USA > New York > A history of New York, for schools. Vol. I > Part 2
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Phil. Push on, John; I want to come to where Uncle Philip left off.
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Un. You will remember, children, that Block , sailed through the sound, and joined Christiansee to the eastward; that they discovered many places, and returned to our bay and river. Did they then settle New York ?
John. O no, sir. They went up the Hudson and built a fort on Castle Island, just below Albany ; and here Christiansee remained to trade. And trade, sir, appears to have been the object of all the dis- coverers ; for when, in 1615, they made a fort on Manhattan Island, and erected some few huts or houses, they only intended to trade with the Indians.
Un. True, boy; the desire for wealth, the thirst for gold, has led men to the discovery and settle- ment of empires; and thus it is, that although the motive for action may be sordid, or worse, Provi- dence works out good from evil. I do not mean that trading is evil. New York was begun by traders, and it now flourishes by trade ; but what a difference! Then, a stockade fort, or a stone wall, a few huts, a single ship, (to which an Albany sloop is a floating palace,) beads and shells for money, and otter skins and green tobacco for merchandise. Now, thousands of palaces, and thousands of ves- sels, whose long-boats might vie with the half-decked shallop of Columbus, banks, mints, bills of credit, and specie; with the manufactures of both hemis- pheres as the articles of commerce! But, my boy, where was the first Dutch fort ?
John. Uncle Philip said above the Bowling Green. I don't know where.
Un. I think it was behind Trinity church. The water, then, came up to the site of Lombard street ; and the bank of the river was where now the west wall of the churchyard is. In the year 1751, some workmen digging on the bank, back of Trinity church, discovered a stone wall, which occasioned
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great wonder; for already the first fort and its site was forgotten. It has been objected, that the early traders would only have a pallisade, or a wooden wall; but though brick were long after brought from Holland, Manhattan Island furnished plenty of stones; and a stone fort or battery was easily made. Go on.
John. In 1621, the Dutch government gave the New Netherlands (that is, New York and all their possessions hereabout) to their West India Com- pany ; and in 1623, Capt. Mey was sent out, and found the people who had been left here by the traders almost starving ; but as he came to make a settlement, or found a colony, he brought all necessa- ry supplies with him. New Netherlands extended, according to the Dutch, from Delaware river to Cape Cod. See here on the map, Philip.
Phil. I see Cape May, and Uncle Philip said that was meant for his name.
Un. You remember that this year, 1623, the Dutch built two other forts, and more houses, which may be considered as the commencement of both New York and Albany ; but the places were called after the forts: the one on our island, Amsterdam; and that, near the place where Albany now stands, was fort Orange.
Mary. And the new fort was where the beautiful battery now is.
Un. No. Where we now can walk and view the bay, the islands, and the shipping, was one field of rock, or water ; the rocks were covered, in part, at flood tide, but bare and black when the water ebbed ; so I remember it for many years.
Phil. Why is it called the Battery ?
Un. Because, many years ago, a battery was built on the Copsey rocks, as they were called; which fortification was almost as far from the outer walk
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of our battery, as the west side of State street ; above that, and extending to Pearl street, (southeast,) was a mound of earth, or bluff, overlooking the rocks and the bay. On this mound, fort Amsterdam was built; and it was enlarged and strengthened in after times; so that when you hear of the fort, or fort James, or fort George, you must remember it was on this bluff; which, on the land side, descended gradually to what was called the green, and after- ward the Bowling Green. You remember who was the first governor of New Amsterdam ?
John. Yes, sir ; Peter Minuit.
Un. He arrived in 1625. The Dutch called him " Director General," but " Governor" answers as well. At this time Bradford was governor of New England, and the English and Dutch began to quarrel.
John. Yes, sir, but trade increased at New York ; for it is a capital place for trade, everybody says. Gov. Minuit built a house for himself in fort Am- sterdam, and store houses, and many houses in the town. 1
Un. I will show you the fashion of the Dutch houses, which were the only kind in New York for many years. I remember the greater part of Broad street being so built, and some of them have only been removed within a few years. This was erect- ed in 1689, and was a famous house in its time. I wish I could tell you the history of the owner.
Wm. Perhaps it was old Governor Stuyvesants' house ?
Un. O no. His estate lay in the Bowery ; and the old Stuyversant house was only removed a few years ago. I will show you a picture of that, by and by. The old Governor, however, had a town house, and the one I shall show you, was his coun- try residence.
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IL.N. FERRIS :CO GROCERY.
WVm. What a strange looking building ! It stands end foremost.
Un. It is certainly very unlike the five story houses that have taken its place. Go on, John.
John. In 1629, the Dutch government gave chart- ers to several persons, and grants and privileges to plant colonies. These men sent out Wouter Van Twiller to purchase lands for them, as their agent,
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and each became what is called a patroon ; but none are left now, except Mr. Van Rensselaer, whose land was purchased near Albany. In 1683, Peter Minuit returned home, and Wouter Van Twiller, who had been agent for the patroons, arrived as governor.
Un. In the mean time, you know, colonization had been going on in Canada by the French ; and the English had settled both north and south of our Dutch progenitors : of this we will talk and read another day ; but I must mention one arrival on the continent, and one man who led the way to great cvents.
Phil. I don't remember any great general, sir.
Un. This man brought with him an art, some- times called the black art-an art that has revolu- tionized the world.
John. I don't remember, sir.
Un. In the year 1530, Samuel Green arrived at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and brought with him this wonderful art, and his implements of power. He was a printer, boy, and his press was the first in North America.
Phil. I wish that New York had had that hon- our.
Un. We must praise, and not be jealous of our neighbours. We should love our neighbours as ourselves. Well, John, what did Governor Van Twiller do ?
John. He built the first church in New Amster- dam, and encouraged the people to build houses, which they did close under the fort, mostly in that part of Pearl street adjoining the Battery, at present.
Un. Yes; I do remember when the fort, on its mound, overhung the houses in Pearl street.
John. In the mean time, the Dutch settled the south end of Long Island, by degrees, and some of
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them, called Walloons, fixed themselves about Brooklyn; and, it is said, from them comes the name of Wallabout, where the Navy Yard now is. Governor Kieft came next, in 1638, and he had troubles enough with the English, and with the In- dians.
Un. You hold in mind, children, that the Dutch claimed as their own all the country from Connecti- cut river on the east, to the Delaware river on the west; and as the English claimed not only the coun- try on each side, but the whole of the Dutch New Netherlands, quarrels were likely to ensue. The Dutch had their fort or trading house on Connecticut river, where Hartford stands, and called it Huys ran goede hope : the house of good hope. The English were too many for the Dutch, and encroached both in Connecticut and on Long Island, until a line of de- marcation was agreed upon : and to the westward it was the same, until finally the whole, as we shall see, was yielded to the English.
John. And Governor Kieft had his troubles, too, with the Indians.
Un. Yes; and as you may remember, he fought a hard battle with them, and could scarcely claim the victory. Well, what governor of the colony, or director of the traders, came next ?
John. Governor Peter Stuyvesant; and he was the last Dutch governor, and his family are here yet.
Un. You have a memorandum of the years in which the governors began to rule New York.
John. Yes, sir. He came in 1647, and he gov- erned New Netherlands till 1664. And Uncle Philip told us he had trouble with the Swedes, who claimed the country to the south on the Delaware river, and because they had seized the Dutch fort Cassimir where Newcastle is now ; and so Govern- or Stuyvesant finding that a Swedish ship had come
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to the Raritan river, (here, by Amboy,) he seized her, and then went and retook fort Cassimir.
Wm. That was right. Well done Governor Stuyvesant.
Un. Did the brave old governor remain master of all this country ? ·
John. No, sir; for Charles the Second, of Eng- land, claimed all this territory ; and England being very powerful, she took the whole.
Un. You, John, have been reading the History of England.
John. Yes, sir; and I think Charles was a very scandalous man.
Un. You say England was very powerful in his reign.
John. Ay; but not by his means. I think he proved unworthy of being a king, for he was so fond of indulging himself, that he became a pen- sioner to the king of France ;- no, sir, the power of England was owing to the wisdom and courage of Oliver Cromwell, as I think.
U'n. So I think, too. Well, Charles took all this country from the Dutch : and what did he do with it ?
John. He gave it to his brother, the Duke of York; and a fleet came out here, too strong for Governor Stuyvesant, and he was obliged to give up the place: but he made a good capitulation, and he and most of the Dutch people staid under the English government.
I'n. The names of the country, and the towns, and the forts, were changed.
John. Yes, sir. The Duke named every thing alinost after himself. New Amsterdam became New York, and the fort was called James; and as he had the titles of Albany and Ulster, as well as York, he called fort Orange (the Dutch trading 3
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house up the river) Albany, and one of the counties of the colony Ulster.
Mary. But is that any harm, Uncle ?
Un. No, not much, my dear. A greater man than any king has said, " A rose by any name would smell as sweet ;" and Albany, or New York, or Ulster, do not now partake of the infamy of Charles the Second, or his brother James. Well, John, what next ?
John. Nichols governed New York for three years, and then Col. Francis Lovelace succeeded him, as English governor, and he ruled from 1667 to 1673; and then England and Holland being at war, a Dutch fleet came here, and while they lay at Staten Island, John Manning sent them a mes- sage that he was governor of the fort, and would give it up to them; I suppose, for a good round sum ; and so they came up, and Manning gave them the fort, and they had the town again; and they chose Anthony Colve for governor : but next year, 1674, England and Holland made a peace, by which the Dutch gave up New York, and Sir Edmund An- dros came out as governor, and he disgraced Man- ning and broke his sword over his head.
Wm. That must have broke his head, too, I guess. Un. O no. The sword was held over his head, and broke ; not broke on his head.
Wm. Well, I wish it had been ! the scoundrel !
Un. Well, John, you know Sir Edmund Andros was sent to be governor of Massachusetts. Who succeeded him here in New York ?
John. Col. Thomas Dongan, sir. He arrived in 1683, and as the people complained that they had no part in making laws for the colony, he called upon them to send representatives to a general as- sembly ; and so the people had a voice, as it is called, in making laws for themselves, as it ought to be.
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W'm. I think they ought to have all the voices. How many voices were there, Uncle ?
Un. I am afraid you are too young to understand me, on this subject. 1
Wm. I will try.
Un. Well, boy, at present, that is, after (and in consequence of ) the revolutionary war, of which we are to talk, the people secured to themselves all the voices, as you call it; so that now they elect the three distinct branches of the government, which make the laws for regulating their actions and se- curing their property. They elect their own gov- ernor; and a senate, or upper house of representa- tives; and an assembly, or lower house of represen- tatives; and, in this city, their mayor, aldermen, and assistants.
John. Why, sir, was not one house of representa- tives enough ?
Un. Because, my boy, although the people might choose the best and wisest men to represent them, they were still but men, and liable to mistakes, and to the influence of passion; and if they made a law when they were angry, or frightened, it might do their constituents harm instead of good: but by making it necessary that another assembly, or the senate, should deliberate upon the law passed by the first, time is gained, fright and anger may have less or no influence ; and if both assemblies agree, and it is sanctioned by the third voice, or the governor, the people may be pretty sure that it is right. Do you understand me ?
Wm. I think I do, sir.
John. Yes, sir. And before Governor Dongan called the people together to elect an assembly of representatives, they were ruled altogether by men who were not chosen by themselves.
Un. That is it, boy. The Duke of York sent out
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a man to take care of his province for him ; and that man chose his friends as magistrates, or as a council, and his business was to make as much money for himself as he could, without incurring the displeasure of his master. Now, about .the time Dongan came out, the people had become strong enough, as well as wise enough, to feel that all was not right; so to satisfy them, he instituted the representative assembly : but that, as you know, was only one part in three; and, until the revolu- tion, the governors and their council may be con- sidered as the creatures of a foreign country, look- ing upon the people as inferior beings, to be managed for the gratification and the interest of the rulers, and those who commissioned them. But, by de- grees, the people's representatives grew stronger and bolder ; and the people saw that they were con- sidered only as the property of England, to be nursed or oppressed at the will of foreigners; then, the one voice, or house of assembly, opposed the other two, and, finally, came on those times we are to talk about, by and by.
Wm. Well, go ahead, John. I want to come to the time when the people would not be ruled by foreigners, and would do as they pleased. That's what I like.
Un. But you are not wise enough, and have not learned enough, to be trusted to do as you please. And so it was, and is, with the people. You are willing to let me direct you, and sometimes control you,-and so the people chose, and continue to choose, men to make laws, which they submit to for their own good. Now, John, let us procced-but not till to-morrow. We will now go to breakfast.
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CHAPTER III. -
Un. We will now proceed with our recollec- tions.
John. Uncle Philip was good enough to tell us about the wars with the French and Indians.
Un. I had rather go on with the history of New York; and speak of Canada, and the French and Indians, by and by. The Duke of York succeed- ed to the crown of England, and was called James the Second. Now, he was a Roman Catholick, and he had sent Governor Dongan to New York, because Dongan was a Roman Catholick also ; and he intro- duced men of the same persuasion into the offices of the government. Now, John, you know that the people of England had great dread of this religion, and had suffered much from the Pope, who is the head of it, and had determined to believe and think for themselves; and the people of New York were of the same opinion.
John. Yes, sir ; Protestants.
Un. So, James having offended his subjects in England, by avowing his Roman faith, he was de- throned, and William, Prince of Orange, 'a Pro- testant, put in his place. The people of New York saw that Dongan was doing here as James did in England, and they consulted together to preserve their right of judging for themselves in religious matters. They therefore concluded that the govern- ment of James must be overthrown here; but his officers held all the posts of profit, and his soldiers were in possession of the fort. One man among the people deserves to be remembered on this occasion. John. You mean Jacob Leisler, sir.
I'n. I do. He was a captain of militia, a Dutch- man by descent, and a man of property, and his 3
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company were attached to him. He took the op- portunity of Dongan's resigning the government to Mr. Nicholson, the lieutenant-governor, and when he had embarked for England, Leisler enter- ed the fort with his militia, and took it by surprise. The whole town then declared for William the Third, and Leisler was considered and acted as governor. But as he was a man of low origin, in the estimation of the gentry, as they were called, (that is, those families who had been counsellors, or of the king's council, and the officers, civil and military, sent out from England,) all these people were op- posed to Leisler, and refused to sign a declaration proposed by him in favour of the Prince of Orange. However, notwithstanding the lieutenant-governor's threats, and the influence of the English officers, the people prevailed.
John. Why, Uncle, this was like democrats and aristocrats.
Un. Right, John ; and we shall find that the few, or the aristocracy, and the many, or the people, were from this time forward in opposition to each other ; but the few were supported by the power of Eng- land; and even Leisler was put down by the Eng- lish court, although he had seconded their views in displacing James, and proclaiming William.
Wm. That was strange.
Un. No: for Leisler had acted against royal au- . thority, and the aristocracy of England might fear to lose their profitable pickings in the colonies, if the people, or their leaders, were suffered to rule. You must know, and will see as you go on, that the offices of governor, lieutenant-governor, coun- sellor, judge, chief-justice, collector of the customs, and other profitable places, were given by the kings, or the ministers of England, to their relations, or favourites, or others whom they wanted to pay for
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services ; or whose importunities they wished to get rid of, without touching their own purses. If sent to the colonies, they might get as much as they could from the provincials, provided they obeyed those who sent themn.
John. Poor colonists. I remember, sir, that Leis- ler sent one Stoll with a letter to King William, but Nicholson, and a clergyman in his interest, got to England first, and Stoll was sent back with thanks, but no appointment for Leisler ; and his enemies, the great people, went up to Albany, and declared for King William, but against Leisler; and he had to go up there, and take that fort by force.
Un. No; he sent his son-in-law, Milborne, who after some difficulty succeeded. But you recollect there were many troubles about this time, and the Indians and French burnt Schenectady, and mur- dered many people; and in the midst of these com- motions, Governor Sloughter was sent out from England, in 1691, and he made Leisler and Mil- borne prisoners, and brought them to a mock trial, - for the judges referred the matter to the governor and his council, who, of course, condemned them ; but Sloughter was afraid to execute him, although he had, by calling an assembly, so pleased the peo- ple, or gained their representatives, that they aban- doned Leisler, and asked for his death. The ene- mies of Leisler are said to have obtained an order for hanging him while Sloughter was intoxicated, at a feast given him, previous to his going on a voy- age to Albany.
Mary. A governor intoxicated, Uncle ! I thought only blackguards did so.
Un. Drunkenness is now, my dear, considered by all people who have just sentiments of religion, or even worldly honour, as a low and despicable, as well as destructive vice ;- it was not always so. A
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governor, appointed by the king of Great Britain, signed a death warrant when drunk, which he dared not sign when in his senses. Leisler and his son- in-law were hanged like murderers, and their pro- - perty seized for the government.
Wm. And the people suffered them to be hanged ! If I was a man !-
Un. The people have often suffered their friends to be persecuted by their enemies ; but, at this time, the people feared the power of England, and they saw that Leisler had been abandoned by William the Third, in whose cause he had risked his life.
John. But the English government afterward or- dered the estates of Leisler and Milbourne to be re- stored; and the people had their bodies taken up and buried with great ceremony in the old Dutch church in Garden street.
Un. True, John ; and the street has lost its name, and the church is demolished, and the bones of Leisler have been thrown into the highway. Such are the revolutions of opinion, and of churches, ci- ties, and states.
John. And Sloughter died very suddenly, and was buried in old Governor Stuyvesant's vault, at St. Mark's church, near good Peter Stuyvesant. I think he did not deserve the honour. Our next gov- ernor's name was Fletcher ; he came in 1692.
Un. True. What do you remember of him ?
John. That his name was Benjamin. He was a military man, and brought over a supply of arms to the province. He had heard that he should have trouble with the Indians; and he had also heard that Col. Peter Schuyler knew how to manage them better than anybody else, and so he applied to him for advice and assistance.
Mary. I remember, the Indians had a funny
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name for him: they called him Quidder, because they couldn't say Peter
Un. Col. Schuyler was a friend to the Five Na- tions; and they were wise enough to be guided by him. He repulsed the Canadians and French in an expedition which they undertook against the Indians; and Fletcher went from New York to Albany to the assistance of Schuyler and the Five Nations. But a voyage from New York in those days was almost as arduous and tedious as crossing the Atlantick . now.
John. Thanks to poor Mr. Fitch, (though he failed,) and to Chancellor Livingston, and, above all, to Mr. Fulton, we now go there in a few hours. It was well for the Indians that Col. Schuyler lived so near them. Well, sir, I believe Governor Fletch- er did not do much for New York.
Un. No, my son, he did worse than nothing-he did wrong. He quarrelled with the representatives of the people, and, of course, became unpopular. He consulted his own mercenary views. This, children, was the natural consequence of the gov- ernor being a stranger, with interests of his own, (and of those who sent him,) not only different from, but at variance with, the interests of the peo- ple he was sent to rule over. Fletcher was governor until 1697, at which time the war with the French ceased, by what is called the Treaty of Ryswick, because made in a Dutch town of that name. Du- ring Fletcher's rule, several things of importance happened. The Dutch church in Garden street was built; that street which you know as Exchange Place, and which, with the church, was burnt the other day, in the great fire of December, 1835. And the first Trinity church was built in the place where one of the same name now stands. But, above all, the first printing press was set up in New York;
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and the man's name who brought it here, and di- rected it, is more worthy of remembrance than that of a conqueror of armies and overthrower of empires.
Wm. Who was it, sir ?
Un. William Bradford. He had exercised his art in Philadelphia, a place which, though not as old as our city, had the honour of possessing this wonderful machine before New York.
John. But why did they not keep it ?
Un. Bradford got himself into trouble by print- ing a pamphlet, which was in opposition to the wishes of the people; and he fled to New York to avoid a lawsuit, or its consequences, and thus he was the first printer in both cities.
Wm. And had the people of Philadelphia no- body to print a newspaper for them ?
Un. My good boy, the people of Philadelphia and New York had no newspapers then. Boston was the first town of our country that had a news- paper. It was printed once a week, and its size was not much more than my two hands put together.
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