Archive for January, 2012

Andros

ANDROS, or ANDRO, an island of the Greek archipelago, the most northerly of the Cyclades, 6 m. S.E. of Euboea, and about 2 m. N. of Tenos; it forms an eparchy in the modern kingdom of Greece. It is nearly 25 m. long, and its greatest breadth is 10 m. Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. Andros, the capital, on the east coast, contains about 2000 inhabitants. The ruins of Palaeopolis, the ancient capital, are on the west coast; the town possessed a famous temple, dedicated to Bacchus. The island has about 18,000 inhabitants. Read more…

Sir Edmund Andros (1637-1714)

English colonial governor in America, was born in London on the 6th of December 1637, son of Amice Andros, an adherent of Charles I., and the royal bailiff of the island of Guernsey. He served for a short time in the army of Prince Henry of Nassau, and in 1660-1662 was gentleman in ordinary to the queen of Bohemia (Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I. of England). He then served against the Dutch, and in 1672 was commissioned major in what is said to have been the first English regiment armed with the bayonet. In 1674 he became, by the appointment of the duke of York (later James II.), governor of New York and the Jerseys, though his jurisdiction over the Jerseys was disputed, and until his recall in 1681 to meet an unfounded charge of dishonesty and favouritism in the collection of the revenues, he proved himself to be a capable administrator, whose imperious disposition, however, rendered him somewhat unpopular among the colonists. During a visit to England in 1678 he was knighted. Read more…