to portray him as hot-headed, ill-bred, and impatient, so it seems worth noting his careful conduct during this life-changing and momentous time.)

James also rewarded Phips with the post of Provost Marshal General (Chief Sheriff) of the Dominion of New England, serving under Sir Edmund Andros.

Phips had by then already left the wreck site in early May, sailing for Boston for what seems to have been his first time home in four and a half years, to take up his new post as Provost Marshal General.

Instead, he stayed home in Boston only six weeks before shipping back to London to join with Increase Mather in opposing the Dominion and seeking to restore the original charter.

[54] He implausibly cast this scenario as a spontaneous spiritual awakening, including heartfelt testimony, which Cotton Mather claims to faithfully transcribe "without adding so much as one word unto it.

Before he left, he convinced a number of Acadians to swear oaths of allegiance to the English Crown, appointed a council of locals to administer the town, and then sailed back to Boston, carrying Meneval and his garrison as prisoners of war.

Phips received a hero's welcome and was lavished with praise, although he was criticized in some circles (and has been vilified in French and Acadian histories)[63] for allowing the sacking of Port Royal.

[64] In the wake of the success, the Massachusetts provisional government agreed to organize an expedition on a larger scale against Quebec, the capital of New France, and gave its command to Phips.

Originally intending to coordinate with a simultaneous overland attack on Montreal launched from Albany, New York, the expedition's departure was delayed in the vain hope that needed munitions would arrive from England.

[68] Many of the expedition's participants and creditors were unhappy at being paid this way, and Phips generously purchased some of the depreciated paper with hard currency, incurring financial losses in the process.

Phips later claimed to have chosen nominations for the court from "persons of the best prudence and figure that could then be pitched upon",[76] and indeed, as Thomas Brattle pointed out, most were well-known and respected merchants from the Boston area.

The Mathers, father and son, continued to debate this issue with other area ministers, like Samuel Willard, throughout the summer and into the fall, as documented by the minutes of the Cambridge Association.

Instead, Phips continued to work on recruiting troops and gathering supplies to build a fort in Maine, and he left the province around August 1 and was gone the entire month and much of September.

In a letter written October 20, 1692, Cotton Mather expressed anguish over the ending of the "proceedings" and stated his displeasure with his father's recent call for presumed innocence ("Cases of Conscience").

Furthermore, Joseph Dudley, a Massachusetts native (and former Dominion official alongside Randolph) was in London, scheming to replace Phips, and in early 1693 Stoughton joined forces with him.

(In 1695, following Phips' death, Bellomont was placed over Fletcher, Usher, and Stoughton, suggesting Whitehall was unimpressed by the bickering of the three provinces and not swayed by the particular merits of any of their arguments.

Phips was bailed out by Sir Henry Ashurst but fell ill with a fever[citation needed] and died on February 18, 1695,[2] aged 44, before his charges were heard.