USA > New York > A short history of New York State > Part 9
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lest he should imbibe in his youth that low craft and cunning so incident to the People of that Colony which is so interwoven in their Constitutions that all their art cannot disguise it from the World, though many of them under the sanctified garb of Religion, have endeavored to impose themselves on the World for honest men.
The tenant farmers, who numbered more than five thousand by the beginning of the Revolution, resented their inferior status, and in the years between 1751 and 1766 they revolted against their wealthy land- lords. First to rebel were the tenants on Livingston Manor, who made use of Indian claims and enlisted the help of Massachusetts speculators. A miniature war broke out as posses from Massachusetts raided the Livingston ironworks at Ancram and captured several workmen. In reprisal Robert Livingston armed scores of men to evict squatters. The "infection" of revolt spread to Van Rensselaer Manor and southward to the great estates in Dutchess and Westchester counties.
The issue was soon brought to court. The judiciary, dominated by wealthy landowners and their friends, made short shrift of the Indian land claims. Defeated in the courts, the tenants in November 1765 rose up in open rebellion to win greater security of tenure and to restore dispossessed tenants. For a short time in April 1766 citizens of New York City feared an invasion of "Westchestermen" under the banner of William Prendergast. General Thomas Gage called forth the militia to strengthen his regular troops, and Governor Henry Moore sent out the redcoats to hunt down Prendergast. The antirent leader was cornered near Quaker Hill and tried for treason. He was convicted, which meant death by hanging. The judges, however, recommended clemency, partly because of the devotion of Mehitabel Prendergast, who begged that her husband be saved from the gallows.
Although active resistance died away, the tenants remained bitter and restless. They defeated candidates put forward by the Livingston family. Ironically enough, some of the main instigators of the riots against the Stamp Act, such as John Morin Scott and William Smith, Jr., were active in suppressing the antirenters in 1766 because of the attack on property rights. As a result, many tenants during the Revolution swung over to the Tory side because the Van Rensselaer and Livingston families joined the Patriots. Other disgruntled tenants left their homes to take up land in the New Hampshire grants (now Vermont). Antirentism was to be a political issue for many years.
Scarcely had the great rebellion of 1766 been put down than the Yankee speculators and farmers in the New Hampshire grants began their famous campaign against the land claims of New York's citizens. Since 1741 Benning Wentworth, governor of New Hampshire, had been
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insisting that the western boundary of New Hampshire extended to within twenty miles of the Hudson River. Proceeding on this assumption, he began to grant titles to lands lying east of the Connecticut River. By 1764 there were 131 townships in what later became the Vermont region, in which Wentworth and his friends set aside millions of acres for themselves.
The controversy over Vermont was not only a contest between rival land speculators and a clash between Yankees and Yorkers but it was also a fascinating chapter in the struggle between the colonies and Great Britain. The Allen brothers, who defied the authority of New York and its courts, organized their followers into a militia, which in 1775 seized Fort Ticonderoga in one of the first actions of the Revolutionary War. (Additional details in this story will be found on page 122.)
Agriculture was the mainstay of the colonial economy. It directly supported 80 per cent of the population. Furthermore, the merchants in the cities and their employees made most of their livelihood handling the products of farm and forest and supplying farmers with imports. The small farm was the basic unit even on the large tracts owned by the aristocracy. Tenant-operated farms were quite similar in size to those owned by the independent farmers, who were by far the most numerous element of the agricultural population.
The condition of agriculture was very low. The principles of rotation and the use of fertilizers were universally ignored. The abundance of land and the scarcity of labor made intensive cultivation pointless. An almost inevitable corollary was the custom of cropping the land until it was exhausted. Unfortunately, farm implements were so primitive that they did not permit farmers to make sufficient economies in the amount of labor to compensate them for their extensive cultivation. As a result they benefited but slightly from the low cost of land. The detailed de- scription of crops, implements, and farm practices given in the chapter on agriculture between 1783 and 1825 will serve as well for the colonial period, since few changes took place in agricultural methods before 1800.
New York and Pennsylvania were known as "bread colonies" because of their important exports of wheat and flour. As early as 1678 Governor Andros noted wheat exports of sixty thousand bushels, as well as con- siderable amounts of peas, beef, pork, furs, horses, and lumber. The sharp contest between the New York City and the upstate millers over the right to bolt export flour illustrates the importance that wheat culture had attained by the last decade of the seventeenth century. Throughout the eighteenth century wheat continued to be the most important export of New York.
Lumbering was also an important activity of the countryside. Most farmers were perforce lumbermen. Clearing the land was one of their
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first tasks. Furthermore, each farmer needed wood for his home, barns, fences, and tools. From an early date some mills began to supply lumber for the West Indian trade. Anne Grant, who as a girl lived near Still- water a few years before the Revolution, recorded her memories of her early years. She recalled, "The settlers ... set up saw-mills on every stream, for the purpose of turning to account the fine timber which they cleared in great quantities off the new lands. The planks they drew in sledges to the side of the great river.'
In 1775, after more than 150 years of colonization, most of the New York countryside remained wilderness. Only a handful of settlers had moved more than a few miles from the seashore or the Hudson-Mohawk Rivers. During the next fifty years the borders of the state were fixed, the land transferred to private hands, and millions of acres brought under cultivation.
Chapter 8
Traders and Artisans
The Markets for your Flour (the present staple of the Province) are already so much overdone, by the great Importations that are made to them, from this and other Northern Colonies, that unless some Manufactures be set on Foot, that are wanted in Great-Britain, or do not interfere with theirs, there will be no Way to imploy the People to any Advantage. -GEORGE CLARKE, 1736
COMMERCE was the outstanding feature of the provincial economy apart from agriculture, which occupied the energies of the great ma- jority of inhabitants. The English reinforced the emphasis on trading begun by the Dutch. Businessmen were quick to see and to exploit the advantages of New York port: its fine harbor, central location, and magnificent approaches. Moreover, the agricultural development of the Hudson Valley provided a good deal of produce for traders. The colonial historian, William Smith, noted the exceptional position of the farmers along the Hudson:
There is scarce a farmer in the province that cannot transport the fruits of a year's labour from the best farms in three days, at a proper season, to some convenient landing, where the market will be to his satisfaction, and all the wants from the market cheaply supplied.
A rapid survey of shifts in the price level and an analysis of the major trends in economic development will provide a frame of reference for analyzing the mercantile and labor conditions of colonial New York.
The upsurge in wheat exports during the 1680's slowed down after 1694, when the legislature repealed the monopoly on bolting flour for export given New York City and Albany during the previous decade. The rapid deterioration of New York flour when it was no longer sub- ject to inspection caused buyers in the West Indies to prefer other sources. Governor Fletcher offset this loss to some extent by winking at the il-
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legal trade with the pirates of Madagascar, but Governor Bellomont sternly forbade this traffic. Commodity prices, which fell from 1700 to 1708, remained depressed until an upward movement began in 1713. Shipowners suffered from the attacks of French privateers and the closing of the Spanish West Indian ports during the War of the Spanish Suc- cession. In addition, their Boston rivals undercut them by accepting a lower profit margin and by manipulating the currency.
Better times returned after 1713. The provincial government protected artisans by imposing duties on imports, and it encouraged shipbuilding by requiring that goods indirectly imported from England should bear customs higher than if directly imported by New York merchants. This action was a slap at New England shipowners.
During the 1720's a moderate decline in the price of export com- modities and breadstuffs took place. An even sharper drop in the next decade brought distress to the farmers. The continuation of imports from Europe, when receipts from exports to the West Indies and New England were dwindling, created a heavy indebtedness. To add to their difficulties, merchants and shipowners faced stiff competition from foreign carriers, especially those operating out of Bermuda. Conditions were so bad in 1733 that Cornelius Van Horne queried:
Pray tell me the cause of trade being so dead, Why shops are shut up, goods and owners all fled, And industrious families cannot get bread?
The turn came in 1740, and for the next two decades New York en- joyed boom times. Farm prices rose and exports expanded, largely be- cause the French and Spanish West Indies were demanding more foodstuffs. Imports showed a comparable rise, particularly in the war years between 1756 and 1761. The outbreak of the French and Indian War did not ruin provincial trade, since New York ships continued to trade with the French through neutral islands and under flags of truce. Furthermore, privateering became an important occupation and brought in much ready cash.
From a high point in 1759 business gradually declined and fell off more sharply after the signing of the peace in 1763. The British government intensified the depression by tightening the Navigation Acts and im- posing new taxes such as the Stamp Tax. Prosperity returned in 1770, but business fluctuated wildly as relations with England worsened.
The commerce of New York during the colonial period consisted chiefly of the exchange of commodities (mainly foodstuffs) for manu- factures and semitropical products. Furs remained an important export throughout the period, although wheat soon surpassed furs in value. (Some of the details of the fur trade are discussed in Chapter 5.) The
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export of breadstuffs became so important by 1686 that New York added the flour barrel to the official seal of the province. During the next century New York ranked second only to Pennsylvania as an ex- porter of cereals. The province also packed beef and pork for export and shipped out flax, hemp, and forest products. Boards, staves, and shingles were carried mainly to the West Indies, but potash and pearl- ashes (purified potash) flowed to England in substantial amounts after 1763.
Aside from potash, Great Britain did not take many of New York's products except for some furs, flaxseed, and iron. These exports, how- ever, earned but a fraction of the exchange needed to pay for the manufactured goods bought in England. So the merchants of Manhattan turned to the West Indies for customers who could pay gold or provide products acceptable in England. The islands between the Bahamas and Dutch Guiana produced sugar, cotton, spices, and logwood, which were purchased by New York shippers and re-exported to Britain. Jamaica furnished the main market, with Curaçao and Honduras next in im- portance. The Latin countries of Europe also took much flour, salt fish, and rice from America. Fish from New England and rice from South Carolina were acquired by New Yorkers in the extensive coastal trade. A few venturesome traders sought profits in the African ivory and slave trade.
New York's imports covered the whole range of manufactured goods as well as some raw materials and semitropical foods. Among the principal items were clothing, furniture, hardware, tea, spices, gun- powder, paints, drugs, and coal. As the aristocracy gained affluence, luxury items became an important addition to the list of imports.
The conduct of business in the provincial town of New York, with some twenty thousand people, was quite different, of course, from that of the modern city. In 1775 the Chamber of Commerce, which enrolled practically all the merchants, had only one hundred members. All the mercantile houses of Manhattan in 1750 could not have stocked either Macy's or Gimbels. The larger houses had several clerks and were usually directed by two or more partners. Two of the wealthiest and most important merchants, Philip Livingston and Robert Murray, how- ever, had no partners. Businessmen often took shares in large undertak- ings, but before 1765 they did not use the corporate form. Shopkeepers ran their establishments with the help of the family and one or two servants.
Most merchants in New York sold goods at both wholesale and retail, although a specialized group of retailers was emerging. Certain houses were beginning to stress a particular line of goods, but most houses carried a little of everything on their shelves. Gerardus Duyckinck, for
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example, called his establishment "The Universal Store or the Medley of Goods." Handlers of manufactured imports-such as ironmongers, tobac- conists, and apothecaries-and artisan shopkeepers-such as silversmiths, cutlers, and cabinetmakers-made the greatest strides toward speciali- zation.
Merchants performed a wide variety of functions: importing, shipping, exporting, insuring, banking, and serving as agents. Since they could not use cable, telegraph, and radio, they had to rely upon shipmasters or resident agents in foreign ports to sell their goods and to buy return cargoes. The agent watched the local markets and advised the American merchant what goods could be sold at a profit. After he had made a sale, the agent remitted specie or bills of exchange or sent back cargo according to instructions. He also arranged for proper shipment, includ- ing provision for insurance. Since transactions took months and even years to complete, merchants selected their agents with care in order to avoid misunderstandings and to forestall dishonesty. Quite often they dispatched their sons or relatives to foreign stations. Agents served as bankers, honoring bills of exchange and collecting debts. For their troubles, they received commissions varying according to the service performed. The usual commission for selling goods overseas was 5 per cent.
Businessmen suffered from a lack of commercial banks and from an unstable currency. Barter took the place of money in the countryside, and Manhattan merchants sometimes advertised they would receive "country pay." Unfortunately the situation was further complicated by the adverse balance of trade with Great Britain, which drained off the gold and silver earned in the West Indies. Foreign coins circulated freely in New York but they were often debased and clipped. The province of New York was forced to issue paper money in 1709 to finance the expedition against Canada. A half century later more bills of credit were used to pay for military supplies during the French and Indian War. The Assembly was reasonably successful in maintaining the value of paper currency by providing for early redemption. When the British government banned the issue of paper money by the colonies in 1764, New York merchants were angered and alarmed, feeling there was not enough specie available for the needs of business.
Mercantilism permeated the thinking of British statesmen and pro- vincial officials throughout the colonial period. That colonies existed for the benefit of the mother country and that government should regulate commerce and industry were principles seldom challenged before Adam Smith published his Wealth of Nations in 1776. The businessmen of New York conducted their affairs in a framework of imperial, provincial, and municipal regulations.
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The system of regulations and duties known as the Acts of Trade and Navigation were more of a threat than a burden to New York before 1763. Shipmasters boldly evaded the Molasses Act of 1733, which prohibited the colonies from trading with the foreign West Indies. They naturally preferred to sell their flour, meat, and lumber to the Spanish and French planters who paid higher prices than the British planters on Jamaica and at the same time provided sugar, molasses, and coffee at lower prices. In fact, many officials in New York and in London winked at this illegal trade, since New Yorkers were thus able to earn gold and acquire semitropical products helpful in paying for English manufactures.
The undercover trade with Holland in tea, canvas, gunpowder, and arms was more damaging to imperial interests. In 1756 Governor Hardy charged that the smuggling of Dutch goods had made it unprofitable to import certain British manufactures. During the Seven Years' War royal officials complained that citizens of New York were trading with the enemy. Merchants would send ships to Spanish Hispaniola, where they exchanged goods with the French. False clearance papers, flags of truce, and outright bribery were some of the devices used to disguise illegal activities. The illicit trade with Holland continued despite the efforts at enforcement.
To enforce the Navigation Acts was not easy. The hundreds of inlets and bays up and down the coast were ideal havens for small ships smuggling contraband. The handful of officials were unable to watch the approaches to New York, especially since they had no boats to patrol Long Island Sound or to watch the ships off Sandy Hook. These poorly paid officials were open to bribes. Furthermore, juries composed of merchants refused to convict smugglers, and judges, linked by marriage and friendship to the mercantile class, tended to interpret cases in favor of natives.
The New York Assembly as well as the British government regulated trade in many ways. It sought to encourage home industry and to stimulate local shipping. For example, it laid a double duty on goods imported from colonies when such goods were not produced in those colonies. At times it supervised the packing of flour and meat for local and overseas consumption in order to protect consumers and to preserve the reputation of New York's products in the West Indies. In 1679 Gov- ernor Andros and his Council decreed that no flour be bolted or packed for export except in New York City, where mills could be inspected. Millers in the countryside ignored this prohibition and pushed through its repeal in 1694. Subsequently the quality of flour declined so much that it brought less money than Pennsylvania flour. Merchants between 1725 and 1750 kept urging the government to inspect flour sold for
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export. As a result, the Assembly finally required the branding of all flour casks and the registration of brand marks of bakers with the clerk of the municipal court. It insisted upon inspection of flour and imposed a system of penalties for false branding. A similar act provided for the inspection of meat. These laws were only moderately successful, and the reputation of New York flour remained low in the West Indies.
The cities of New York and Albany supervised the sale of foodstuffs for local consumption. The Common Council of New York continued the medieval practice of an assize of victuals fixing the quality, size, and price of bread in accordance with the price of flour. Inspectors fined bakers who violated the law. The sharp rise in prices after 1750 squeezed the citizenry, who accused the butchers of unfair prices. This agitation caused the Common Council to fix the price of meat and other provisions. Enraged at this action, some farmers set up a storehouse at Tarrytown and proposed to tax every vessel carrying supplies to the city. The city officials yielded and raised the price set for beef and made other con- cessions.
The Common Council also regulated the public markets. The first market in New York City was set up in 1677 and was held every Satur- day. In 1731 city officials designated every day, except Sunday, as a market day from sunrise to sunset. It established markets on the water front, where goods could be easily landed. In order to give housewives the advantage, hucksters and retailers were not permitted to attend the market before noon. The regulations prohibited such practices as trying to secure a monopoly of the goods offered for sale. Sellers of rotten meat and "stale victuall" were subjected to penalties.
The charters of New York City and Albany did not allow anyone to keep shop or to sell goods at retail, or to pursue any handicraft or trade within the town unless he were granted the "freedom of the city." In the decade before the Revolution this grant cost five pounds for a merchant and twenty shillings for a craftsman. Peddlers were not permitted to sell their goods in Albany or New York City. Both the provincial and municipal authorities required vendors of liquor to take out licenses.
Many private groups and public authorities held the free market in low esteem and did their best to circumvent it. Unquestionably some businessmen managed to fix prices to their own advantage and to restrict competition. The frequent outcry against monopoly was a sign of the success of their activities.
While merchants invested their surplus capital in a variety of enter- prises, real estate was the favorite outlet. Most merchants owned their own homes and stores. The more successful went on to buy wharfs, country homes, and backcountry lands. The merchant princes were often tied to the landed aristocracy by marriage and by interest.
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Personal loans in the form of "bonds" or notes were the most common investments for the merchants. Those eager to gamble underwrote marine insurance and bought lottery tickets.
Manufacturing developed slowly in New York because of the scarcity of skilled labor, the lack of banking facilities, mercantile regulations imposed by Britain, and the availability of cheap English goods. More- over, merchants preferred to invest their capital in raw lands and ship- ping ventures rather than to finance manufacturing.
Such manufacturing as existed was closely associated with the process- ing of foodstuffs and lumber. Sawmills and gristmills accompanied the northward and westward push of settlers. Sugar refining, beginning as early as 1689, centered in New York City. Brewing and distilling used up local grain products and furnished easily transported products. Ship- building was important, although New York's industry lagged behind that of Massachusetts. The earliest and the most advanced ironworks was operated by the Livingston family at Ancram. During the 1760's en- trepreneurs set up several furnaces in New York and New Jersey.
Craftsmen supplied most of the needs of their neighbors. Perhaps the best way to see the range of their activities is to list the men admitted to the freedom of New York City between 1694 and 1706, when the city had about 5,000 inhabitants. There were 63 merchants, 51 cordwainers (shoemakers), 50 mariners, 46 carpenters, 33 bakers, 25 victualers, 24 bricklayers, 23 blacksmiths, 19 carters, 16 yeomen, 15 tailors, 14 butchers, 12 coopers, 12 surgeons, 11 joiners, 10 bolters of flour, 9 weavers, 9 silversmiths, 9 shipwrights, 8 feltmakers, 7 ship carpenters, 7 turners, 7 schoolmasters, 7 masons, 6 tallow chandlers, 5 wigmakers, 4 shop- keepers, 4 brewers, 3 vintners, 3 porters, 3 pot makers, 3 boatmen, 3 sailmakers, 3 saddlers, 3 barbers, 2 gunners, 2 carriers, 2 confectioners, 2 hatters, 2 laborers (freeman laborers), 2 pewterers, 2 limners, 2 rope- makers, 2 wheelwrights, 2 wool combers, 2 blockmakers, and one each of a host of trades from cutler to seamstress. The majority of nonfarm workers were artisans and lived in the two chartered cities of New York and Albany.
The English labor system of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was carried to New York. But the labor institutions and practices which had developed in the fixed economy and settled community of medieval England were necessarily modified in the sparsely settled and rapidly expanding settlement on the Hudson River. One must therefore look behind the forms and names in order to discern the changes taking place. The presence of slavery and the absence of guilds were two circum- stances in New York contrasting most sharply with those in Britain.
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