Although his viewpoint is somewhat different from that of the Connecticut colonists who want to rebel against the British Crown's attempt to take away their Charter, Nat is sympathetic to the Patriot cause. He tells Kit,
"If the King respects our rights and keeps his word to us, then he will retain our loyalty. But if he revokes the laws he has made and tacks and comes about till the ship is on her beam ends, then finally we will be forced to cut the hawser".
Nat believes that when all is said and done, "A man is loyal to the place he loves". While he is a New Englander of sorts, Nat's first loyalty is to the sea and his sailing vessel. The Dolphin, and the right to manage it as he sees fit, are as precious to him as the colony is to Matthew Wood and those who would stand up against Governor Andros. Nat says,
"My father would give his life for the right to sail (the Dolphin) when and where he pleases and so would I...'twould do little good...to wait for orders from His Majesty in England. I suppose it's like that for these people in Wethersfield. How can a king on a throne in England know what is best for them? A man's first loyalty is to the soil he stands on".
Because of the difference in his lifestyle as a sailor, Nat is not as involved as the others in the debate over colonists' independence. His sympathies lie, however, with those who would defend their land (Chapter 12).
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