USA > Connecticut > Connecticut as a colony and as a state; or, One of the original thirteen, Volume I > Part 6
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In replying to this correspondence, Kieft made a flat denial of all the enumerated charges; reiterated that the English had no right to any part of the coast of Connecticut; and threatened, if he did not receive better treatment, to avenge himself by an appeal to arms. He refused to submit the differences to any arbitrators either in Europe or America, and demanded by what right the Congress of the United
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Colonies held their meeting within the limits of New Neth- erlands. To these communications the Commissioners re- turned a curt answer that all transactions between the colonies and his Dutch Excellency Kieft were closed.
In 1647 Kieft was succeeded by the doughty Peter Stuy- vesant. In a congratulatory letter from the Commissioners of the United Colonies, upon his assuming the duties of his of- fice, they entreated him to suppress the selling of firearms and ammunition by the Dutch traders to the Indians, complained of the impost of the Dutch which interfered with free trade, and also of the seizures of English vessels and goods. To these wishes Stuyvesant gave little heed; in 1648, he delib- erately seized a vessel in New Haven harbor, belonging to a Dutch merchant and planter of that colony. The owner's grievances were laid before the Commissioners of the United Colonies, who espoused his cause, and demanded a meeting to settle in full all the misunderstandings existing between the two governments; and until such differences were adjusted, they refused all maritime privileges to Dutch ships and sail- ors, and threatened that if his Excellency did not see the error of his ways, it would become necessary for him to vin- dicate them by right of arms.
The last of the Dutch magistrates of New Netherlands still maintained his arrogant and imperious manner towards the confederacy of New England; and enacted excessive revenue laws regulating the commerce of the ports of New Netherlands, which, as they were strictly enforced, caused the Dutch skippers to prefer New England harbors for the disposal of their European goods and the purchase of furs. This came to the knowledge of Stuyvesant; and learning that an Amsterdam ship had been trading at New Haven without the requisite license from the West India Company, he de-
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cided to seize the vessel for this infringement of the Com- pany's charter. Assuming New Haven as under the juris- diction of New Netherlands, he dispatched soldiers who seized the vessel in the harbor and proceeded with her to New Amsterdam, before the surprised residents had time to interfere. This act was a bold assertion of territorial rights, involving a question of international law; and deter- red the masters of vessels from coming to New Amsterdam, thereby entailing a financial loss on its inhabitants.
The Commissioners of the United Colonies met in Septem- ber 1650, and with a view to arriving at some arrangement for adjusting the differences of commerce and jurisdiction be- tween the two neighboring colonies, extended an invitation to Governor Stuyvesant to visit Hartford. He arrived Septem- ber II, 1650, in a style befitting his rank, but refused to at- tend the meetings of the Commissioners, preferring to trans- act all business by correspondence. This, while objected to at first, was finally conceded, and the Dutch Governor in his communication repeated all his past grievances, but unfortun- ately headed his epistle "New Netherlands." This so aroused the indignation of the Commissioners that it widened the breach between the antagonistic parties. The Dutch governor was obliged to compromise and change the heading of his communication, for conceding that was abandoning their whole case. After several days spent in the interchange of cor- respondence, it was agreed to leave the settlement of their dif- ferences, and the establishment of the dividing boundaries, to a board of arbitration, to whom was given full power in the matter.
The Commissioners chose Simon Bradstreet and Thomas Prince, while Stuyvesant was represented by Thomas Wil- let and George Baxter. At a meeting of the arbitrators, held
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Sept. 19, it was decided that as the greater number of the differences happened during the administration of Governor Kieft, the present incumbent of the office should be allowed time to prepare his answer. The seizure of the vessel in New Haven harbor was attributed to a mistake on the part of the Governor's secretary, and therefore the Colony of New Haven received no allowance for damages.
The boundary question, which was responsible for all the difficulties, was disposed of in the following manner : "I. That upon Long Island, a line run from the Westermost part of Oyster Bay, and so a straight and direct line to the sea, shall be hound betwixt the English and Dutch there; the Easterly to belong to the English, and the Westermost to the Dutch." "II. The bounds upon the main to begin at the west side of Greenwich Bay, being about four miles from Stamford, and so to run, a northerly line twenty miles up into the country, and after as it shall be agreed, by the two governments of the Dutch and New Haven, provided the said line comes not within ten miles of Hudson's River. And it is agreed that the Dutch shall not at any time hereafter build any house or habitation within six miles of the said line; the inhabitants of Greenwich to remain (till further consideration thereof be had) under the government of the Dutch." "III. The Dutch shall hold and enjoy all the lands in Hartford that they are actually possessed of, known and set out by certain marks and bounds; and all the remainder of the said land, on both sides of Connecticut River, to be and to remain to the English there. And it is agreed that the aforesaid bounds and limits, both upon the island and main, shall be observed and kept inviolable, both by the English of the United Colonies, and all the Dutch nation, without any encroachment or molestation, until a full and final de-
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termination be agreed upon in Europe, by the mutual con- sent of the two states of England and Holland."
The coast boundary above agreed on is recognizable still in the curious southwestern prong of Connecticut, toward New York.
The proceedings of the arbitrators preserved harmony and peace during the winter of 1650-51; but the action of the New Haven Colony the following spring, in attempting to make a settlement on Delaware Bay, again aroused the in- dignation of Governor Stuyvesant. Messengers bearing let- ters from the governors of Massachusetts and New Haven colonies visited New Amsterdam to notify his Excellency that they intended to settle on their own lands on the Dela- ware, and that they would not encroach on the rights of the Dutch. These letters enraged the governor to such a de- gree that he seized the messengers, obtained the commission of the company, and made them solemnly agree not to pur- sue their voyage; threatening further that if found making any settlement on the Delaware, he would confiscate their property and send them prisoners to Holland.
The Commissioners, at their meeting in 1651, after hear- ing the complaints of those colonists who had attempted to make settlements in Delaware, charged Governor Stuyvesant with breaking the compact agreed to at Hartford the preced- ing year. They notified him that the New England colonies had as much right to Manhattan as the Dutch had to Dela- ware lands. The Commissioners also resolved that if the planters of New Haven should make another attempt, within twelve months, to colonize Delaware, they would defend them from all opposition. As a fact, however, the Swedish Colony on the Delaware ousted the New Haven men the next year.
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While the authorities of New England and New Nether- lands were attempting to settle their differences,-petty on the surface but with mighty issues,-great changes had occurred in England: Charles I. had been dethroned and executed, Cromwell had been appointed Lord High Protector, and war had been declared between England and Holland.
In June 1652 the General Court of Connecticut adopted measures to defend the colony against the Dutch; the action being caused by rumors that Stuyvesant was inciting the In- dians to exterminate the English in all of the colonies. This accusation was based on the alleged testimony of Indians. Stuyvesant was enraged that so infamous a charge should be credited on such worthless evidence ( we may share his indig- nation without sharing his belief that it was credited), and demanded an investigation. A committee appointed by the Congress of the United Colonies journeyed to New Amster- dam, but were unable to obtain any satisfaction from the in- censed Governor; who, in a fit of excitement, asserted his old claim of jurisdiction over the two Connecticut colonies.
The Congress of the United Colonies, after hearing the report of the Committee, resolved on war, Massachusetts alone dissenting; and this would have resulted in a dissolu- tion of the Colonial union, if Cromwell had not interfered. The Lord Protector, solicited for aid by New Haven and Connecticut, took their part; compelling Massachusetts to yield, and despatching ships for the purpose of humbling the pride of the governor of New Netherlands.
The Dutch and Indian Wars still agitated the colonies ; and on the arrival of Cromwell's fleet at Boston, the com- manders of the forces entered into negotiations with New Haven and Connecticut for the commencement of active hos- tilities. Massachusetts was still opposed to any aggressive
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war, but granted the privilege to the officers of the fleet to enroll five hundred volunteers if they could obtain them. The Commissioners decided to raise an army of eight hun- dred men, of which Cromwell's fleet was to furnish two hun- dred, three hundred were if possible to be raised in Massa- chusetts, Connecticut was to send two hundred, and New Haven one hundred and thirty-three. These warlike prep- arations were suddenly nullified by a declaration of peace be- tween England and Holland. This cessation of hostilities was a great disappointment to New Haven and Connecticut ; both hoped to avenge by war the wrongs and insults they had suffered, in their opinion, for more than a score of years from their Dutch neighbors, and not impossibly to gain all Long Island at least.
The primary cause of all differences, the maintenance of the fort at Dutch Point, was finally removed in 1654, by an act of the English Parliament declaring the Hollanders ene- mies of the Commonwealth. The General Court of Connec- ticut passed an act of sequestration, declaring that all Dutch lands and properties at Hartford should be sold for the benefit of the colony. The Dutch continued to govern New Netherlands until 1664, when they were despoiled of all pos- sessions in North America; and the grant of a patent by Charles II. to his brother the Duke of York, who took pos- session of the territory for the English nation, gave it the name of New York.
That the Dutch title to some lands in Connecticut was good, on the grounds then admitted by all civilized nations, is beyond dispute. The English claim only rested on the dis- coveries of Sebastian Cabot, who never saw or discovered any part of the seacoast of Connecticut; the first white ex- plorers were undoubtedly the Dutch, and though they were
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only servants of a commercial company, they were by inter- national law the prior claimants. But how much land ? Where were its boundaries ? Just so far as they could hold by war. Therein lay the final decision in all these cases. The claims by purchase made of the aboriginal owners, while in a degree strengthening the land titles, were invalid, the condi- tion of the sales never having been fulfilled. The Red Men in disposing of their properties, in addition to all collateral consideration, were to receive protection. But to protect one section of the ostensible Indian owners was to be at deadly warfare with another. Furthermore, neither side ever ad- mitted Indian titles except on their own side, for reasons above noted, and because Indian occupancy, having no set- tlement, had itself no boundaries to grant.
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CHAPTER V
FIRST SETTLEMENTS
T HE contention as to which town constituted the first white settlement in Connecticut comes solely within the province of the local his- torian. It is claimed by Windsor, on account of the Plymouth expedition under the com- mand of Lieutenant Holmes; by Wethersfield, for the pio- neer settlement of John Oldham and his companions, and the erection of huts in that township in the winter of 1634; by Hartford, for the original Dutch occupation and dispos- session. To which should be adjudged the honor, is of but trifling importance in the history of the Commonwealth as a whole.
The Indian Sachem Wah-qui-ma-cut, when he visited the Massachusetts colonies in 1631, extolling the beauty and fer- tility of the Connecticut valley, and inviting the white man to settle the territory, was received courteously by Governor John Winthrop, although he declined to entertain the prop- osition. William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Col- ony, while he was interested in the description of the country, took no active measures in the matter. His successor, Ed- ward Winslow, had been a longer resident of the New World than his brother executive of the Massachusetts Col- ony; he was one of the Mayflower's passengers, and had a more extended acquaintance with the Indians and the coun- try than Governor Winthrop, who had arrived from Eng- land only the year previous to the Sachem's visit.
The glowing description of the country by the Indian sup- plicants so aroused Winslow, that he determined to make a personal investigation; and after accomplishing the journey by land, he viewed the Connecticut Valley in all its vir- gin grandeur. He named himself the discoverer of the river and valley; but while without doubt he was first of the
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English nation to plant his foot on the soil of Connecticut, he was almost a score of years behind the Dutch explorers. Governor Winslow on his return attempted to interest Gov- ernor Winthrop in establishing a settlement in Connecticut ; but the latter, though he assigned other reasons, was loth to co-operate, wishing to avoid difficulties with the Dutch who claimed rights over the territory.
Here we see a reversal of situations: the Pilgrims, who on their banishment from England sought a home and pro- tection among the Dutch in the Old World, stood ready to rifle the nominal possessions of their former benefac- tors; while the Puritans, who had asked no succor, stood aloof from encroaching upon Dutch territory or disturbing in any way existent harmonious relations. The reason was obvious : the men of Massachusetts wanted only contiguous territory to strengthen their own system; the Pilgrims want- ed to get out of reach of Massachusetts, and a fertile valley not in fact occupied, but only with a sign warning off tres- passers, could be no deterrent and should not have been. The valley was no part of the Dutch possessions, only of the lands out of which they hoped to keep the English. It was a dog-in-the-manger policy, and we need feel no sympathy for the defeat. The situation was precisely similar to that of the northern Penn lands and the Wyoming settlement, minus the question of legal right.
The Plymouth Colony, with a desire to come into closer commercial relations with the Indians, organized an expedi- tion to establish a trading post on the Connecticut River. The result of that expedition we have already related; but a short time previous to the building of the trading post, pio- neers from the Massachusetts colony had tracked their way through the dense forests that bounded them on the west,
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and had viewed the many gifts showered by generous na- ture upon the valley of the Connecticut. These English pioneers were John Oldham, Samuel Hall, and two com- panions from Dorchester, Massachusetts. Oldham was a roving character who later met an untimely death in the In- dian outbreak. During his wanderings among the settlers of Massachusetts he enthusiastically described the lands he had seen, telling of the open-handed hospitality of its abo- riginal inhabitants; reporting that the rivers were stocked with sturgeon, bass, shad, and salmon, that the woods teemed with game, and that hemp and corn were cultivated in large quantities by the Indians.
Several years previous to these preliminary endeavors to found an English settlement in Connecticut, an event of vast importance to the struggling colonies of Massachusetts took place in England.
The directors of the Council of Plymouth, yielding to the voice of a number of the wealthy and important residents of the old country who desired to emigrate, voted to transfer its rights under its charter, and its government, to New Eng- land. Thus the Council of Plymouth transformed itself into an American institution, and the King, glad to get rid of his troublesome Puritan subjects, made no complaint. This change was of vast benefit to Massachusetts : she immediately formed a General Court, her freemen elected her executive officers, and an impetus was given to emigration; ship after ship loaded with English subjects arriving at Boston.
This great increase of population was in a large measure due to the conduct of the King, who, after accepting the Pe- tition of Right, dissolved Parliament and governed with even more despotic sway than before the signing of the document. These acts of Charles caused a number of the gentry and
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the peasantry to seek a refuge for the enjoyment of their lib- erty and religion. Nonconformist divines, with the greater part of their congregations, seeking foreign homes, were naturally attracted to the Puritan Colony of New England. This exodus showed such marvelous increase that in 1633 nearly half a score of churches were established in the Mas- sachusetts Colony; Charles and his upholders were alarmed, and the King issued an order prohibiting further emigration. While this had the effect of retarding to some extent the influx of emigrants, many evaded the decree; among those reaching Massachusetts in that year, who were to become instrumental in shaping the destinies of Connecticut, was Thomas Hooker, accompanied by a party of two hundred set- tlers.
This noted divine was a graduate of Cambridge, and commenced preaching in London, but was silenced for non- conformity at Chelmsford, England, three years previous to his arrival in New England; and although forty-seven con- forming clergymen vouched for his purity and soundness of doctrine, he was obliged to relinquish preaching to become a teacher. Further prosecution by the spiritual court caused him to flee to Holland in an endeavor to escape punishment ; whence, after serving in the ministry in that country, he came to America. Hooker was a powerful extemporaneous orator, an eloquent expounder of the Bible; scholars, noble- men, and other prominent men yielded to the fascination of the beauty, power, and appropriateness of his language. Many of his English parishioners had settled at Newtown (now Cambridge), as had also personal friends and admirers of his genius, and on their solicitation he was ordained their pastor.
Among Hooker's fellow passengers were John Haynes, to
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become the first governor of Connecticut, Samuel Stone, Hooker's assistant, and John Cotton. The latter was a grad- uate of Cambridge, and had been for twenty years Vicar of St. Botolph's Church at Boston, but was obliged to flee from England to escape trial as a nonconformist. Upon Cot- ton's arrival in Massachusetts he became pastor of the First Church in Boston; and though possessed of a highly finished education, was noted for the simplicity and plainness of his pulpit discourses. He has been called the "Patriarch of New England."
Massachusetts by this time had become numerically strong, and conflicting opinions had arisen. Division of opin- ion had caused the emigration; still further division caused still further separation. The minority alleged that the country was becoming too crowded ! The excuse was decorous, but grotesque. The truth was, they too wanted a place for their own doctrines. The beauties of the Connecticut valley had been pictured to them; and Mr. Hooker, after a year's resi- dence at Newtown, decided to become one of the party peti- tioning the General Court to found a colony in that portion of the wilderness. This emigration was bitterly opposed by John Cotton and the other ministers of the colony.
Hooker, as the advocate of his party, argued that it was necessary for the colony to expand; that too many towns were crowded into a small space; that the people were thus kept poor for want of tillage and pasturage lands, rendering them unable to support their own pastors, or to be charitable to new-comers from England. The advantages of the coun- try to which they proposed to migrate were most eloquently presented to the General Court, and the importance of the control of the Connecticut River politically, as well as from a military point of view, was forcibly argued. The trade
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intercourse with the natives already established by the Dutch, the rich furs to be obtained, and the commercial value of this - navigable river with its tributaries, all demanded immediate possession. The side of the opposition was ably handled by Cotton, who urged that Massachusetts was most in need of men to subdue the surrounding wilderness, and to protect it against the savages that lurked in the forest's solitudes; he further stated that the petitioners had given their solemn oath to promote the interests of the colony, and that in de- serting it in its infancy they rendered it liable to utter destruc- tion, and at best, a hard struggle for existence. He pic- tured to these seekers of a new country, that they committed a suicidal act in exposing themselves to wars with the Dutch and Indians; and urged that it would not be an act of ty- ranny, but rather of benevolence, for the General Court to prevent such a calamity. We may sympathize with Hooker and yet find Cotton's facts the best. Massachusetts overpopu- lated in 1634 is a humorous conception.
The General Court came to a dead-lock on the petition ; for while the representatives were in favor of allowing the privi- lege of removal, the assistants voted against the application. This gave a temporary check to Hooker and his co laborers; but setting at defiance the edicts of the General Court, a num- ber of the inhabitants of Watertown, in the fall of 1634, travelled overland to the Connecticut. Captivated by the meadow-lands, the natural scenery, and the commanding ridges, suitable for dwellings and cultivation, of the present Wethersfield, they founded there a settlement, which was reinforced the following spring by about twenty persons from the same town. The determination of Hooker and his congregation to create a new settlement was not quenched by their first failure. In the spring of 1635 the General
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Court was again petitioned; and though they yielded reluc- tantly, they finally granted the permission, with the premise that the emigrants still continued under the "jurisdiction of Massachusetts."
Active preparations were commenced by the planters at Newtown to enable them to migrate in the spring of 1636. Other Massachusetts towns caught the western fever; and several of the congregation of John Wareham of Dorches- ter, in the summer of 1635, moved to a point on the Connecti- cut River near the Plymouth trading-house, and laid the foun- dation for a permanent settlement in the town of Windsor. During the year 1635 the Watertown families, in twos and threes, began taking up land in Wethersfield. The founder of Springfield, William Pynchon, having selected a location the previous year, in 1635 sent parties to build a house on the west bank of the river. In the spring of 1636, he with his associates from Roxbury effected a settlement which they named Agawam. This plantation was united in joint com- mission with the Connecticut settlements until Feb. 14, 1638, when, becoming convinced that they were within the limits of the Massachusetts patent, the settlers acted thereafter with that colony.
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