Historical Correction: New England Colonists vs. King James II & Andros

The premise of the question contains a significant historical error. King James II was indeed on the throne when the Dominion of New England was established—and his appointed governor, Sir Edmund Andros, ruled the region directly.

The Actual Timeline

• 1685: James II ascends the English throne (succeeds Charles II).
• 1686: James II creates the Dominion of New England, consolidating Massachusetts, Plymouth, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and East/West Jersey into a single royal province.
• 1686–1689: Sir Edmund Andros serves as Royal Governor of the Dominion, based in Boston. He enforces unpopular policies:
  • Revokes colonial charters & land titles.
  • Imposes Anglican worship (Book of Common Prayer) in Puritan meetinghouses.
  • Restricts town meetings (one per year).
  • Enforces Navigation Acts strictly (hurts smuggling-based economy).
  • Quartering soldiers in Boston.
• April 1689: News of the Glorious Revolution (William of Orange overthrows James II) reaches Boston. Colonists arrest Andros in a bloodless uprising. Dominion collapses.
• 1689–1691: Interim governments; Massachusetts gets new charter (1691) as royal province (no longer self-governing corporation).

Why the Confusion?

The question likely conflates James II (r. 1685–1688) with George III (r. 1760–1820)—the king during the American Revolution (1775–1783). By George III's time, New England had been under direct royal governance for nearly a century.

Significance

The Andros interregnum (1686–1689) was a defining crisis for New England's Puritan identity. It galvanized resistance to arbitrary authority, foreshadowing 1776. The colonists' grievances—taxation without representation, religious coercion, military occupation, revocation of charters—echoed 90 years later.

Correction: New England colonists did have serious issues with King James II and Governor Andros—and their successful 1689 revolt was a precedent for later resistance.