With the death of Charles II. (1685), James II. came to the English throne. As a Roman Catholic, and imbued with a taste of absolute power, the colonies had little favor to expect from him. In 1686, as a step towards abolishing the American charters, James sent over Sir Edmund Andros as governor of Massachusetts, Plymouth, New Hampshire, and Maine; he brought authority to ignore all local political machinery and to govern the country through a council, the president of which was Joseph Dudley, the unpopular Tory son of the stern old Puritan who had been Winthrop's lieutenant. The charters of Rhode Island and Connecticut were demanded for annulment (1686). The former colony was, as usual, obedient, and yielded up her charter; Connecticut failed to respond to the demand of Andros, and he went to Hartford (October, 1687) and ordered the charter to be produced. A familiar myth alleges that the document was concealed from him in the hollow trunk of a large tree, known ever after as the "charter oak;" nevertheless Andros arbitrarily declared the colony annexed to the other New England colonies which he governed. Sidenote: His despotic rule. The following year (1688) Andros was also made governor of New York and the Jerseys, his jurisdiction now extending from Delaware Bay to the confines of New France, with his seat of government at Boston. The government of Andros was despotic, and fell heavily on a people who had up to this time been accustomed to their own way. Episcopal services were held in the principal towns, and Congregational churches were frequently seized upon for the purpose; the writ of _habeas corpus_ was suspended; a censorship of the press was restored, with Dudley as censor; excessive registry fees were charged; arbitrary taxes were levied; land grants made under former administrations were annulled; private property was unsafe from governmental interference; common lands were enclosed and divided among the friends of Andros; the General Court was abolished, and most popular rights were ignored. Dudley tersely described the situation (1687) on the trial of the Rev. John Wise, of Ipswich, for heading a movement in that town to resent taxation without representation: "Mr. Wise, you have no more privileges left you than not to be sold for slaves." 73. Restoration of the Charters (1689-1692). Sidenote: Andros deposed. In April, 1689, news came of the Revolution in England, the flight of the arrogant James, and the accession of the Prince of Orange. The example of revolt was already foreshadowed in Boston, where Andros and Dudley were deposed. Elsewhere in the Northern colonies the representatives of the tyrant extortioners were driven out. The Protestant sovereigns, William and Mary, were proclaimed amid great popular rejoicings. Sidenote: New England under William and Mary.