USA > New York > New York City > A history of New-York : from the beginning of the world to the end of the Dutch dynasty > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
The most glorious and praiseworthy hero that ever desolated nations, might have mouldered into oblivion among the rubbish of his own monument,
V/9
OF NEW-YORK.
did not some historian take him into favour, and be- nevolently transmit his name to posterity-and much as the valiant William Kieft worried, and bustled, and turmoiled, while he had the destinies of a whole colony in his hand, I question seriously, whether he will not be obliged to this authentic history for all his future celebrity.
His exit occasioned no convulsion in the city of New-Amsterdam or its vicinity: the earth trembled not, neither did any stars shoot from their spheres- the heavens were not shrouded in black, as poets would fain persuade us they have been on the unfor- tunate death of a hero-the rocks (hard-hearted var- lets !) melted not into tears, nor did the trees hang their heads in silent sorrow; and as to the sun, he laid abed the next night, just as long, and showed as jolly a face when he arose, as he ever did on the same day of the month in any year, either before or since. The good people of New-Amsterdam, one and all, declared that he had been a very busy, active, bustling little governor ; that he was " the father of his country"-that he was "the noblest work of God" -- that " he was a man, take him for all in all, they ne'er should look upon his like again"-together with sundry other civil and affectionate speeches, that are regularly said on the death of all great men ; after which they smoked their pipes, thought no more about him, and Peter Stuyvesant succeeded to his station.
Peter Stuyvesant was the last, and, like the re- nowned Wouter Van Twiller, he was also the best,
10
A HISTORY
of our ancient Dutch governors: Wouter having surpassed all who preceded him, and Peter or Piet, as he was sociably called by the old Dutch burghers, who were ever prone to familiarize names, having never been equalled by any successor. He was in fact the very man fitted by Nature to retrieve the desperate fortunes of her beloved province, had not the fates, those most potent and unrelenting of all ancient spinsters, destined them to inextricable con fusion.
To say merely that he was a hero would be doing him great injustice-he was in truth a combination of heroes-for he was of a sturdy, rawbone make, like Ajax Telamon, with a pair of round shoulders that Hercules would have given his hide for, (mean- ing his lion's hide,) when he undertook to ease old Atlas of his load. He was, moreover, as Plutarch describes Coriolanus, not only terrible for the force of his arm, but likewise of his voice, which sounded as though it came out of a barrel ; and like the self- same warrior, he possessed a sovereign contempt for the sovereign people, and an iron aspect, which was enough of itself to make the very bowels of his ad- versaries quake with terror and dismay. All thi martial excellency of appearance was inexpressibly heightened by an accidental advantage, with which I am surprised that neither Homer nor Virgil have graced any of their heroes. This was nothing less than a wooden leg, which was the only prize he had gained, in bravely fighting the battles of his country, but of which he was so proud, that he was often
11
OF NEW-YORK.
heard to declare he valued it more than all his other limbs put together ; indeed, so highly did he esteem it, that he had it gallantly enchased and relieved with silver devices, which caused it to be related in divers histories and legends that he wore a silver leg .*
Like that choleric warrior, Achilles, he was some- what subject to extempore bursts of passion, which were oft-times rather unpleasant to his favourites and attendants, whose perceptions he was apt to quicken, after the manner of his illustrious imitator, Peter the Great, by anointing their shoulders with his walking- staff.
Though I cannot find that he had read Plato, or Aristotle, or Hobbes, or Bacon, or Algernon Sydney, or Tom Paine, yet did he sometimes manifest a shrewdness and sagacity in his measures, that one would hardly expect from a man who did not know Greek, and had never studied the ancients. True it is, and I confess it with sorrow, that he had an un- reasonable aversion to experiments, and was fond of governing his province after the simplest manner- but then he contrived to keep it in better order than did the erudite Kieft, though he had all the philoso- phers ancient and modern to assist and perplex him. I must likewise own that he made but very few laws, but then again he took care that those few were rigidly and impartially enforced-and I do not know but justice on the whole was as well administered as if there had been volumes of sage acts and statutes yearly made, and daily neglected and forgotten.
* See the histories of Masters Josselyn and Biome.
.A HISTORY
He was, in fact, the very reverse of his predeces- sors, being neither tranquil and inert, like Walter the Doubter, nor restless and fidgeting, like William the Testy ; but a man, or rather a governor, of such un- common activity and decision of mind that he never sought or accepted the advice of others ; depending confidently upon his single head, as did the heroes of yore upon their single arms, to work his way through all difficulties and dangers. To tell the simple truth, he wanted no other requisite for a perfect statesman, than to think always right, for no one can deny that he always acted as he thought ; and if he wanted in correctness, he made up for it in perseverance-an excellent quality ! since it is surely more dignified for a ruler to be persevering and consistent in error, than wavering and contradictory, in endeavouring to do what is right. This much is certain, and it is a maxim worthy the attention of all legislators, both great and small, who stand shaking in the wind, with- out knowing which way to steer-a ruler who acts according to his own will is sure of pleasing himself. while he who seeks to satisfy the wishes and whims of others, runs a great risk of pleasing nobody. The clock that stands still, and points stedfastly in one direction, is certain of being right twice in the four- and-twenty hours-while others may keep going con- tinually, and continually be going wrong.
Nor did this magnanimous virtue escape the dis- cernment of the good people of Nieuw-Nederlandts ; on the contrary, so high an opinion had they of the independent mind and vigorous intellect of their
13
OF NEW-YORK.
new governor, that they universally called him Hard- koppig Piet, or Peter the Headstrong-a great com- pliment to his understanding !
If from all that I have said thou dost not gather, worthy reader, that Peter Stuyvesant was a tough, sturdy, valiant, weather-beaten, mettlesome, obsti- nate, leathern-sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited old governor, either I have written to but little pur- pose, or thou art very dull at drawing conclusions.
'This most excellent governor, whose character I ·have thus attempted feebly to delineate, commenced his administration on the 29th of May, 1647 ; a re- markably stormy day, distinguished in all the alma- nacs of the time which have come down to us, by the name of Windy Friday. As he was very jealous of his personal 'and official dignity, he was inaugu- rated into office with great ceremony; the goodly oaken chair of the renowned Wouter Van Twiller being carefully preserved for such occasions, in like manner as the chair and stone were reverentially preserved at Schone. in Scotland, for the coronation of the Caledonian monarchs.
I must not omit to mention, that the tempestuous state of the elements, together with its being that unlucky day of the week, termed "hanging day," did not fail to excite much grave speculation and divers very reasonable apprehensions among the more ancient and enlightened inhabitants ; and several of the sager sex, who were reputed to be not a little skilled in the mysteries of astrology and fortune- telling, did declare outright, that they were omens VOL. II. B
14
A ITISTORY
of a disastrous administration-an event that came to be lamentably verified, and which proves, beyond dispute, the wisdom of attending to those preter- natural intimations, furnished by dreams and visions, the flying of birds, falling of stones, and cackling of geese, on which the sages and rulers of ancient times placed such reliance-or to those shootings of stars eclipses of the moon, howlings of dogs, and flarings of candles, carefully noted and interpreted by the oracular sybils of our day; who, in my humble opin- ion, are the legitimate inheritors and preservers of the ancient science of divination. This much is cer- tain, that governor Stuyvesant succeeded to the chair of state at a turbulent period ; when foes thronged 'and threatened from without; when anarchy and stiff-necked opposition reigned rampant within; when the authority of their High Mightinesses the Lords States General, though founded on the broad Dutch bottom of unoffending imbecility; though supported by economy, and defended by speeches, protests, and proclamations, yet tottered to its very centre ; and when the great city of New-Amsterdam, though forti- fied by flag-staffs, trumpeters, and windmills, seemed ike some fair lady of easy virtue, to lie open to at- ack, and ready to yield to the first invader.
15
OF NEW-YORK.
CHAPTER II.
Showing how Peter the Headstrong bestirred himself among the rats and cobwebs, on entering into office -and the perilous mistake he was guilty of, in his dealings with the Amphyctions.
THE very first movements of the great Peter, on taking the reins of government, displayed the mag- nanimity of his mind, though they occasioned not a little marvel and uneasiness among the people of the Manhattoes. Finding himself constantly interrupted by the opposition, and annoyed by the advice, of his privy council, the members of which had ac- quired the unreasonable habit of thinking and speak- ing for themselves during the preceding reign, he determined at once to put a stop to such grievous abominations. Scarcely, therefore, had he entered upon his authority, than he turned out of office all those meddlesome spirits that composed the factious cabinet of William the Testy; in place of whom he chose unto himself counsellors from those fat, som- niferous, respectable families, that had flourished and slumbered under the easy reign of Walter the Doubter. All these he caused to be furnished with abundance of fair long pipes, and to be regaled with frequent corporation dinners, admonishing them to smoke, and eat, and sleep for the good of the nation, while he took all the burden of government upon his own
16
A HISTORY
shoulders-an arrangement to which they gave hearty acquiescence.
Nor did he stop here, but made a hideous rout among the inventions and expedients of his learned predecessor-demolishing his flagstaffs and windmills, which, like mighty giants, guarded the ramparts of New-Amsterdam-pitching to the duyvel whole bat- teries of quaker guns-rooting up his patent gallows, where caitiff vagabonds were suspended by the waist- band-and, in a word, turning topsy-turvy the whole philosophic, economic, and windmill system of the immortal sage of Saardam.
The honest folks of New-Amsterdam began to quake now for the fate of their matchless champion, Antony the trumpeter, who had acquired prodigious favour in the eyes of the women, by means of his whiskers and his trumpet. Him did Peter the Head- strong cause to be brought into his presence, and eyeing him for a moment from head to foot, with a countenance that would have appalled any thing else than a sounder of brass-" Prythee, who and what art thou ?" said he .- " Sire," replied the other, in no wise dismayed,-" for my name, it is Antony Van Corlear-for my parentage, I am the son of my mother-for my profession, I am champion and garrison of this great city of New-Amsterdam."- " I doubt me much," said Peter Stuyvesant, " that thou art some scurvy costardmonger knave-how didst thou acquire this paramount honour and dig- nity ?"-" Marry sir," replied the other, " like many a great man before me, simply by sounding my own
1
OF NEW-YORK. 17
trumpet."-" Ay, is it so?" quoth the governor, " why then let us have a relish of thy art." Where- upon he put his instrument to his lips, and sounded a charge with such a tremendous outset, such a de- lectable quaver, and such a triumphant cadence, that it was enough to make your heart leap out of your mouth only to be within a mile of it. Like as a war- worn charger, while sporting in peaceful plains, if by chance he hear the strains of martial music, pricks up his ears, and snorts and paws and kindles at the noise, so did the heroic soul of the mighty Peter joy to hear the clangour of the trumpet; for of him might truly be said what was recorded of the renowned St. George of England, " there was nothing in all the world that more rejoiced his heart, than to hear the pleasant sound of war, and see the soldiers brandish forth their steeled weapons." Casting his eyes more kindly, therefore, upon the sturdy Van Corlear, and finding him to be a jolly, fat little man, shrewd in his discourse, yet of great discretion and immeasurable wind, he straightway conceived a vast kindness for him, and discharging him from the troublesome duty of garrisoning, defending, and alarming the city, ever after retained him about his person, as his chief fa- vourite, confidential envoy, and trusty 'squire. Instead of disturbing the city with disastrous notes, he was instructed to play so as to delight the governor while at his repasts, as did the minstrels of yore in the days of glorious chivalry-and on all public occasions to rejoice the ears of the people with warlike melody -- thereby keeping alive a noble and martial spirit.
B 2
18
A HISTORY
Many other alterations and reformations, both for the better and for the worse, did the governor make, of which my time will not serve me to record the particulars ; suffice it to say, he soon contrived to make the province feel that he was its master, and treated the sovereign people with such tyrannical rigour, that they were all fain to hold their tongues, stay at home, and attend to their business ; insomuch that party feuds and distinctions were almost forgotten, and many thriving keepers of taverns and dram-shops were utterly ruined for want of business.
Indeed, the critical state of public affairs at this time demanded the utmost vigilance and promptitude. The formidable council of the Amphyctions, which had caused so much tribulation to the unfortunate Kieft, still continued augmenting its forces, and threatened to link within its union all the mighty principalities and powers of the east. In the very year following the inauguration of Governor Stuy- vesant, a grand deputation departed from the city of Providence (famous for its dusty streets and beaute- ous women,) in behalf of the puissant plantation of Rhode Island, praying to be admitted into the league.
The following mention is made of this application, in certain records of that assemblage of worthies, which are still extant .*
" Mr. Will Cottington and captain Partridg of Rhoode-Iland presented this insewing request to the commissioners in wrighting-
* Haz. Col. State Papers.
19
OF NEW-YORK.
"Our request and motion is in behalfe of Rhoode- lland, that wee the Ilanders of Rhoode-Iland may be rescauied into combination with all the united colo- nyes of New-England in a firme and perpetuall league of friendship and amity of ofence and defence, mu- tuall advice and succor upon all just occasions for our mutuall safety and wellfaire, &c.
Will Cottington, Alicxsander Partridg."
There is certainly something in the very physi- ognomy of this document, that might well inspire apprehension. The name of Alexander, however mispelt, has been warlike in every age; and though its fierceness is in some measure softened by being coupled with the gentle cognomen of Partridge, still, like the colour of scarlet, it bears an exceeding great resemblance to the sound of a trumpet. From the style of the letter moreover, and the soldier-like ig- norance of orthography displayed by the noble cap- tain Alicxsander Partridg in spelling his own name, we may picture to ourselves this mighty man of Rhodes, strong in arms, potent in the field, and as great a scholar as though he had been educated among that learned people of Thrace, who, Aristotle assures us, could not count beyond the number four.
But, whatever might be the threatening aspect of this famous confederation, Peter Stuyvesant was not a man to be kept in a state of incertitude and vague apprehension ; he liked nothing so much as to meet danger face to face, and take it by the beard. De- termined, therefore, to put an end to all these petty
20
A HISTORY
maraudings on the borders, he wrote two or three categorical letters to the grand council; which, though neither couched in bad Latin, nor yet graced by rhetorical tropes about wolves and lambs, and beetle- flies, yet had more effect than all the elaborate epistles, protests, and proclamations of his learned predecessor put together. In consequence of his urgent propo- sitions the great confederacy of the east agreed to enter into a final adjustment of grievances and settle- ment of boundaries, to the end that a perpetual and happy peace might take place between the two powers. For this purpose, Governor Stuyvesant de- puted two ambassadors to negotiate with commis- sioners from the grand council of the league ; and a treaty was solemnly concluded at Hartford. On re- ceiving intelligence of this event, the whole commu- nity was in an uproar of exultation. The trumpet of the sturdy Van Corlear sounded all day with joy- ful clangour from the ramparts of Fort Amsterdam, and at night the city was magnificently illuminated with two hundred and fifty tallow candles ; besides a barrel of tar, which was burnt before the governor's house, on the cheering aspect of public affairs.
And now my worthy reader is, doubtless, like the great and good Peter, congratulating himself with the idea, that his feelings will no longer be molested by afflicting details of stolen horses, broken heads, im- pounded hogs, and all the other catalogue of heart- rending cruelties that disgraced these border wars. But if he should indulge in such expectations, it is a
1
21
OF NEW-YORK.
proof that he is but little versed in the paradoxical ways of cabinets ; to convince him of which, I solicit his serious attention to my next chapter, wherein I will show that Peter Stuyvesant has already com- mitted a great error in politics ; and by effecting a peace, has materially hazarded the tranquillity of the province.
22
A HISTORY
CHAPTER III.
Containing divers speculations on war and negotia- tions-showing that a treaty of peace is a great national evil.
IT was the opinion of that poetical philosopher, Lucretius, that war was the original state of man, whom he described as being primitively a savage beast of prey, engaged in a constant state of hostility with his own species; and that this ferocious spirit was tamed and meliorated by society. The same opinion has been advocated by Hobbes ;* nor have there been wanting many other philosophers, to ad- mit and defend it.
For my part, though prodigiously fond of these valuable speculations, so complimentary to human nature, yet, in this instance, I am inclined to take the proposition by halves, believing, with Horace,t that though war may have been originally the favourite amusement and industrious employment of our pro- genitors, yet, like many other excellent habits, so far from being meliorated, it has been cultivated and con-
* Hobbes' Leviathan. Part i. chap. 13.
¿ Quum prorepserunt primis animalia terris, Mutuum ac turpe pecus, glandem atque cubilia propter, Unguibus et pugnis, dein fustibus, atque ita porro Pugnabant armis, quæ post fabricaverat usus.
Hor. Sat. 1. i. s. 3.
23
1
OF NEW-YORK.
firmed by refinement and civilization, and increases in exact proportion as we approach towards that state of perfection which is the ne plus ultra of modern philosophy.
The first conflict between man and man was the mere exertion of physical force, unaided by auxiliary weapons-his arm was his buckler, his fist was his mace, and a broken head the catastrophe of his en- counters. The battle of unassisted strength was suc- ceeded by the more rugged one of stones and clubs, and war assumed a sanguinary aspect. As man ad- vanced in refinement, as his faculties expanded, and his sensibilities became more exquisite, he grew rapidly more ingenious and experienced in the art of murdering his fellow-beings. He invented a thou- sand devices to defend and to assault-the helmet, the cuirass, and the buckler, the sword, the dart, and the javelin, prepared him to elude the wound, as well as to lanch the blow. Still urging on, in the brilliant and philanthropic career of invention, he enlarges and heightens his powers of defence and injury-the Aries, the Scorpio, the Balista, and the Catapulta, give a horror and sublimity to war, and magnify its glory by increasing its desolation. Still insatiable, though armed with machinery that seemed to reach the limits of destructive invention, and to yield a power of injury commensurate even with the desires of revenge-still deeper researches must be made in the diabolical arcana. With furious zeal, he dives into the bowels of the earth ; he toils midst poison- ous minerals and deadly salts-the sublime discovery
24
A HISTORY
of gunpowder blazes upon the world-and finally, the dreadful art of fighting by proclamation, seems to endow the demon of war with ubiquity and om- nipotence !
This, indeed, is grand !- this, indeed, marks the powers of mind, and bespeaks that divine endow- ment of reason, which distinguishes us from the ani- mals, our inferiors. The unenlightened brutes con- tent themselves with the native force which Provi- d'ence has assigned them .- The angry bull butts with his horns, as did his progenitors before him-the lion, the leopard, and the tiger, seek only with their talons and their fangs to gratify their sanguinary fury; and even the subtle serpent darts the same venom, and uses the same wiles, as did his sire before the flood. Man alone, blessed with the inventive mind, goes on from discovery to discovery-enlarges and multiplies his powers of destruction ; arrogates the tremendous weapons of Deity itself, and tasks creation to assist him in murdering his brother worm !
In proportion as the art of war has increased in improvement, has the art of preserving peace ad- vanced in equal ratio ; and, as we have discovered, in this age of wonders and inventions, that a procla- mation is the most formidable engine in war, so have we discovered the no less ingenious mode of main- ing peace by perpetual negotiations.
A treaty, or to speak more correctly, a negotiation, therefore, according to the acceptation of experienced statesmen, learned in these matters, is no longer an attempt to accommodate differences, to ascertain
23
OF NEW-YORK.
rights, and to establish an equitable exchange of kind offices ; but a contest of skill between two powers, which shall overreach and take in the other. It is a cunning endeavour to obtain, by peaceable ma- nœuvre, and the chicanery of cabinets, those advan- tages which a nation would otherwise have wrested by force of arms : in the same manner that a con- scientious highwayman reforms, and becomes an ex- cellent and praiseworthy citizen, contenting himself with cheating his neighbour out of that property he would formerly have seized with open violence.
In fact, the only time when two nations can be said to be in a state of perfect amity, is, when a ne- gotiation is open, and a treaty pending. Then, as there are no stipulations entered into, no bonds to restrain the will, no specific limits to awaken the captious jealousy of right implanted in our nature, as each party has some advantage to hope and expect from the other, then it is that the two nations are so gracious and friendly to each other ; their ministers professing the highest mutual regard, exchanging billetsdoux, making fine speeches, and indulging in all those diplomatic flirtations, coquetries, and fond- lings, that do so marvellously tickle the good-humour of the respective nations. Thus it may paradoxically be said, that there is never so good an understanding between two nations, as when there is a little misun- derstanding-and that so long as there are no terms, they are on the best terms in the world !
I do not by any means pretend to claim the merit of having made the above political discovery. It has VOL II. C
26
A HISTORY
in fact long been secretly acted upon by certain en- lightened cabinets, and is, together with divers other notable theories, privately copied out of the common- place book of an illustrious gentleman, who has been member of Congress, and enjoyed the unlimited con- fidence of heads of departments. To this principle may be ascribed the wonderful ingenuity that has been shown of late years in protracting and inter- rupting negotiations. Hence the cunning measure of appointing as ambassador some political pettifogger skilled in delays, sophisms, and misapprehensions, and dexterous in the art of baffling argument-or some blundering statesman, whose errors and misconstruc- tions may be a plea for refusing to ratify his engage- ments. And hence too that most notable expedient, so popular with our government, of sending out a brace of ambassadors ; who having each an individual will to consult, character to establish, and interest to promote, you may as well look for unanimity and concord between two lovers with one mistress, two dogs with one bone, or two naked rogues with one pair of breeches. This disagreement, therefore, is continually breeding delays and impediments, in con- sequence of which the negotiation goes on swim- mingly-insomuch as there is no prospect of its ever coming to a close. Nothing is lost by these delays and obstacles but time, and in a negotiation, accord- ing to the theory I have exposed, all time lost is in reality so much time gained-with what delightful paradoxes does modern political economy abound !
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.