William Phipps and the Diving Bell Bubble : Sunken Treasure, Witches and the Route to Empire

William Phipps, a self-made treasure hunter and royal governor, rose to prominence but faced controversy in seventeenth-century Boston.William Phippsrise to fame and fortune was meteoric. His short and hectic life was punctuated with many unlikely achievements, of which raising treasure from the wreck of a Spanish galleon was the most famous. For this, he was knighted. Locating his Spanish prize was no fluke. Phipps had worked on the project for years. As in all his endeavours, success was achieved mainly by force of character. His determination and drive saw him become, in turn, a shipwright, a mariner, treasure hunter, merchant, general, an admiral, an Indian fighter and a reforming royal governor.Born a backwoodsman, Phipps became one of the wealthiest and most influential men in seventeenth-century Boston. He mixed with members of the colony s most prestigious families, whose members were clerics, magistrates, merchants, and lawmakers. But he was never fully accepted as their equal.Boston was a victim of

bells, and in new means of finance and investment. [Publisher's Text]