<p>Today, we examine the life of William Phips. Born in 1651 in Maine, Phips learned to read at 21 and made his fortune diving for Spanish treasure. His efforts led to his appointment as Massachusetts Bay&#39;s first royal governor in 1692. However, his governorship became infamous due to his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials, where 20 people were executed. The episode covers his creation of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, his reliance on spectral evidence, and the eventual suspension of the trials. Phips faced backlash for his handling of the panic and was recalled to England in 1694.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCliis4vjMIUgg3wcA0pXeYQ/"><em>The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem</em><u> YouTube channel</u></a></p><p><a href="https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/"><u>⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub</u></a></p><p><a href="https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily-course-week-3-legal-limbo-and-the-road-to-trial/"><u>Week 3 Course Work: Salem Witch Trials Daily Course Week 3: Legal Limbo and the Road to Trial – The Thing About Salem</u></a></p><p><a href="https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily-course-week-2-salem-village-divided/"><u>⁠</u></a><a href="https://aboutsalem.com"><em>The Thing About Salem</em></a></p><p><a href="https://aboutwitchhunts.com"><em>⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts</em></a></p><p><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780802081711"><u>Emerson W. Baker and John G. Reid, The New England Knight: Sir William Phips, 1651 - 1695</u></a></p><p><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805"><u>Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience</u></a></p><p><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619"><u>Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt</u></a></p><p><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329"><u>Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege</u></a></p><p><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780375706905"><u>Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692</u></a></p>