ABSTRACT
British officials across the Atlantic also placed restrictions on press freedoms, after the monarchical restoration in England. Governor Francis Lord Howard in 1685 issued a proclamation condemning the over lycentiousnesse of the People in their discourses and reminding the public that criticism of the royal government was criminal sedition. Other proclamations and incidents also sent a message to those who might wish to oppose the official story. Attempts at independence often received severe punishment. Moreover, even as ministers were complaining of theological laxity, the corruption story was being widely accepted, even by political officials, as the most appropriate narrative framework. That broad acceptance opened the way for publication in 1704 of the Boston News-Letter, America's first newspaper to last more than one issue. The News-Letter went on peacefully for the next decade and a half. It survived financially by mixing corruption story coverage with profitable publication of official notices.
