USA > Delaware > History of the state of Delaware, Volume I > Part 4
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After learning that Printz had left New Sweden, the queen appointed Rising temporary governor, and Schute was placed in command of the defences. Amundson was removed from the Gyllene Hajen, Sven Höök taking his place. Bent on re- viving the colony, the queen granted further privileges to the farmers and merchants. On April 15, 1654, the Gyllene Hajen, with emigrants and stores on board, left Gottenburg, but either by a blunder or the treachery of the mate, she ran into New York harbor. Most, if not all, of the crew, sup- posed that they were in the Delaware, a mistake of brief dura- tion, for Stuyvesant would not allow them to depart unless Governor Rising should make amends for the seizure of Fort Casimir. Rising would neither beg pardon nor pay cash, and the wrathful Dutchman laid hands on the cargo and fitted out the ship for the service of the Dutch West India Company.
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The chance to pay off the old score was too good even for men of gentler nature than Peter Stuyvesant.
Efforts had been made by the governments of England and Sweden to settle their American boundary lines, but pioneers are not, as a rule, students of law or scrupulous observers of the statutes they know to be on the books. The old New Haven project of a settlement on the Delaware was revived, Governor Rising opposed it, the Swedish colonists generally were unwilling to have Englishmen settle among them, and the New Havenites deemed it best to wait for a more conven- ient season.
Queen Christina left her throne and Chancellor Oxenstiern died, but the home government was still mindful of New Sweden, and King Charles X reproached the West India Company for its lack of zeal in the good cause. There were threats that the company might have to give place to a new company, and these hints stirred up new activity. Rising was commissioned as commandant, military and civil officers were chosen, and the tenth Swedish expedition was organized. Hendrich Huygen, Johan Papegaja, Chaplain Matthias, and others, eighty-five in all, shipped on board the Mercurius, leaving behind them a hundred more, who vainly begged for a breathing space. An official promise that another ship should follow was not kept, for Swedish Delaware was almost at an end. Stuyvesant's bold seizure of the ship was ap- proved by the Dutch West India Company, a large ship was fitted out to assist in the movements against New Sweden, and the Dutch prepared for war. They hoped to turn the tables on their old enemies. If Printz had forced Dutchmen to swear allegiance to Sweden, they decided that Swedes might remain near Fort Christina as subjects of Holland.
On the last day of August, 1655, Stuyvesant's flotilla was in front of Fort Trinity. A small reinforcement for the re- lief of the fort was captured, a mutiny weakened the garrison, and the Swedes surrendered, Stuyvesant promising security of person and private property to the officers, and pledging
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himself to restore the guns to the Swedish authorities. Mov- ing on to Fort Christina, Stuyvesant rejected all talk of parley or delay, and began to throw earthworks and train his guns on the Swedes. He granted easy terms of surrender, and on the 15th of September, 1655, Fort Christina was his. The Crown of Sweden might have its property, the South Com- pany might keep its belongings, the residents might retain their goods, stay in Delaware if they pleased, enjoy civil and religious freedom, or if they wished to return to Sweden, they might be sent back free of expense. Governor Rising and Secretary Elswich, according to a secret agreement, were to be landed in France or England. Stuyvesant has been often blamed for a hasty temper, a stubborn will, a narrow pro- vincialism, and a tyrannical spirit, but few conquerors have laid a lighter yoke on the shoulders of the conquered.
"In politics," said Beaconsfield, "it is always the unex- pected that happens," and the saying is equally true of war. After Rising had accepted the terms offered by Stuyvesant, the Dutch Governor proffered another and totally different olive branch. He now suggested that the Swedes should re- occupy their fort, and hold the lands up the Delaware, while the Dutch should possess all below Christina Creek, and that the two nations should form an alliance. Rising asked that this be put in writing, and the document was laid before the Swedes, who rejected the proposition. They feared that Stuy- vesant was playing a deceitful part, and were even more afraid that the English and Indians, already hostile to the Dutch, should become enemies of themselves in case of a Dutch alli- ance. In their judgment, the claim of Sweden to all New Sweden might be jeopardized by such a treaty. Dr. Keen in- clines to the belief that Peter the Headstrong was shrewd and business-like. Indians were sweeping down upon the New Netherlands, the Swedes might retake all their territory, and he may have thought it judicious to form an alliance with neighbors, whose aid might be of great service. Whatever the motive, the facts are interesting. It rarely happens that
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a fortress surrenders on easy terms, and is then offered terms which might be termed generous, if not prodigal.
Many thefts were committed by the Dutch soldiers, and Rising estimated the direct loss at more than five thousand florins, while the indirect losses were much heavier. Rising, Elswich, Lindström, Nertunius and Hjort set off for Holland, suffering many inconveniences, one of which, the loss of Lindström's maps and papers, is also a loss to posterity.
At last, on March 14, 1656, the Mercurius reached the Delaware only to learn that another flag was hoisted, and that that of Sweden had been lowered. The passengers were for- bidden to land except by permission from Stuyvesant ; and the only alternatives seemed to be to set sail for Sweden, or, if supplies were needed, to betake themselves to New Amster- dam. Huygen begged the Dutch authorities to grant his men a brief run on shore, but the request was denied, and he pre- pared to sail for Manhattan. Papegaja and others would not permit this, they boarded the vessel and compelled her to land both passengers and freight. Knowing that the Dutch were anxious to avoid an Indian war, they induced some friendly Indians to accompany them on board the Mercurius. The Dutch were afraid to fire lest they should injure the natives, and the guns of Fort Casimir were silent. After more or less official delay, the Mercurius sold her cargo in New Amster- dam, and made her way back to Gottenburg in September.
Ten times had the Swedish Crown labored to colonize the New World, and yet storms, disease, hunger and the fortunes of war had baffled every attempt. A paper demanding the restoration of Swedish authority or the payment of indemnity was submitted to the States General of Holland, while Rising meditated the reconquest of the territory wrested from him by Stuyvesant, both to learn that Sweden found her wars with Denmark too bloody and costly for her to strive with Holland also. A number of Finns joined their friends on the Dela- ware, and, as they sailed in a Dutch ship, this increased the dislike of Sweden for Holland. Vain efforts were made to
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secure French and English aid, although at a later day Hol- land suggested that Swedes and Dutch should make a joint effort to retake the land from its English captors. Further appeals and discussions merely consumed time and wasted paper ; Holland could not if she would, and would not if she could, pay for territory which had passed into English hands ; England might throw out a few civilities, but was not inclined to pay money on account of an old claim, and after 1669, Sweden appears to have quietly submitted to the logic of events.
New Sweden became an English territory, and yet the Luth- eran congregations along the Delaware still kept up commu- nication with their ecclesiastical superiors in the old country. Long after English was the language of courts and commerce, Swedish prayers were offered, and Swedish Bibles held an hon- ored place in many an old farmhouse. Undoubtedly, the Revolution weakened the ties between the Lutherans of this country and those in Sweden, nevertheless, the last Swedish pastor of Gloria Dei Church, Philadelphia, was not gathered to his fathers until 1831, and not until his death was the old alliance broken. As a political and military force, New Sweden went down before Stuyvesant, but the memory of brave pioneers, industrious farmers, model housekeepers, kindly hospitality and quiet reverence does not die so easily. In the history of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and of the West the record of the Swedes is a highly creditable one.
It may be said that the English conquest of Delaware, and indeed of all the New Netherlands was a foregone conclusion. Before Jamestown was settled, the English had driven back the Armada ; in Cromwell's time their fleets conquered the Dutch, and a century later they were able to wrest Canada from its French masters. Virginia was a strong colony, the New England settlements were growing, and nothing but a miracle could have prevented the English from seizing the intervening space. The Dutch along the banks of the Dela- ware were in the position of men against whom fate has
PETER STUYVESANT, Governor of New Netherlands.
ANNEKE BAYARD STUYVESANT, Wife of Governor Peter Stuyvesant.
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already decided. No philosopher need elaborate the causes of their decline and fall ; it is enough to briefly review the facts, all of which point in the same direction.
Stuyvesant, who had plenty of work to do in the Manhattan region, left as Governor of Delaware Derk Smidt, whose term was brief, but memorable for two events. The Indians tried to take Fort Casimir, and Abraham Lucenna, Salvador de Andrade and Jacob Cohen, the first Israelites named in the annals of Delaware, were permitted to trade on the South River. Before the close of the year, John Paul Jacquet, ancestor of the well-known Jacquettes of later days, assumed charge, with Andries Hudde as Secretary and Elmerhuysen Klein as Counsellor. Governor Jacquet and his two military advisers were ordered in all military cases to consult with two sergeants, in civil affairs with two citizens. Sunday observ- ance was prescribed, the sale of liquor to Indians forbidden, guard was to be kept lest anyone plunder gardens and planta- tions. No officer or soldier was to be permitted to be absent from the fort at night, and no freemen, " especially no Swede," to stay there at night. Officers were to see that Indians and foreigners did not make a critical examination of the fortress, and trading vessels were compelled to anchor within easy reach of its guns. Lands were not to be granted without proper security that a community of at least sixteen persons should reside on the land. The old custom of land tithes was set aside, and rents were laid at twelve stivers per year for each morgen, a morgen covering about seven acres. No land between the creek and the fort or behind the fort was to be sold, all such ground being held in reserve for possible fortifi- cations. In case any Swedes should be found disloyal, such persons were to be sent away " with all imaginable civility," and, if possible, to be conveyed to New Amsterdam. "With all imaginable civility " faintly suggests the direction of the Spanish inquisitors to the executioner, " Use all possible tenderness."
Jacquet's appointment was partially due to his knowledge
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of affairs and commerce gathered during his residence in Brazil. He seems to have been anxious to deal fairly with the Indians, withholding liquor from them, but giving them various useful articles, and subscribing generously from his own purse. All the traders of New Amstel (New Castle of the present) joined the governor in his subscription save two, who it was said "preferred to depart the river and abandon the . trade rather than assist with the other inhabitants to maintain the peace and tranquility of the community." Was a sub- scription in those good old colonial times like the " voluntary contribution " of a public servant ? It would be worth while knowing whether the two unresponding were obliged to leave the river. Plans for removing the Swedes and settling them in villages were discussed, but the Swedes pleaded the promise of Stuyvesant that they should be allowed to occupy their holdings for one year and six weeks.
In March, 1656, Stuyvesant received a letter from his official superiors, and their comments are too diplomatic to be omitted. " We do not hesitate to approve of your expedi- tion to the South River, and its happy termination. While it agrees in substance with our order, however, we should not have been displeased that such a formal capitulation of the surrender of the forts had not taken place, but that the whole business had been transacted in a similar manner, as the Swedes set us an example of when they had made themselves masters of Fort Casimir; our reason is that all which is writ- ten and copied is too long preserved, and may sometimes, when it is neither desired or expected, be brought forward, whereas words not recorded are by length of time forgotten, or may be explained, construed or exercised as circumstances may require. But as all this is passed by, our only object in making this observation, is to give a warning if similar opportunities might present themselves in future." Stuy- vesant might be pardoned if he saw in this letter a hint to seize any outpost he might desire, write nothing, and say as little as possible. It might even be imagined that in some
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cases important manuscripts might be thrown into the fire, and their owners quietly shipped off to the West Indies, or, if very troublesome, heaved overboard.
The tone of the letter indicates what the history of the time proves, that Stuyvesant's action had roused the anger of Sweden. Appleborm, the Swedish resident at the Hague, complained to the States General, argued in favor of the Swedish title to "the South River of Florida" (colonial geography is more or less confused), and desired that the ter- ritory be restored to the Swedes. Correspondence on the same topic arrived from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Hoorn, whereon the States General promised to examine into the affair, and render a decision within a short time. Like Tennyson's chancellor, they "dallied with the golden chain, and smiling, put the question by." Years passed, the Swedes remonstrated many times, but the government of Holland was even more lethargic than our own government in its deal- ings with the French spoliation claims. Evidently the States General were satisfied with what Stuyvesant had done, and merely regretted any formal documents or written proof of the transaction.
Ignorant of the Dutch invasion, the Swedes sent over the Mercurius with one hundred and thirty immigrants. On reaching the South River towards the end of March, the vessel was forbidden to land, and the Council sustained the action of Jacquet. No more Swedes were desired, although Papegaja and Schute begged that indulgence be shown to their country- men. Some of the newcomers were, it was alleged, relatives of Swedish settlers, and Captain Huygen pleaded for them, but the door was shut so far as South River was concerned, although the newcomers were notified that they might settle at New Amsterdam, which they did not desire to do. Fear- ing that there might be trouble, the Dutch Council thought it best to send for a man-of-war to convey the Mercurius to Man- hattan. Pending a solution of the problem, Papegaja with some Swedes and Indians went on board the Mercurius, sailed
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by Fort Casimir, and landed cargo and passengers at Marcus Hook. They were for a time in easy range of the forts, but a volley from its gurs would have injured or killed some of the Indians, and this calmed the ardor of men who remembered the gruesome tale of the settlement which had been massacred, even to the dog.
After the horse is stolen the door is carefully shut, and after the Mercurius had landed men, women and goods, she was overhauled by the Balance, and taken to New Amsterdam. The authorities concluded that it was Papegaja who was to blame for disobedience of orders, and that the captain was in no respect censurable. After paying the duties on her cargo, the Mercurius was permitted to sail homeward, and it is likely that Papegaja found it discreet to go on board of her. He is never again mentioned in Delaware history, although his wife, the daughter of Governor Printz, obtained from the Council permission to take possession of Printzdorp and Tinnakonk.
Financial pressure bore on the Dutch West India Company, and that corporation was unable to repay the city of Amster- dam for the expenses of Stuyvesant's campaign. Accordingly, all the land on the west side of the river from Christina Creek to Bombay Hook was ceded to Amsterdam, and called the " Colony of the City," while the ground from Fort Christina northwards bore the name of the " Colony of the Company." On the newly acquired lands the burgomasters of Amsterdam proposed to found the colony of Nieumer Amstel, which, in time, became New Castle. The city of Amsterdam was to provide vessels, and transport colonists with their families to America, the freight to be advanced by the city and afterwards refunded. Defences were to be erected by the city, the land was to be divided into streets and lots, a market was to be opened, and a schoolmaster, who should read the Scriptures in public, and set the Psalms, was to be paid out of the public purse. Clothing, provisions and garden seeds were to be given to the settlers for the first year ; a large storehouse was
A
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to shelter their supplies from weather and screen them from Indians. All necessary articles were to be sold at Amsterdam prices. Local government was to be modeled on that of Amsterdam, with burgomasters, schepens and councilmen. A smith, a wheelwright and a carpenter, were to be sent over with the colonists. No poundage, ham or salt money was to be paid for ten years from the first sowing or pasturing, after- wards-the settlers were to pay a tax no higher than the lowest paid in any other district of the West India Company. Per- sons who discovered minerals, crystals, precious stones, or marbles, were to keep these treasures duty-free for ten years, and then pay ten per cent. of their proceeds. It would be a matter of interest to compare these ancient agreements with the terms of the Homestead Act, and with the agreements between the Pacific railroads and the settlers beyond the Rocky Mountains. In November, 1656, it was decided to build a bridge at Fort Casimir, the first bridge in the annals of the colony. Official documents announced that there might be a large trade in tobacco, provided that rigid inspec- tion prevented fraudulent practices. Meenes Andriessen and William Maunts were to take care that no uninspected tobacco be delivered, received or exported. Special orders were given that the names of the informers who detected breaches of the tobacco regulations were to be kept secret. The culprits were numerous, and sometimes so influential that an informer might have fared as an internal revenue detective fares among a crowd of Kentucky moonshiners.
Fort Christina became Altona, and Jacob Alrichs, whose descendants have dropped the final s, was appointed director of the colony. Prospects were brightening, and it was thought probable that many of the exiled Waldenses would choose Delaware as their home. A Dutch writer assured the world that the Delaware was the finest river on the American con- tinent, and predicted that many an epicure would feast on the carrion made from its sturgeons. Some capital was in- vested in the manufacture of bricks, and vague plans of in-
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dustrial enterprise were talked of on the decks of ships and in the counting-houses of Amsterdam. Stuyvesant was ordered to forestall the competition of other nations by purchasing all the land between the South River and the hook of the North River. Nevertheless, he was indirectly cautioned not to be too zealous in his efforts for New Amstel, as its rapid growth might draw settlers from New Amsterdam. Boom towns had their morbid fascinations for roving mechanics and hungry fur traders as well as for oil projectors and silver mine hunters. Dutch money, Dutch brawn and Dutch brain were moving westward, only to yield to the aggressive and conquering English.
To understand the downfall of Dutch colonization, it will be necessary to go back before the days of the English Civil War. Sir Edmund Plowden, Sir John Lawrence and others wished to obtain from Charles the First, Long Isle, or Isle Plowden, " near the continent of Virginia," and also requested that they might have forty leagues square of the adjoining continent. This territory was to be called New Albion. In 1632, seven- teen years before he literally lost his head, the King gave Plowden and his friends a grant of the island between 39º and 40° north latitude, and of forty leagues of the adjoining conti- nent. In 1634 an exploring expedition under Robert Evelyn sailed up the Delaware in the hope of finding a vast inland sea. Some account of the great lakes may have misled them. Plowden was, it is claimed, the descendant of Edmund Plow- den, the well-known legal authority, but Sir Edmund himself rarely allowed the statutes to bridle his own will, boasted the title of Earl Palatine, and pushed his authority to the fullest extent. He regarded a Swede or a Dutchman as an intruder, and his arrogance would have raised a gentler spirit than that of John Printz. Most of Sir Edmund's life in this country, extending from 1642 to 1648, was passed in Virginia. His plans for distributing honors among his followers and carry- ing on missionary enterprises were all on a large scale, but the fruit was not equal to the boastful display of leaves. Like
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other English adventurers, Plowden did not think it judicious to permit any of the land of the Delaware to remain under Swedish control. Under Cromwell, the Delawareans were not molested, but danger hovered over the colony. In the eigh- teenth century, Charles Varlo bought one-third part of Sir Edmund's claim, and in 1784, though England had acknowl- edged our independence, sought to recover his land by law. Petition to the king, an appeal for compensation, an address to the Prince of Wales, were all tried without avail. The British lion had heard news from Yorktown, and was not go- ing to interfere with the land titles of the young republic.
English seamen were daring, English soldiers were resolute, and English monarchs did not frown on bold fellows who took prizes for their country. Dutchmen on both sides of the At- lantic knew this, and they had reason to fear that if England ever had the strength to seize the New Netherlands she would do so without any pretext. But there were pretexts, neither of them wholly unreasonable. The English claims to Dela- ware antedated those made by the Dutch, and the Dutch set- tlements aroused one continual protest from the English au- thorities. Besides, the very word "Amboyua" roused English wrath, for at Amboyua in the East Indies the Dutch had seized the English traders and had been guilty of many cruelties. These outrages had called down the vengeance of Cromwell, and years after Cromwell's death, the wrongs of the merchants at Amboyua gave Dryden materials for a play. Hideous as it really was, exaggerated by drunken sailors, and distorted by men who wished to strike at the Dutch territories, " Amboyua " was what "Remember the Maine" was to our sailors in 1898.
In December, 1656, the "Prince Maurice," the "Bear " and the " Flower of Guilder " left the Texel, and early in the next year they reached the South River. Governor Alrichs was making improvements, the town had been laid out, buildings erected, the bridge was an accomplished fact, the guard house and a bakery told of moral and material pro-
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vision ; there were residences for public officials, and by the end of 1657, New Amstel was a goodly town of about one hundred houses. With the enlarging trade, however, came a brisk movement in smuggling, and Stuyvesant ordered Wil- liam Beekman, Vice-President of the district, to safeguard the interests of the company. The news of 1658 was bad. Un- favorable weather damaged the crops, bilious fever was prevalent, there were all sorts of frauds on the revenues, the Swedes were troublesome, food was scarce, and the Governor's account of the new arrivals is depressing. In his opinion, the artisans who crossed the ocean were more likely to be run- away apprentices than expert mechanics. They shirked, so he declared, the labors of the farm, and preferred loafing to any regular work. No one could accuse the Governor of idleness, but many accused him of tyranny and of harshness to the poor. His wife fell a victim to the fever, and in 1659 he wrote of the various agricultural and financial difficulties. There was a dread of the Swedes, and letters from Holland blame Stuyvesant for allowing any of them to hold military commands, recommending him to disarm the entire body of Swedes, if he sees cause ; and urging him to separate them and scatter them among the Dutch settlers. Either the Dutch were merciless tyrants or the Swedes exceptionally dangerous, for disarmament in a land of wild beasts and lurk- ing Indians is a measure of great severity. Stuyvesant com- plains that Alrichs by his harshness drives poor settlers out of the colony, the taxes being made unduly heavy. Alrichs continues his laments over scarcity of provisions and wide- spread disease. Religious differences increased the dislike already existing between Dutch and Swedes. Children died at such a rate that there was little hope for the next genera- tion, and while the arrival of the mill increased the popula- tion, it did not increase the stock of provisions. A colony that is poor, weak, sickly, and torn by factional disputes, is in no condition to fight for its life, and the house divided against itself was near its fall.
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