USA > Delaware > Narratives of early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707 > Part 28
USA > New Jersey > Narratives of early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707 > Part 28
USA > Pennsylvania > Narratives of early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707 > Part 28
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Besides these four principal divisions of the earth above mentioned, there are also the cold countries lying toward the North and midnight; such as Greenland, Nova Zembla, Ice- tand, etc. There is also that great unknown southern land, otherwise called Magellanica, which lies far to the south, near the south pole, and into which no man has dared to venture, up to this time, where it seems at night as if the whole region were on fire.
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PASTORIUS'S PENNSYLVANIA
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Since, however, my design at the present time is to write only of Pennsylvania, the newest portion of America, I forth- with proceed to the matter in hand.
THE FOURTH DIVISION OF THE WORLD, AMERICA, is Divided by me into Two Principal Parts.
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The first of these, to the south, includes:
1. Castilia del Oro,1 comprising the provinces of Popayan,' New Granada,' Cartagena," Venezuela,' New Andalusia," Paria.'
2. The country of Guiana, belonging to the Dutch, from which they chose to make a grant of a fief, in 1669, to the Count of Hanau, of that part lying between the rivers Paria and Amazon.
3. The country of Brazil, belonging to Portugal, wherein are the cities of San Salvador, Olinda, and Pernambuco.
4. The country of Chile.
5. The country of Peru, in whose capital, Lima, the Span- ish viceroy resides. This province is bounded by the Andes, in which the largest supply of gold is to be found, and where the aged men among the natives are gigantic in size, being ten feet tall.
There are, in this southern division, two principal rivers, the River Amazon and the River de la Plata. On the borders of this southern division flows the River Panama, or the Isth- mus, by which the wealth of America is carried to the sea and thence to Spain.
" The name applied at that and earlier times to northwestern South America, including the present United States of Colombia and Venezuela.
' In the southern part of the present United States of Colombia.
' East of Popayan, and south of the then province of Venezuela.
North of Popayan, bordering on the Caribbean Sea, in the present United States of Colombia.
" In the northern part of the present country of that name.
.East of the then province of Venezuela, on the Caribbean Sea, within present Venezuela. It is also called Paria by some geographers of the seventeenth century.
" South of New Andalusia, although by some geographers of the period made synonymous with the former. It is within present Venezuela.
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[1492
The second Principal Division of America, to the North, in- cludes:
1. The country of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chersonesus or New Spain,1 extends to the Gulf of Mexico.
2. The country of Florida.
3. The country of Virginia, belonging to the English.
4. New Netherland,? whose capital is New Amsterdam.'
5. New England, where, in the city of Cambridge, the Bible has been printed in the American language."
6. Canada, New France, the land of Cortereal,' Labrador, and New Britain." Until the year 1441 there was very scant information had in Europe concerning this entire division of the world, America, because none of the inhabitants had ever sailed over to us Europeans.
The first discoverer of this western world of waters was Christopher Columbus, an Italian, born in the little town of Cucurco,' in the territory of Genoa, of the noble house of Pilus- troli,' a man of education and experienced in navigation.
After he had visited the island of Gades,' and ascertained that, at a certain season of the year, the winds blew steadily from the west for many days, and from that had concluded that they must come from some far-distant land, he resolved to explore this foreign land, and to sail beyond the Pillars of Hercules," provided that the Republic of Genoa would equip some ships for him. Since the Republic was not willing to do
" The name given at first to Yucatan and afterwards in general to the whole of Mexico.
" "Novum Belgium" in the original.
· Called New York after 1664.
. I. e., in the dialect of the Massachusetts Indians; the translation by John Eliot, the New Testament being published in 1661 and the whole Bible in 1663.
" Or Corterealis, marked on maps of the sixteenth century as in eastern Canada on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
" The country lying around Hudson's Bay.
7 Cuccaro, in Montferrat, near Genoa, Italy, one of many towns claiming to be the birthplace of Columbus.
" The Pallastrelli or Perestrello family, originally of Italy, but later of Por- tugal, were ancestors not of Columbus but of his wife.
· Cadiz, Spain.
10 Anciently applied to the two rocks on the respective African and European shores forming the entrance to the Mediterranean at the Strait of Gibraltar.
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1499]
this, he went to King Henry VII.1 of England, and to King Alphonso,2 and as in both these countries his quest proved useless, he came to King Ferdinand,' and Queen Isabella of Castile. They furnished him with three ships and the neces- sary equipment, with which he, together with his brother Bartholomew,4 set sail, in the August of 1492, and after some months they came to the island of Comera," where he refreshed himself, and thirty days later he landed at the island of Guara- glysne.º
He also visited the island of Cumana' and the island of Hayti, which he called Hispaniola; and there he built a fort. When he saw the wealth of this land he decided to carry the good news to King Ferdinand, and returned in safety, without even the loss of a man, and the King gave him the surname of Admirandus.8 After that he made other voyages, to the For- tunate Islands,' and to the Canary Islands, where there are two miraculous springs, of which one has this property, that whosoever drinks thereof begins at once to laugh, and never ceases until he has laughed himself to death, but if he be given to drink of the other spring, he is straightway set to rights again.
Columbus visited also the island of Teniriffa,1º where there is a mountain that spouts fire. Finally he reached the Island of the Cannibals, or Man-eaters, and as it was on a Sunday, he called the place Dominica, and journeyed thence, by way of the Islands of Cuma" and Jamaica, back to Spain.
In the year of our Lord 1495, the above mentioned King Ferdinand sent the noble Florentine, Vesputius Americus,1ª
"There is no evidence of such a visit, although his brother Bartholomew did go to England to enlist the interest and assistance of King Henry VII. in the scheme.
' Affonso V. of Portugal. It was more probably João II. " Of Aragon.
' Bartholomew Columbus did not accompany his brother on the first voyage to America in 1492, but brought out supplies to Santo Domingo on Christopher's second voyage.
"Gomera in the Canaries. · Guanahani. 7 Cuba.
. Columbus received the office of high-admiral.
. Of the ancients, i. e., the Canary Islands.
" Teneriffe.
11 Cuba.
" Amerigo Vespucci, according to the most competent scholars of this day, did not visit the New World until 1499, then going over simply in a subordinate position, under Ojeda, to the previously discovered northern coast of South America.
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[1681
laid in ashes, and he himself was driven into exile, where he died before Charles II. was restored to the royal throne.1
After he had again obtained his sceptre and throne, William Penn (the only son of Lord Penn) came to him, and was very kindly received, and as a recompense for the loyal service rendered by his father,' this newly-discovered province, to- gether with the fortress of Neu-Castle,' was given him in per- petuity, and by a public royal decree of the date of April 21, 1681, all the inhabitants, present and future, were directed to show him due obedience.
This William Penn caused it to be publicly proclaimed in London that he purposed to found some colonies and cities in this province, and that he was willing to sell land at no higher price than an English crown [kopstück, shilling (?)]' an acre to such as had the desire to journey thither with him. Accord- ingly many persons entered their names in his book for a cer- tain amount of land, and many families travelled with him to that country, where he accordingly founded the city of Phila- delphia there for himself and them. Especially, however, a German Company," which purchased several thousand acres
" To correct Pastorius's errors, Admiral Penn, it will be observed, (1) was not a general under Charles at the latter's defeat at the battle of Worcester, in 1651, but was then a naval commander under the Parliament; (2) he was not a "Lord," never receiving a higher title than knight; (3) he did not disguise Charles and assist him to flee to France; (4) his property was not laid in ashes, as he had no extensive estates at that time, but later received lands in Ireland from Cromwell; (5) he did not die in exile before the Restoration, but passed ten years of honored service under Charles II.
' In 1681, twenty-one years after the Restoration.
' And more especially for the debt of £16,000 due from the King to Penn's father, the admiral.
"Neither "the fortress of New-Castle" nor, in fact, any part of Delaware was included in the grant of Charles II. to William Penn. That territory was con- veyed to Penn in 1682 by James, Duke of York, who had it from his royal brother Charles at the English conquest of New Netherland, in 1664. Nor, of course, was this region a "newly discovered" land.
" Penn offered his land for sale (1) to First Purchasers, 5,000 acres at £100 and one shilling quit-rent per each 100 acres (i. e., 50s.); (2) to renters at one penny per acre on tracts not to exceed 200 acres; (3) to servants and their masters at the end of the given time of service 50 acres each at a yearly rent of a half-penny per acre.
. Of Frankfort-on-the-Main, for which Pastorius came over to Pennsylvania as the agent.
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1681]
of land, combined to establish a German colony there. But the entire province was named Pennsylvania (the wilderness of Penn), because it was entirely overgrown with forest and wilderness.
The Charter of King Charles Stuart II. to William Penn, etc., March 4, 1671.1
I. We give and grant, for various reasons, to William Penn and his heirs forever, the entire tract of the land in America, with all the islands thereto appertaining, That is to say, from the beginning of the fortieth degree of north latitude, twelve English miles above Neu-Castle, with its eastern boundaries running along the bank of the De la Ware River.
II. Free and undisturbed use and passage into and out of all harbors, bays, waters, streams, islands and mainlands belonging thereto, together with the soil, fields, woods, underwoods, mountains, hills, fens, swamps, islands, lakes, rivers, brooks, gulfs, bays, and inlets, that lie therein, or that belong to the aforesaid limits and boundaries. And all these the said William Penn shall hold and enjoy for his use and profit, forever, and it shall be held of Us as of Our castle of Windsor, for the delivery and payment every year of two beaver-skins only, as a free and public acknowledgement of his fief.
III. And of Our further favor We have thought fit to erect the aforesaid land and its islands into a province and a seigniory, wherefore We hereby erect and establish the same, and We do call it Pennsylvania, and it is Our wish that from henceforth for all time, it should be so called.
IV. By reason of the especial trust (and implicit confidence) which we repose in the wisdom and justice of the said William Penn, We grant to him and to his heirs, and to such persons as they shall appoint, [the power] to make and enact laws for the better and more prosperous ruling of the Province in general, and to publish the same under his seal, by and with the advice and approbation of the freemen, or freeholders so far as they do not run contrary to the laws of Our kingdom.
V. Also full authority to the said William Penn, etc., to appoint judges, magistrates, and other similar officials, by such means and in such form as may seem convenient to him.
Likewise, he shall also have authority to pardon and to punish misdemeanors and crimes, as is customary in well-regulated tri- 1 Erroneous date, the correct year being 1681.
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[1681
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bunals. And We herewith also will, enjoin, and require that such laws and acts shall be fully observed and kept inviolable, and that all liege subjects of Us, Our heirs and successors, shall keep them inviolable, reserving only the final right of appeal to Ourselves.
VI. That the laws concerning individual property, whether in the case of the decease of a landed proprietor, or in the case of the inheritance of movable or immovable goods and chattels, shall be the same there as in England, and shall remain in force until the said William Penn, or his heirs, together with the freemen of the said province, shall otherwise ordain.
VII. In order that this new colony may happily increase by the multitude of people, We herewith grant to all Our liege subjects, both present and future, in behalf of Ourselves, Our heirs and suc- cessors, liberty to transport themselves thereunto.
VIII. Liberty to transport thither all sorts of goods and mer- chandise, upon payment of the impositions due Us in this country.
IX. The authority to divide this country into small districts or counties, of one hundred boroughs or smaller towns,1 and to con- stitute markets and fairs with convenient privileges. All this [to be done] as may seem meet and serviceable to William Penn and to his heirs.
X. Permission to import the fruits of the soil, and the commod- ities made there, into England.
XI. Authority to establish ports, havens, bays, harbors, ports of entry, and other places for trade, with such rights, jurisdictions, and privileges, as the said William Penn may find expedient.
XII. The navigation laws shall not be broken, either by the governor, or by the inhabitants.
XIII. No alliance shall be made with any prince or state that wages war against Us and Our heirs.
XIV. Power for the security and defense [of the country] by such ways and means as may seem good to the said William Penn.
XV. Full power to assign, to grant, to lease, or to enfeoff, as many portions of the land and to such persons as William Penn shall consider fit to have and to hold the same, each person to rent it for himself and the heirs of his body, either for life, or for a term of years.
XVI. We give and grant to each of these persons to whom Will- iam Penn has granted an estate, the privilege to hold his own courts there, and [to make] regulations for better security.
1 Pastorius mistakes the noun "hundreds" in the charter, meaning a sub- division of a county, for an adjective modifying boroughs.
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1681]
PASTORIUS'S PENNSYLVANIA
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XVII. Authority to these persons, that they may grant their lands and privileges in turn to another person, either in fee simple, or under certain conditions.
XVIII. We also covenant and affirm to the said William Penn, his heirs and assigns, that We will declare or impose no tax or impo- sition upon the inhabitants of the said province, nor upon the land, property, and goods of the inhabitants, nor upon the merchandise without the consent of the governor and inhabitants.
XIX. It is ordered that no one of Us or of Our heirs and suc- cessors, or officers of high or low degree, shall presume at any time to act contrary in the smallest thing to that herewith set forth, or in any sort to withstand the same, but that they shall aid and assist to the aforesaid William Penn, his heirs, and these inhabitants and tradespeople, their factors and attorneys, in the full use and fruition of this Our Charter.
XX. And, in case there should arise in the future any doubt or question concerning the true sense or meaning of a word or expres- sion, contained in this Charter, We hereby ordain and command that at all times and in all things, such interpretation shall be made thereof and allowed by Our superior courts as that the said William Penn, his heirs and assigns, shall be judged in the most favorable and advantageous manner possible, providing that it be not con- trary to a due allegiance to Ourselves and to Our heirs.
In witness whereof, We have caused these letters patent to be drawn up, and We Ourselves bear testimony thereto at West-Mün- ster,1 4 March, 1681.
CAROLUS II.
After obtaining this princely gift William Penn caused the following proclamation to be posted up and circulated:
All persons who desire to negotiate with me in regard to this province may make their bargain here and obtain further satis- factory information from: Philipp Ford,' Thomas Rudyard,' Ben- jamin Klarc,' Jan Roelofs van der Werf, etc.
On April 2, 1681, all the inhabitants and planters already settled in this country were directed by the aforesaid King Charles II., in a written order, to show due obedience to Will- iam Penn, as the full lord and ruler of the property.
1 Westminster. " In Bow Lane, Cheapside, London.
* In George Yard, Lombard Street, London.
Benjamin Clark, in George Yard, Lombard Street, London.
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[1681
CHAPTER II.
The Manner and Method in which William Penn sought to pro- cure Settlers for the uninhabited Province which he received as a Gift. The Offer for Sale.
1. He sent out a notice to the purchasers that they should send in their names to certain places in London and enter into agreements, [and] there he sold 30001 acres of land (Dutch measure) for 100 pounds sterling, with the reservation of a perpetual yearly payment therefor of an English shilling for each 100 acres. The money should be paid down for the re- ceipt in London, and upon its presentation the amount of land would be measured out for the purchaser.
2. To each person who has the necessary money for the voyage, but has no means to establish himself upon his arrival, and to buy land, William Penn gives fifty acres, with a per- petual yearly fee of a penny for each acre. And this fee shall give them as valid a claim as if they had purchased the land for themselves and their heirs forever.
3. To the servants and children (to encourage them to greater industry and obedience) he gives full permission to take perpetual possession of a field of fifty acres, so soon as they shall have worked out their stipulated time, and to pay for each [acre] a yearly fee of only half a penny, and thus be- come their own masters. Hereupon the book and register of the purchasers was begun at the appointed bargain-place, and the German Company, or Society, was the first to enter into an agreement, and in the beginning paid down the money in London for twenty thousand acres, upon the receipt of an order of acquittance.
4. It is to be remarked that William Penn did not drive forth the naked native inhabitants of the land with military authority, but brought with him upon his arrival especial clothing and hats for the principal Indians, and thereby se- cured their goodwill, and purchased their land (and territory) to the extent of twenty leagues, and they, thereupon, with- drew that much farther back into the wild forests.
1 Five thousand acres (English). ' Sixty English miles.
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1684]
CHAPTER III.
How the Survey of Lands for the German Company was Effected.
The entire German Company, or Association, had appointed Francis Daniel Pastorius, Licentiate of both Laws,' a man de- sirous to travel, as their fully authorized attorney. He went from Franckfurth-on-the-Mayn to London, where he con- cluded a purchase, took the order for the assignment of the land, and sailed, under the guidance of God, safely across the ocean,' and on March 7, 1684, sent back this report from Phila- delphia:
The land which has been purchased is distributed in three dif- ferent ways. First, fifteen thousand acres in one tract, and bor- dering on navigable water. Second, three hundred acres in the liberties of the city, which is the land between the rivers de la Ware and Scollkill. Third, three lots in the city, for building houses thereon.
When I now, upon my arrival, applied to William Penn for the warrants, to measure off the three portions, and take possession [of them], his first answer was: That as for the three lots in the city, and the three hundred acres in the liberties, the Company had no legal claim thereto because they were purchased after he, William, had left England, and the books in London had been closed. How- ever, after I represented to him that the Germans were entitled to consideration because they were the first to conclude a compact with him he immediately caused three lots to be measured off for me from the portion of his younger son,' on the border of the city, one behind the other.
If now one counts in their order the houses situated on the Delu Waro River, the dwelling and trading-house of the German Com- pany is the ninth.‘
1 Canon and civil law.
" Sailed from Deal, England, early in June and arrived at Philadelphia in August, 1683.
' William Penn, jr.
At the southern end of the Philadelphia of that day, on the west side of Front Street, the lot being cut off from the lot of William Penn, whose remaining portion lay next south at the northwest corner of Front and Cedar (now South) streets.
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[1684
The first of our lots in the city is one hundred feet wide and four hundred feet deep. At the end thereof is a street;1 the second lot, lying behind this, is of the same length and breadth, and behind this is again a street.' The third lot is of the same size, and on the front of each lot two houses can be built side by side, and two on the rear, so that altogether twelve houses with their yards can be built, and all can front upon the streets.
At the end of November, 1684, Pastorius sent word to his Company:
That for the first few years they could make but little profit because of the notorious scarcity of money in the province, and be- cause there was not yet any return cargo produced for England. And since the Governor, William Penn, holds it of the first impor- tance to establish weaving and the cultivation of the Vine, it would be well for the Company to send out here a quantity of vine-stocks, together with all sorts of field and garden-seeds; also some large iron pots and nests of kettles; also an iron stove, some bed-clothes and mattresses, and likewise a few pieces of fustian, and white linen cloth, which may be sold to advantage in the trading-house.
On November 16th there was a fair held at Philadelphia, but at the Company's trading-house little more than ten thalers' worth was sold, because of the aforesaid scarcity of money, and because the new-comers from Germany and England for the most part bring so many clothes with them that for several years they need nothing more.
So far as concerns our newly-founded city, Germanopolis," it is situated upon a rich black soil, surrounded by numerous pleasant springs. The main street is sixty feet wide, and the cross-street is forty, and each family has a farmyard of three acres in size.
1 Front Street. " Second Street.
' About thirty shillings or $7.30, multiplied several times to equal present-day values.
' Germantown.
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1682]
CHAPTER IV.
Concerning the Laws of the Province.
William Penn established the first [of these] with the con- currence of the public assembly:
1. The members of the council, and then the whole com- munity come together each year upon a certain appointed day and choose their presiding officers and other functionaries by lot,1 so that none may know who has voted for, or against, him. Thereby is prevented all improper use of money, and likewise the secret enmity of the defeated candidate. And if anyone has conducted himself improperly this year, a better man may be chosen next time.
2. No tax, excise, or other impost may be laid upon the public without the consent of two-thirds of the council.
3. In order to prevent litigation, law-suits, and quarrelling, a record will be kept, wherein will be registered all estates, mortgages, obligations, and rents. Thus all advocates and attorneys who demand money for their services are discarded.
4 and 5. That no one sect may raise itself above the others, each shall enjoy freedom of conscience, and no one shall be forced to be present at any public services for the worship of God, and no one shall be disturbed in his belief or religion.
6. In order to guard against whatever could tempt the people to frivolity, wantonness, insolence, audacity, ungodli- ness, and scandalous living, all worldly plays, comedies, games of cards, maskings, all cursing, swearing, lying, bearing of false witness (since an oath is not allowed), scandal-monger- ing, adultery, lewdness, duelling, and stealing, are forbidden under pain of the severest punishment.
7. If it should be discovered that one of the trades-people has cheated his employer he shall be sentenced not only to make full restitution, but also to pay a third more, as a punish- ment for his deceitful dealings. Because of this, the Deputies of the Provincial Council shall take care that upon the death of every factor whatever amount he may have had from his employer, which belonged to the employer, shall be assiduously delivered up to him again.
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