Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont
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Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont (1636–5 March 1701) was colonial governor of New York from 1698 to 1701 and of Massachusetts from 1699 to 1700.
Coote, who was born in Ireland, was the second, but first surviving son, of Richard, 1st Lord Coote of Coloony by Mary, daughter of Sir George St George, and succeeded his father on 10 July 1683. He was Member of Parliament for Droitwich from 1689 to 1695. He was one of the first to join the Prince of Orange in 1688, which caused him to be attainted by the Irish Parliament of King James II in May 1689. William and Mary, however, created him Earl of Bellomont on 2 November 1689 in the Irish Peerage, and granted him over 77,000 acres of forfeited Irish lands.
Coote was Treasurer to the Queen from 1689 to 1693. He was commissioned as Royal Governor of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York in 1697. He began his administration in New York the next spring in 1698 and did not assert his dominion over Massachusetts until May of 1699, when he presided in person as Massachusetts' Governor.
Bellomont had been the primary sponsor of Captain William Kidd's charter as a privateer, and when he was charged with piracy, Captain Kidd came to Boston to enlist Governor Coote's support. The political tide had turned against Kidd, and Governor Coote promptly had Captain Kidd arrested. The accused pirate was given a brief hearing and was then returned to London where he was found guilty of piracy and hanged.
Coote's attempt to govern three such distant territories took a toll on his health and he succumbed to a severe case of gout in 1701. He was replaced temporarily in New York by John Nanfan as acting governor until the arrival of Viscount Cornbury in 1702 and in Massachusetts by William Stoughton, who died before Joseph Dudley arrived as Coote's replacement in 1702.
He married Catharine, daughter of Bridges Nanfan. They were parents of Nanfan Coote, 2nd Earl of Bellomont, and Richard Coote, 3rd Earl of Bellomont. The Earldom became extinct on the death of the 4th Earl, while the barony devolved upon his cousin, who was later made Earl of Bellamont.
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| Preceded by William Stoughton (acting) |
Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony May 26, 1699 - July 17, 1700 |
Succeeded by William Stoughton (acting) |
