The governor , in the 13 colonies, was the representative of the king. He was appointed: so, he did not have to curry favor with the colonists, have to win an election like modern governors, but would act only in the interest of the Crown . He could raise an army, call out the militia, and fight a war ( therefore Lord Dunmore's War, in Virginia) and he could make grants of land to colonists. (This last could get complicated, as when a governor of Virginia made grants of land in a large parcel that had been previously granted to Lord Fairfax, and those were then sold to others, resulting in decades of litigation, lasting into the 1800's.) The governor was to be a check on the power of the local legislature, or house of burgesses, and they were the ones who would supply money, decide on taxes.