USA > New Jersey > The history of New Jersey from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 3
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HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1643.
of resistance ; and many, having crawled away in the darkness, were found at day-break, stiffen- ed with wounds, and put to death.
Kieft gave the returning troops an exulting welcome, and liberally rewarded them for their services. But his triumph was brief. The ex- asperated savages inflicted a terrible retaliation. Discovering that the massacres they had at first attributed to their enemies, the Mohawks, were in reality committed by the whites, they sallied out in every direction, and, in a few days, almost depopulated the country around Manhattan. Villages were burned, farms desolated, men and women murdered, and children carried into cap- tivity. The Dutch colony was brought to the brink of ruin; and, in their terror, all the inha- bitants that could, sought safety by a return to Holland.
Kieft was now compelled to sue for peace. Satisfied with the vengeance they had inflicted, sixteen sachems of the Long Island tribes con- sented to meet a deputation of the colonists, at Rockaway, on the 5th of March, 1643. Having assembled around the council-fire, one of the chieftains presently arose, holding in his hand a bundle of little sticks, and thus addressed the Dutch envoys :
" When you first arrived on our shores, you were destitute of food; we gave you our beans and our corn; we fed you with oysters and fish;
41
UNSUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS.
1643.]
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and now, for our recompense, you murder our people."
With these words the orator laid down one stick, thus indicating that this was his first charge. Continuing, he said :
" The traders whom your first ships left on our shore to traffic till their return, were cherish- ed by us as the apple of our eye : We gave them our daughters for their wives: among those whom you have murdered, were children of your own blood." Having concluded his second com- plaint, the chief put down another stick, while many remained in his hand, to show the number of accusations that were still to come:
Through the influence of Roger Williams, the Long Island sachems finally agreed upon a truce, and a month later, the Raritan and other river Indians likewise came to terms. Peace, however, lasted but a little while. It was hard for the savages to forget the injuries they had sustained-one had lost a father; a second, a mother ; many; their children, kinsmen and friends ; they still nursed the hope of revenge. " The presents we have received," said an old chief, mournfully, " bear no proportion to our loss-the price of blood has not been paid.'
At length the discontent of the tribes broke out in a fresh war. In September a detachment of soldiers were taken prisoners, and in the following month the settlements near the mouth
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42
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1644.
of the Passaic were laid waste. Affairs now became even more serious than they were in the previous disturbances. Driven from their plantations, the terrified colonists collected in the immediate neighbourhood of Fort Am- sterdam, where for nearly two years they linger- ed, sometimes on the brink of starvation, and momentarily fearing an attack that would end in their extermination.
But whatever may have been the faults of Kieft, he did not lack spirit. Soon as the war was renewed, he bestirred himself to save the colony. Having vainly applied to the authorities of Connecticut for assistance,. he hired Captain John Underhill, an English sol- dier, already famed as an Indian fighter, to take command of the Dutch troops. With a little army of one hundred and twenty men, Underhill entered upon a series of fierce and energetic measures. Partially beaten at times, and on other occasions seriously harassed, the courage of the Indians began to give way. Closely following up his lesser triumphs, Un- derhill, in 1644, made two sanguinary descents upon Long Island-in the first, killing near a hundred savages, and taking many prisoners ; while, in the second, he attacked an Indian town, set fire to it, and put to death five hun- dred of the inhabitants, who had assembled to celebrate one of their yearly festivals.
43
PEACE CONCLUDED.
1647.]
With these victories the hopes of the colonists began to return. The Indians were weary of being hunted like wild beasts, and several of the tribes sued for peace. At length the West India Company were enabled to send a rein- forcement of troops to Manhattan, and Kieft de- termined upon a vigorous prosecution of hostili- ties. At this moment the Mohawks interposed, and sent an envoy to their friends, the Dutch, to exert his influence in favour of peace. His mis- sion succeeded. Delegates from the tribes of New Jersey, and other hostile nations, met in council with the authorities of New Netherland, in front of Fort Amsterdam, and on the 30th of August, 1645, a solemn treaty put an end to the war.
The rejoicings of the colonists on this occa- sion were great, and they set apart a day for public praise and thanksgiving. Yet the memory of the troubles they had endured, and the losses they had suffered, pressed heavily on their minds, and fostered a desire for the removal of Kieft, whose rash and barbarous policy had in- volved them in so much difficulty. Complaints of his mismanagement at length reached the West India Company. Finding that their own interests would be advanced by a change of go- vernors, they finally sent out a recall to Kieft, and in the fall of 1647 he embarked for Hol- land. Encountering a furious storm, the ships
M
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HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1647.
in which he sailed was dashed ashore on the coast of Wales, and the merciless governor, to- gether with some eighty companions, was swal- lowed up in the waves.
CHAPTER III.
Governor Stuyvesant-His character-His wise and cautious policy-Quarrel with New England-Belligerent desires of Stuyvesant-The West India Company counsel peace-Ne- gotiations opened-Provisional treaty concluded-Second English attempt to found a colony on the Delaware frustrat- ed-Swedish colony threatened by Stuyvesant-Fort Cassi- mir constructed-Printz builds Fort Elsingburg - Rising governor of New Sweden-Takes Fort Cassimir by strata- gem-The Swedes conquered by Stuyvesant-Indian hos- tilities-Activity of Stuyvesant-Prosperous condition of New Netherland-Lord Baltimore claims the territory on the west bank of the Delaware-Its cession to the city of Amsterdam-Perilous position of Stuyvesant-Stringent regulations of the West India Company-Concessions de- manded by the people-Haughty reply of Stuyvesant-A popular assembly established-New Netherland granted to the Duke of York-Arrival of the English fleet-Stuyvesant summoned to surrender-Capitulation.
IN May, 1647, the governor appointed to suc- ceed Kieft arrived at New Amsterdam. His name was Stuyvesant, a brave and experienced soldier, honest, frank, and tolerably learned, but somewhat haughty in his bearing toward the poorer classes, of whom he did not profess to hold a very high opinion. Before receiving his
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1647.] TERRITORIAL QUARREL RENEWED.
present commission he had held the office of vice- director at Caraccas, where his services had been such as to gain him the good regards of the West Indian Directory.
The new governor promptly applied himself to averting the dangers which on all sides threaten- ed his province. Taught by the calamities of his predecessors, he wisely adopted a gentle and forbearing policy in his dealings with the natives, thus keeping the period of his administration almost undisturbed by Indian wars. His chief concern, however, was centered in the doubtful attitude assumed by the English and by the Swedes.
Immediately after Stuyvesant's arrival, the commissioners of New England addressed him a letter of congratulation, concluding with an ear- nest appeal for reparation of the injuries they had received from Kieft. Without justifying all the acts of Kieft, Stuyvesant made a counter- claim for redress, and demanded a restoration of the Dutch territories on the Connecticut. The old territorial quarrel was thus renewed in all its bitterness. Already involved, the question now became more and more knotty, with little or no prospect of its happy solution. Never having admitted the title of the Dutch to any territory in America, the New England men ex- tended their settlements, even threatening to oc- cupy the banks of the Hudson. Protests and
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HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1651.
counter protests drew hard words from both parties ; and the fiery Stuyvesant would probably have resorted to arms, but the West India Company, to whom he applied for authority and assistance, earnestly counselled peace. "War," said they, " cannot"in any event be to our ad- vantage ; the New England people are too power- ful for us."
Negotiation being the only course left him, Stuyvesant repaired to Hartford, where a con- vention of delegates, representing the interests of both nations, was presently held. After a series of lengthy discussions, on the 19th of September, 1650, a provisional treaty was con- cluded, making the boundary between the two colonies, to begin at Greenwich on the main, and at Oyster Bay, on Long Island. This inter- colonial treaty received the sanction of the States-General, and of the West India Company, but was never ratified by the British crown.
The claim of the New Haven people to lands on Salem Creek was still undecided, and they now attempted for the second time to plant a colony in that region. Commissioned by Go- vernor Eaton, who gave them a friendly letter of explanation to Stuyvesant, a little company of emigrants sailed from Connecticut River for the Delaware, early in the spring of 1651; but stopping at Manhattan to deliver their message to Stuyvesant, they were arrested, and obliged
47
FORT ELSINGBURG BUILT.
1654.1
to return to New Haven, whence they imme- diately addressed a petition to the New England commissioners, begging them to protect their persons and property, and to maintain "the honour of the English nation." Choosing rather "to suffer affronts for a while, than to seem to be too quick," the commissioners would not com- mit themselves at that time, inasmuch as the governor of New Netherland had signified his determination to resist, at all hazards, every at- tempt to plant colonies upon the land in dispute.
Uneasy at the progress of the Swedish settle- ments upon the Delaware, Stuyvesant now bent his efforts in that direction. For the protection of the Dutch commerce, already suffering from the restrictions imposed upon it by the Swedes, he built Fort Cassimir, near the mouth of Brandywine Creek, and not more than five miles from Christiana. Having issued an unheeded protest against this movement, Printz, who was still governor of New Sweden, built Fort Elsing- burg, a little distance below, on the eastern bank of the Delaware ; but a great swarm of musqui- toes presently falling upon the garrison, they were compelled to evacuate the newly-erected works.
The proximity of Fort Cassimir to the Swedish garrison at Christiana, led to a series of petty quarrels, which were kept up until 1654, when John Rising, now governor of New Sweden,
48
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1655.
combining stratagem with a superiority in force, mastered the Dutch troops, and took possession of their fort. This grievous insult awoke the ire of the West India Company, who directed Stuyvesant to "revenge their wrong, to drive the Swedes from the river, or compel their sub- mission." Collecting a force of six hundred men, Stuyvesant appeared in the Delaware, in September, 1655. He first assailed and took Fort Elsingburg, which the Swedes had again occupied. Forts Cassimir and Holy Trinity were next reduced, and finally the victorious Dutch compelled the submission of Gottenburg, the capital of New Sweden, where Rising himself · commanded. Honourable terms were granted to the vanquished Swedes, the peaceable possession of their estates being assured to them, upon con- dition that they would acknowledge the authority of the States-General. Thus fell, never to rise again, the only colonial establishment of Sweden in the New World.
Upon his return from the Delaware, Stuyvesant found the colonists in a wretched state of terror and despondency. Taking advantage of the absence of so large a number of the warlike in- habitants, the river tribes in the vicinity of Manhattan had collected a fleet of over sixty canoes, laid waste the neighbouring farms, and even appeared in hostile array before New Am- sterdam. But the presence of Stuyvesant in-
49
CLAIM OF LORD BALTIMORE.
1660.]
fused fresh courage into the breasts of the Manhattanese, and prompt and active measures were taken, which soon restored the colony to hope and confidence.
It was now that for a time the Dutch were permitted to rejoice in the possession of New Netherland. Quiet and prosperity seemed at last to have crowned their efforts. Their power in America was apparently fixed upon a perma- nent foundation. But scarcely had this hope been entertained, when new dangers began to threaten their existence. The partially settled dispute with the New England colonies broke out with additional asperity ; and, while Stuyvesant was engaged in that direction, a fresh quarrel sprung up with the English in the south, who were preparing to wrest from his authority the lately-acquired territory of New Sweden.
On the restoration of Charles II. to the throne of Great Britain, in 1660, Lord Baltimore, the proprietary of Maryland, insisted upon a right he had previously urged, to the whole territory claimed by the Dutch, westward of the Delaware River. Declaring that they had bought and co- lonized the lands in dispute long before Lord Baltimore's patent was in existence, the West India Company refused to yield up their posses- sions, and avowed their firm resolve " to defend them, even to the spilling of blood." At length, fearful of encroachments from the south, they
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HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1660.
transferred the whole colony, extending from the falls at Trenton to Cape Henlopen, to the city of Amsterdam.
At the same time, Massachusetts was claiming the Pacific for her western boundary, while Con- necticut advanced step by step toward the Hud- son. Stuyvesant saw the peril of his position. " Alas !" he wrote to the West India Company, " the English are as ten to one in number to us, and are able to deprive us of the country when they please." Resorting again to negotiation, he repaired in person to Boston, but effected . nothing. A similar diplomatic mission to Hart- ford was equally barren of good. The English would not acknowledge the right of New Nether- land to any American territory at all.
While thus New Netherland was threatened with dangers from without, the internal condi- tion of things was illy calculated to foster a ge- nuine public spirit. Unwise in their conceptions of government, the West India directors would allow no security for popular rights and privi- leges, such as were enjoyed by the people of New England. Clinging to arbitrary power, they insisted on making the laws of the colony, appointing its officers, and deciding all its con- troversies. Little alteration had been made in the original plan of government, and such changes as were wrought by the growth and widen- ing interests of the province, related wholly to
51
STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM.
1663.]
commercial privileges, and not to political en- franchisement. Transplanted to New Nether- land by emigrants from the English colonies, the notion of popular freedom took deep root in the minds of the people of the province, and they entered into an earnest struggle to ameliorate their political condition. A convention met at New Amsterdam, in 1663, and, among other things, demanded that the people should share in the enactment of those laws by which they were governed. Having exhausted his arguments against this demand, Stuyvesant, who had but little faith in "the wavering multitude," com- manded the convention to separate, under a threat of severe punishment. " We," said the proud governor to the retiring members, " We derive our authority from God and the West India Company, and not from the pleasure of a few ignorant subjects." And in this haughty and overbearing assumption he was fully sus- tained by the company. " Have no regard to the will of the people," said they, in their in- structions ; " let them no longer indulge the vi- sionary dream that taxes can be imposed only with their consent." But the desire of the peo- ple for political freedom was not to be easily rooted out ; and many were found willing to yield quietly to English rule, if they could but obtain a share in the rights and privileges of their Pu- ritan neighbours.
52
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY [1664.
It was when the colonists were in this state of indifference, that dangers began to thicken around New Netherland. Conscious that it was now necessary to create a spirit of patriotism, Stuy- vesant became more and more willing to enlarge the privileges of the masses, and in 1663 he conceded a poplar assembly. But the concession came too late to effect its object. Rumours of a threatened invasion from England found the people still indifferent, and disposed to shift upon the West India Company all care for the inte- grity of the province.
At length rumour became certainty. Disre- garding the claims of Holland, Charles II. of England, in the year 1664, granted to his bro- ther James, Duke of York and Albany, a patent for territories in which was comprised the pro- vince of New Netherland. An armament, con- sisting of three ships, with one hundred and thirty guns, and six hundred men, was imme- diately made ready, and sent to take possession of the countries named in the patent to the Duke of York. Colonel Nicholls, who had served under the celebrated Turenne, was placed in com- mand of the invading force, with authority to act as governor of the province when it should be subjugated. Having touched at Boston, where instructions were left to raise a body of troops to join the expedition, the fleet sailed for the Hud-
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1664.] SURRENDER OF NEW AMSTERDAM.
1
son River, and arrived in front of New Amster- dam on the 27th of August, 1664.
Soon as the English armament appeared, a deputation from Stuyvesant and the city bore a letter to Nicholls, desiring, " with all respect and civility," to know the motive of his presence. The British commander replied by demanding of Stuyvesant the immediate recognition of English sovereignty, at the same time offering security to the lives, liberties, and estates, of all who would quietly submit.
Though greatly outnumbered by the English, Stuyvesant was yet loth to surrender without a struggle. At the first rumour of the designs of Britain, he had spiritedly proposed that every third man should be called into service, " as had more than once been done in fatherland." And now, when summoned to surrender, he invited the burgomasters and council of the' city to meet him, and vainly endeavoured to infuse into them some portion of his own martial spirit. But, believing that they would in the end be conquer- ed, the peaceful burghers could see no use in prolonging a contest, which might cost them much blood and treasure, with no corresponding return. They asked to see the summons of the English commander. Knowing that they would eagerly accept the terms it offered, Stuyvesant hesitated and then refused. Again and again they urged their request, when, enraged at their
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HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1664.
importunity, the passionate governor tore the letter in fragments, and dashed it at the feet of the startled burghers.
For several days longer, Stuyvesant sturdily held out-now negotiating, and again assuming an attitude of defiance. Nicholls had threatened to inflict the horrors of war, in case of a refusal to surrender. "Touching your threat," was Stuy- vesant's undaunted reply, " we have nothing to answer, only that we fear nothing, but what God, who is just and merciful, shall lay upon us, all things being in his gracious disposal; and we may as well be preserved by him with small forces as by a great army-which makes us to wish you all happiness and prosperity, and to recommend you to his protection." But this show of confi- dence was of little avail; and, at length, beset by dissensions within, and a numerous enemy without, the old governor reluctantly consented to terms of honourable capitulation. The re- maining forts on the Delaware and Hudson soon after surrendered, and the whole of New Nether- land fell quietly into the possession of England.
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BERKELEY AND CARTERET.
1664.]
CHAPTER IV.
The Duke of York's patent to Berkeley and Carteret-The province of New Jersey-Liberal policy of the proprietaries -Their concessions to popular freedom-Nicholls governor of New York-His activity in colonizing New Albania- Carteret appointed governor of New Jersey-Establishes his capital at Elizabethtown-Inducements held out to settlers- Rapid increase in population-Puritan settlement on the Passaic-Threatened by the Hackensack Indians-Peace restored-Newark founded-Narrow policy of the colonists from Connecticut-First legislative session of New Jersey- Partial adoption of the harsh New England code-Local rights of self-government claimed-Opposition to quit rents -Great disaffection throughout the province-A new as- sembly constituted-Deposition of the governor-Carteret sails for England-Carteret's authority confirmed-Power of the assembly curtailed-War between England and Hol- land-Capture of New York by the Dutch-Its restoration to the English.
NEARLY two months previous to the conquest of New Netherland, the Duke of York, in con- sideration " of a competent sum of money," had assigned to Lork Berkeley and Sir George Carte- ret, favourite courtiers of the king, all that por- tion of the province lying westward of Long Island, and bounded on the west by the Dela- ware, on the east by the Hudson and the main ocean, and on the north by the forty-first degree and fortieth minute of latitude. To this region
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HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1664.
was given the name of Nova Cæsaria, or New Jersey, out of compliment to Carteret, who, in 1649, had gallantly defended the little Isle of Jersey, of which he was then governor, against the forces of the Long Parliament.
The first care of the proprietaries was to peo- ple their province. Wisely foreseeing that a policy favourable to popular freedom would best promote that end, they drew up and published, as the fundamental law of the colony, a paper of " Concessions and Agreement," the general tone of which was highly liberal. To all actual settlers they offered tracts of land, varying in extent from sixty to one hundred and fifty acres, according to the time of their arrival in the province, and to the number of their bound ser- vants and slaves. An annual quit-rent of a half-penny the acre was to be required for their allotments after the year 1670. A governor and council of twelve, nominated by the proprie- taries, and an equal number, at least, of repre- sentatives chosen by the people, were to consti- tute the legislative assembly. The enactments of this body were to be subject to the approval of the proprietaries, who also reserved to them- selves the appointment of judicial officers. No taxes were to be levied, except with the authority and consent of the colonial assembly. Freedom of conscience and worship was guarantied to all citizens, provided that freedom was not used "to
1
57
ERECTED INTO A PROVINCE.
1664.]
licentiousness, and to the civil injury or outward discomfort of others." Ample provision was made for the support of clergymen, to be ap- pointed by the colonial assembly ; but permission was at the same time allowed the colonists to as- sociate for the maintenance of such ministers as they might prefer.
The territory thus erected into a province, with such security for the liberties of its settlers, was then scarcely more than an uninhabited wilderness. Its native population was by no means large, and consisted of a few scattered clans of the inoffensive Delawares. With the exception of the little hamlet of Bergen, nothing that could be called a town had resulted from the various attempts to establish European set- tlements. In the neighbourhood of Bergen, and along the western shore of Newark Bay, the plantations of the Dutch were numerous, while here and there, through the present counties of Gloucester and Burlington, a few Swedish farm- ers had built their cabins, and cleared lands for cultivation. At Long Point, opposite Mattini- cunk Island, where Burlington now stands, three Dutch families had established themselves, form- ing the largest collection of civilized habitations in all West Jersey.
Immediately after the surrender of New Ne- therland, Nicholls assumed the government of the province, as lieutenant of the Duke of York.
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HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1665.
Ignorant of the transfer of New Jersey, he pre- pared to colonize the eastern portion of it, to which he gave the name of Albania. With his sanction, an extensive territory, bordering upon Newark Bay, was purchased from the Indians by a few New England Puritans, who settled on it during the year 1664. In the spring of 1665 a similar patent was issued, under the same sanc- tion, for the country from the mouth of the Ra- ritan to Sandy Hook ; and, before Nicholls could be informed of the change of ownership, he was able to congratulate himself, that, " on the new purchases from the Indians, three towns were already beginning."
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