governed this territory (roughly the land between the Piscataqua and Kennebec Rivers in what is now southwestern Maine), but its right to do so had been stripped by King Charles after protests by the heirs of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who had long-standing claims to the area. Agents for Massachusetts then purchased the territory from the Gorges heirs, and Danforth was appointed to administer it. The territory had been devastated and many properties abandoned during King Philip's War, and Danforth acted in effect as a Lord Proprietor, making land grants and reestablishing towns such as Falmouth and North Yarmouth. Danforth was rewarded by the colony with a grant of an island in Casco Bay for this work, which he oversaw until 1686. Throughout the 1670s the Massachusetts leadership steadfastly refused to make changes to its administration that were demanded by King Charles. At the instigation of agent Edward Randolph, Charles made increasingly specific demands concerning freedom of religion and adherence to colonial trade regulations known as the Navigation Acts, and prepared to issue a quo warranto writ to demand the return of the colonial charter. Danforth was one of the leading opponents to making any accommodation to the king's demands. The issue reached a peak in the 1684 election, in which Danforth stood for election as governor representing the hardline party. He was narrowly defeated by the more conciliatory Simon Bradstreet, but retained the post of deputy governor. The colony's attempts at moderation were in vain—the charter was formally annulled on June 18, 1684. In 1686 King James II established the Dominion of New England as a new colonial entity to govern all of New England. He appointed Massachusetts native Joseph Dudley as its first governor; he was replaced later that year by Sir Edmund Andros. Both Dudley and Andros excluded Danforth from their councils, given his opposition to crown authority. The dominion reign, which did not include an elected assembly, was extremely unpopular in Massachusetts for a variety of reasons. When the Glorious Revolution deposed James, Massachusetts Puritan leaders orchestrated an uprising and arrested Andros, Dudley, and other dominion officials. In the period between the dominion's collapse and the establishment of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1692, the old colonial government was temporarily reestablished, and Danforth resumed his offices. Salem trials In 1692, Danforth was acting governor during the early months of the witch hysteria in Salem and his