Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 4

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1482

USA > Delaware > Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I > Part 4

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was permitted to march out with his twelve- men fully armed, as his life guard, and with the flags of the crown; the others with their side arms only. The muskets were to stand to the commandant's account, and were to re- main in the fort until he took them away, or- sent an order for them. The commandant was to be secure in his personal and individ- ual property, either to take it away or let it remain until further orders. The same was the case with the property of the other officers. Considering the bluster that had been in- dulged in by Stuyvesant, the terms of capitu- lation could not be regarded as severe.

FORT CHRISTINA TAKEN.

The next movement of Stuyvesant was di- rected against Fort Christina. He ordered his armed ship and the French privateer to anchor in Christina Creek, and to be in such a position that they could rake the fort with their guns if any hostile movement should be detected. Twelve days were then spent in in- vesting the fort, and in erecting a number of batteries in commanding positions. These bat- teries mounted, all together, about twenty guns, independent of those on the armed ships, and were formidable enough to reduce a defensive work much stronger than the humble Swedish fort. All things being in readiness, Governor Stuyvesant made a for- mal demand for the surrender of the fort, which was quickly responded to by Governor Rising's yieldling to the demand, and as in the case of Fort Amstel, the exchange of masters was accomplished without the firing of a gun or the injury of a single man. The tables were now completely turned. Stuyvesant was mas- ter of the Swedish settlements on the Dela- ware, and the flag of Holland floated over their forts.

The terms of capitulation entered into be- tween these two distinguished officers were marked with that military courtesy which usu- ally prevails on such occasions. The pream- ble to the articles set forth that the "capitula- tion was made between the brave and noble Director, John Rising, Governor of New Swe- den, on the one side, and the brave and noble Director, Peter Stuyvesant, Governor General of New Netherlands, on the other side." In the use of the high sounding titles applied to each of the contracting parties, one cannot but

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imagine a tinge of sly irony in their applica- tion, but they were evidently made in good faith and in accordance with the custom of the times.

The terms of surrender were similiar to those granted at Fort Amstel; all the cannon, provisions and supplies, together with other things in Fort Christina belonging to the Crown of Sweden, "shall belong to and be pre- served as the property of the Swedish Crown and the Southern Company, and shall be un- der the power of said Governor to take away of to deliver to Governor Stuyvesant, with the provision that they shall be given up upon order."

Governor Rising and his officers "shall march out of the fort with drums and trum- pets playing, flags flying, matches burning, with hand and side arms, and balls in their mouths." They were first to be taken to Tini- emn Island, formerly the headquarters of Governor Printz, placed in the fort as prison- ers, and kept there until Governor Stuyvesant should be ready to sail for New Amsterdam, when they were to be removed thither. Ris- ing and his principal officer were allowed five servants to attend them, which was very lip- eral, to say the least. All private property was to be respected and no one was to be searched. None of the soldiers or officers were to be de- tained against their will, but might be permit- ted to go with Rising if they so desired. Those wishing to go, but not being ready, were al- lowed one year and six weeks in which to sell their land and goods, provided they did not take the oath of allegiance for the time they should remain. If any Swedes or Finns were not disposed to go, they were allowed the liberty of adhering to their own religious views and of employing a minister for their instruction.

Governor Rising, his commercial agent, and other persons, including officers, soldiers and freemen, with all their property, were to be provided with a good ship, which should receive them at Sandy Hook and convey them to Texel, a port in Holland, without charge. And if Rising or any of his people had con- tracted any debts on account of the Crown, they were not to be detained therefor within the jurisdiction of Governor Stuyvesant. These articles were formally signed "on the parade between Fort Christina and the Gov. ernor General's camp," September 25, 1635,

and all Swedish control on the Delaware passed over to the Dutch or Hollanders.

COURTESY TO A PRISONER.

But the foregoing did not include all the business that was transacted on that moment- ous occasion. In a "secret article" it was fur- ther stipulated that the captain who was to convey Governor Rising and his officers was "expressly commanded and ordered" to out the governor and his party on shore either in England or France, and that Stuyvesant should lend to the said Rising the sum of "three hundred pounds Flemish," which Ris- ing was to pay to Stuyvesant within six months after the receipt. And as security for this loan, Rising put up the property of the Crown and Southern Company which he had surrendered. It placed him in a very unpleas- ant situation, but he had no other way of rais- ing money to pay his personal expenses home. His only consolation was that it might be re- paid. Stuyvesant's orders upon Cornelius Jacob Steewyk to "supply Rising with eight hunderd guilders for the articles pledged, were dated on the 2d of November, 1655," and if the debt was not paid within six months, the pledged articles, consisting of cannon, muni- tions of war and other property, to be sold to liquidate the obligation. After all, the terms were rather humiliating; and the contrast be- tween Rising's coming into the country and his departure therefrom, was very great. Ac- cording to the Swedish historian of the time the debt was never paid, and the cannon were taken to New Amsterdam, where, with other articles, they were sold, and for years after- wards were pointed to as trophies of the con- quest of New Sweden. Rising afterwards made a report of his misfortune, and impor- tuned his government to make an effort to re- cover what he had lost. But the expense which the government had incurred in the at- tempt to found its colony on the Delaware, the rapid march of events, and the develop- ment of new conditions, had so changed the political outlook that nothing came of the ex-governor's petition, and his surrender proved the end of Swedish authority in the New World.

CRUEL TREATMENT.

Notwithstanding the apparently liberal terms granted to the Swedes, they were soon

BIOGRAPHIICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

afterwards subjected to terrible oppression by the conquerors. So great was this oppression, says Verelius, that it cannot be described. The flower of the Swedish male population were at once ruthlessly torn away from their fami- lies, their kindred and associations and sent to New Amsterdam to become enforced sub- jeets, though everything was done to make it appear that it was their desire to go. The men were taken by force on shipboard; women at home in their houses were grossly insulted and abused; their property was carried off be- fore their eyes, and cattle in the fields were caught and slaughtered. Such treatment was infamous in the highest degree, and marks the conquerors as little better than savages. There appears to have been an object in this ruth- less barbarity, for after its perpetration, the time was deemed opportune to issue a procla- mation commanding the people to take the oath of allegiance. It was the policy, evident- ly, first to terrify them and then to require them to yield obedience. Those who had the courage to refuse the terms of the proclama- tion were regarded with suspicion, harassed and abused.

Under various pretexts the Dutch sought to cover up their bad treatment of the settlers. One of their exenses was that the Swedes had no rights there, that they were interlopers, squatters, adventurers; that the country had never been subject to the Crown of Sweden, but only to a private company, which sought merely its own advantage. But that claim is far from the truth. It is true, that the first settlement was made by a trading company; but that trading company was under the au- spices and protection of the Swedish Crown. The Indians concluded the contract for the purchase of the land with the Queen of Swe- den. The government was conducted under the royal direction, the officials were sent out with royal commissions and orders, and the ships and people with royal equipments and at the royal expense. That Queen Christina considered the colonies as forming a part of her dominions there is abundant evidence, and the claim of Holland was based on tech- nical grounds only. But how little right the Hollanders had to call the country theirs, and on that ground to take it by force, is shown by the fact that neither before the arrival of the Swedes, nor during the Swedish administra-

tion, did they possess any land upon the Dela- ware which the Swedes claimed for themselves, and much less did they establish any colony there.

It has been shown that the private purchase was made for the De Vries colony May 5, 1680, and was confirmed by the Holland gov- ernor and his council on January 3, 1631. This, it will be remembered, was the ill-fated settlement of what is now known as Lewes, which was completely annihilated by the In- dians, and which no attempt was afterwards made to revive. Other purchases of small bodies of land were made by different parties on both sides of the river, but no permanent settlements were founded. The Holland Company purchased a tract of land, on which Fort Cassimer was built, July 19, 1651. That land lay between the river and Christina Creek, and "Bombo Huck." How far it ex- tended back from the Delaware we are not in- formed, but it could not have been very far. These tracts, including one or two on the New Jersey side, embraced all the purchases of land made by the Hollanders during that time. The question now arises: How could the West India Company and the States General give a title for that which private individuals had bought, in direct opposition to all the laws and Usages of nations? How could they authorize the purchase of land to which they had no right? How could they give the investiture of land which they themselves purchased thir- teen years afterwards? How could they buy land which the Swedes had bought before?

The struggle for supremacy on the Dela- ware presents some curious phases; and a study of the question shows that some "sharp practice" was reported to by both sides. Pre- suming on their greater strength, the Hol- landers endeavored to force the Swedes ont of what rightfully belonged to them, without any regard to the principles of justice; and by vir- tue of superior force they finally succeeded in crushing out a colony that might have become a power for great good on the Delaware.

But some of the leading men of the Swed- ish colony were not without blame in foment- ing a spirit of ill-feeling which to a certain extent helped to bring about its downfall. As usual in such cases, cupidity was at the bot- tom of the trouble. The love of gain has often nullified good intentions and destroyed the brightest prospects. A part of the blame was

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laid on Governor Printz for conducting him- self too severely towards his people. It is charged that he virtually made slaves of some of the Swedes by keeping them at work on the fortifications and upon his estate on Tinicum Island. The Swedes, therefore, after coming into this new country and obtaining a taste of a good unknown in their native land, soon became disgusted with being forced to labor for the benefit of their ruler, and so conceived a hatred for him that militated against the prosperity of the colony. Friction never fails to destroy the harmony of the machine, and in this case ill feeling developed into a hostile animus that naturally produced bad results.

And instead of striving to allay this feeling Governor Rising on his arrival only added fuel to the smouldering fire that was ready to burst into a flame. He was pompous, die- tatorial and exacting. He imagined himself a monarch, and had little sympathy with his subjects. His course towards the Dutch showed the manner of man he was. Had he been more considerate, diplomatic and con- servative, he probably would not have stirred them up to so high a pitch of resentment, thereby incurring their disfavor from the very moment of his arrival. Ilis pompous conduct in the capture of an insignificant garrison at Fort Cassimer, while it excited a general smile, was none the less effectual in increas- ing the bad feeling which was brewing among the dissatisfied parties on both sides. Neither is Stuyvesant without blame. He was, if anything, more pompous than his Swedish competitor, and was certainly more tyrannical. So, between these discordant elements, we see a gradual increase of the forces which finally resulted in overthrowing the power of two nations on this continent. Had things been different, both nationalities might have lived many years together, and by their common forces have kept out the English, who were only too willing to take advantage of the weak- ened condition of both and to absorb their ter- ritory into her own colonies.

STUYVESANT SOLE MONARCH.

With the surrender of Fort Christina and the expulsion of Governor Rising from the country, the Swedish flag ceased to wave in token of authority on the Delaware. The colony, under Dutch control, passed into rapid

decline and ceased to be prosperous. But the Swedes, who were an industrious, thrifty and piously-inclined people, left footprints behind which more than two centuries have failed to efface.

During these changes the English were on the alert. They had not relinquished their pretensions to the country, but were inclined to enter into negotiations with Sweden for the improvement of their trade relations on the Delaware. The armed intervention of the Hollanders, however, changed all these con. ditions. Sweden finally had to relinquish its West India trade entirely to the English; and it was not long that the Dutch were to enjoy possessions which did not of right belong to them.

As soon as possible after acquiring domin- ion over the Swedish settlements on the Dela- ware, Governor Stuyvesant instituted a new order of things. Ile was sole monarch of all the country from New Amsterdam to Cape Henlopen on both sides of the river. His au- thority extended over all matters, military, connnercial and judicial.

All officers received their commissions from him and were accountable to him. During a burried visit abroad, after the conquest, he appointed Capt. Deryk Smidt commissary, or commandant ad interim, on the river. Im- mediately on his return to New Amsterdam, he prepared a commission dated November 29, 1655, for John Paul Jacquet, as vice-gov- crnor, with directions to make arrangements for trade, and keep order among the people. Ile fixed his official residence at Fort Cassi- mer. Andrew Hudde was made his counsel, and Almerhausen Klein, secretary.

The country was now divided into two dis- tricts, or colonies, on the west side of the Dela- ware. From Christina Creek down to Bombo ITook, including Christina Fort and the piece of ground around it, was called the "Com- pany's Colony." The other land, on the north side of Christina Creek, and along the river upward, belonged to the city of Amsterdam, was governed by the burgomaster and coun- cil through Peter Stuyvesant, their general governor, and his council, and was called "the ('ity's Colony." The occasion for this was given when Fort Cassimer was built; but the execution of the project was delayed for some vears by the predominance of the Swedes. Before this, all transactions were in the name

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of the States General and the West India Company; but now the two sections acted separately. Deeds for land were issued in Amsterdam by the burgomasters and council upon the land of the city, but by the diree- tors and commissaries for the company upon its land. A little town was laid out near Fort Cassimer on "Sand ITook," and was called "Newer Amstel," which finally became New Castle. The name of Christina was changed to Altona.

According to the records that have been preserved, not more than nineteen Swedes took the oath of allegiance when Fort Chris- tina capitulated. The others who still re- mained had their abodes within the colony of the city to the north of Christina and along the river. Over them was placed a ruler or magistrate, who had two or three deputies to assist him in his work.

The governor's instructions regarding the treatment of the Swedes were unnecessarily severe. It was required that they should not be permitted to remain in the forts over night, and that a watchful eye should always be kept over them. If any were found disorderly, they should immediately be taken to New Amsterdam. Some of the Swedish freemen, who had settled at other points, desired to have the time prolonged, so that instead of one year and six weeks-as stipulated in the articles of capitulation-they might have one year and six months to get ready for their de- parture from the country; this was granted, with the proviso that they should remove into the new town and live there, but not other- wise. Others were suspected of secret plot- tings with the Indians, who frequently came to their houses, and were, as usual, received in a friendly manner. On this account two prominent Swedes were denounced by name, and it was immediately determined that they should be arrested and sent to New Amster- dam. Such dastardly treatment was constant- ly meted out to these people by the Dutch au- thorities. As Acrelius remarks, "it seemed as if they were afraid of their own shadows."

WHAT THE INDIANS DID.

The friendshipof the Indians for the Swedes continued to be as strong after the change of government as before. Proof of this was shown on the 24th of March, 1656, when the

Swedish ship Mercury came up the Dela- ware without knowing that the settlements were under a foreign government. A Swedish pastor named Mathias, and Anders Bengston, a native of Stockholm, a man of some promi- Hence, were aboard the vessel. The Dutch authorities refused permission to the ship to ascend the river, alleging that she had on board a large number of people. But the In- dians, on learning the facts, immediately as- sembled in force, went on board the ship, and in defiance of the Dutch, conducted the ship past Fort Cassimer without its daring to fire a shot, and convoyed it up to Fort Christina. After some parleying it was determined that the ship should be set free and permitted to go to New Amsterdam to take in provisions and water before starting on the return voyage to Sweden. Pastor Mathias was so unfavorably impressed with the condition of affairs that he returned on her to Sweden. Mr. Bengston, however, remained in the country and became the ancestor of an honorable and wealthy fam- ily, who now bear the name of Bangston.

It was now for the first time that the Dutch could be said to introduce colonists into this region, although but a weak sprinkling of their people. Here and there some few small fam- ilies from Holland settled, but they cultivated scarcely more than a vegetable garden. Up to that time no deeds for land had been given by their boastful governor, excepting to those who would either agree to cultivate or to build on the same. Besides, they were in constant fear of being driven away either by the Swedes or the Indians. This fear may have been caused, to some extent, by the conscious- ness that they were there through dishonest means, that the country did not of right be- long to them, and that their nation was op- pressing a poor and unfortunate class of peo- ple.

As soon as the spring of 1656 opened, and navigation was resumed, various parties came over from New Amsterdam to settle in the country now surrounding Wilmington. With some caution the governor general distributed a few deeds to those seeking locations. In the first batch there were eleven, in the second fifty-six, and finally, by the end of August, eighteen more. These pieces of land were all quite small, most of them nothing more than building lots in New Amstel, now New Castle. The carly Dutch, or Hollanders, had little

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taste for agriculture. A small patch of For as the corners were worn off by use, so ground was enough for most of them. They that they were no longer close upon the threads, they were no longer good.

were not inclined to work themselves, and laborers could not be had. Moreover, an or- der was issued that twenty or thirty house- holds should settle together, or in clusters, although little attention was paid to it except in Sand Hook. The regulation had in view the greater security of the settlers. The terms were peculiar. For every "morgon" an an- nual rent of about twelve stivers was paid. A "morgon" was about equivalent to an Eng- lish acre. Within the land occupied by the Swedes at that time there was no enfeoffment, but upon every Swedish or Finnish family a yearly rent of five or six guildlers was assessed, according to the decision of the "schont," or assessor. The current money of the Dutch in the New Netherlands was in guilders or flor- ins. One Holland guilder passed here for five, and this custom continued till about the year 1700; after that, about one for six, which was a heavy depreciation. This was occasioned by the advent of the English. Traffic with the Indians was carried on in wampum. As descriptions of wampum are not easily acces- sible, and as it may be interesting to the read- er to know the kind of currency used by the aborigines of Delaware, the account given by P. Lindstrom, in Companius' work, is here- with inserted:

Wampum is a kind of oblong pearls or beads made of oyster shells, or of muscles called clams, white, brown or bluish red. They are used for ornament, tokens of friendship, and money. The latter are thus described: The brown or blue and red, were of double the value of the white. Six white ones were worth one stiver (two cents), three brown, or blue and red, one stiver; twenty stivers were one guilder of the country (forty cents); five country guilders, one guilder of Holland. Wampum was strung upon threads or strings, usually a fathom long, which was worth five guilders. The way of counting the wampum, for its value in stivers, was on the thumbs in this wise: From the end of the nails to the first joint, for the string within that distance contained either six white ones, and so one stiver, or six brown ones, and so two stivers. The manner of proving the goodness of the wampm was to draw the wampum over the nose. If the string ran over it as smooth as glass, the wampum was good; otherwise not.

JAQUET'S ADMINISTRATION.

As soon as Governor Jaquet was installed in office, the Indians waited on him and de- manded good order and fairness in trade; that the Dutch should buy of them as many pel- tries as they could bring; also that payment should be so regulated that one beaver should sell for two deer skins. But the governor re- plied that he had not received orders to enter into any arrangements regarding commerce or to make treaties to that effect. This some- what puzzled the Indians, for they could not understand, if he was the big chief, why he was not invested with such authority. How- ever, presents were made to them by contri- butions of the colonists, in which some few Swedes joined, for the purpose of retaining the good opinion of the Indians as far as possi- ble.

Governor Jaquet had some peculiar ideas. ITe had had no experience or training in ad- ministering the affairs of a colony, and often found that the very measures he had adopted to promote the interests of the colonists, and thereby add to his own popularity, had the very opposite effect and brought down upon his head the displeasure of his subjects.

At his instance various laws were passed for the regulation of the settlement. On the 26th of February, 1656, it was resolved in council that all the inhabitants should enclose their farms and lots by the middle of March, under a penalty of six guilders; that all who had goats should keep herdsmen, or be answerable for damages; that no one should be admitted into the fort either by land or water without first announcing himself; that no places for building should be granted between Sand Hook and Christina, and that the forests should be preserved for the use of the fort and the town. And on the 22d of May, that all owners of swine should put yokes on them within twenty-four hours, or have them shot down by the soldiers !

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 4

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa. Number of Pages: 1482

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1482