USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 6
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called the New Netherland, commanded by Captain May, con .. 1624. veyed thirty of these families to our shores. They brought with them a knowledge of the arts in which they were proficient, and were dis- tinguished for their extraordinary persistence in overcoming difficulties. A young man by the name of Dobbs was one of the passengers in this vessel. He was the ancestor of a large and influential family, among whom was Dr. Benjamin P. Aydelott, a well-known physician in the time of Dr. Hosack and Dr. Francis. Upon their arrival, two families and six men were sent to the great Fresh River, and the remainder proceeded to the fort on the Hudson River, excepting eight of the men, who remained at Manhattan. A new fort was immediately projected on the alluvial soil now occupied by the business portion of Albany, and called Fort Orange, in honor of Maurice, who was greatly beloved by the Belgians.
About the same time preparations were made for occupying the genial valley of the South or Delaware River. A few traders selected a spot on its east bank, near the present town of Gloucester, in New Jersey, and built a fort which they called Fort Nassau. Later in the season other vessels came from Holland, bringing settlers, and about eighteen persons were added to the colony at Albany. Adrian Joris, the second to Captain May in command, sent his vessel to Holland in charge of his son, and stayed with them all winter. Eelkens was arrested in January for im- prisoning a Sequin chief on board his yacht, and Peter Barentsen was made commander of the post in his place.
The income from the fur-trade of New Netherland during that
1625. first year amounted to twenty-eight thousand guilders. The West India Company, who were already elated with their victories in Brazil, 4
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
were gratified, and began to discuss the project of building a town upon Manhattan Island, which was represented as a point of great natural beauty, and favorably located for commerce. To test the disposition of adventurers, they publicly offered inducements to such as might wish to emigrate to America. Volunteers were not wanting in populous Holland, and three large ships were soon freighted, also one fast sail- ing yacht. Six entire families and several single men, forty-five per- sons in all, with household furniture, farming utensils, and one hundred and three head of cattle, were conveyed to Manhattan. One of the party, William Verhulst, succeeded Captain May in the government, as the latter was suddenly called to Holland on important private business.
The year 1625 was marked by two important European events which had a direct bearing upon the future prospects of New Netherland. The first was the death of the accomplished Maurice, at the Hague. In him the West India Company lost one of their most zealous and influential champions, and the national army their commander-in-chief. The office of Stadtholder was conferred upon Frederick Henry, who excelled the military Maurice in political capacity, and succeeded him as Prince of Orange.
The other event was the death of James I. of England, and the conse- quent accession of Charles I. to the throne. England was already at war with Spain. James had been exasperated at the failure of his projects in relation to the marriage of Charles with the Infanta, Donna Maria, who subsequently became the wife of the Emperor of Germany. He had been plunged into hostilities, which the resources of England were illy able to sustain, and Charles had no sooner taken the scepter in his hand than he commenced negotiating an alliance with the Dutch Republic against the common enemy. Meanwhile he married Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of France. She came to England with a train of Roman Catholic priests and attendants, which quickly stirred the English people into a commotion, and intensified the hatred which they bore towards Roman Catholic queens. Charles was a monarch of elegant, gentleman-like tastes, of dignified manners, and of great obstinacy of purpose. He could not apparently conceive of any obligation on the part of a king to his subjects. He set himself deliberately at work, in defiance of all law, to introduce into his own country the system of government which prevailed in France. He had not by any means the wretched excuse of a wife's influence. Henrietta had indeed refused to be crowned, lest she should join in the rites of the Church of England. But she was a mere child in years, totally uncultivated, and ignorant of the language and history of her husband's country, and knew nothing
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THE MARRIAGE OF CHARLES I.
whatever about the Anglican religion. She had been not only betrothed, but married to Charles by proxy. The Duke de Chevreuse, a near kins- man of the king, acted in that capacity. At the ceremony, which took place in the porch of Notre Dame, he was attired in black velvet, and wore a scarf flowered with diamond roses. The bride wore a magnifi- cent white satin robe, threaded with gold and silver, and flowered with French lilies in gems and diamonds. The Queen mother, Marie de Medicis, shone like a pillar of precious stones, and her long train was borne by two princes of the blood, Condé and Conti. But out of respect to the religious feelings of Charles, the English ambassadors, and even the proxy himself, withdrew from the Notre Dame during the concluding mass. The cortège of the bride landed at Dover, June 23d, just after sunset. At ten the next morning the king arrived while Henrietta was breakfasting. She rose from the table, hastily, and ran down a pair of stairs to greet him, and offered to kneel and kiss his hand; but he was too full of gallantry to permit her to do so, and caught her in his arms and folded her to his heart with many loving caresses. She had been taught to say, "Sir, I have come to your Majesty's country to be com- manded by you," but the set speech failed her, and she burst into tears. Charles became very fond of her and took great pride in her beauty and musical powers, but he never discussed matters of state with her. Pope Urban VIII. was exceedingly averse to the marriage. He said, "If the Stuart king relaxes the bloody penal laws against the Roman Catholics, the English will not suffer him to live long! If those laws are continued, what happiness can the French princess have in her wedlock ?" These words were prophetic, as we shall see in future chapters.
Finally, through much astute diplomacy, the treaty of alliance, offen- sive and defensive, was concluded between England and the United Netherlands ; each nation agreeing to furnish fleets for the purpose of destroying the Spanish commerce in the East Indies.1 It was also stipu- lated that the war and merchant vessels of the two countries should be free to enter the ports of each other. One of the first-fruits of this new relationship 2 was a meeting of the West India Company for the transac- tion of special business. The moment had arrived when the colonization of New Netherland might be attempted without probable English inter-
1 Corps Dip., Vol. II. 458, 478. Clarendon State Papers, I. 41, 53. Aitzema, I. 671, 1226. Lon. Doc., I. 36.
2 About the middle of October, King Charles sent the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of Holland as ambassadors extraordinary to the States-General to negotiate a still closer alliance. Wassenaar, XII. 39 ; XVI. 13. De Laet. Doc. Hist. N. Y., III. 46, 47.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
ference. A system of government for the new province was considered, and various plans discussed for inducing settlers to emigrate across the Atlantic. A governor was named, and three weeks later received his appointment. It was Peter Minuet, of Wesel, in the kingdom of Westphalia. He sailed from Amsterdam in December, in the ship Sea Mew, Captain Adrian Joris, and arrived at Manhattan on the 4th of the following May (1626).1
1 Leonard Kool came to New Netherland in the Sea Mew, as private secretary for Peter Minuet. His name may now be found attached to grants of land in connection with that of the governor. He was the ancestor of the Cole family in this State ; the orthography of the name having passed through a variety of phases. Rev. David Cole's genealogical tree.
PEER
Landing of the Walloons at Albany.
53
PETER MINUET.
CHAPTER IV.
1626-1633.
PURCHASE OF THE SITE OF NEW YORK.
PETER MINUET. - THE FIRST BUILDINGS. - THE HORSE-MILL. - THE FIRST GIRL BORN IN NEW NETHERLAND. - DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. - THE EMBASSY TO PLYM- OUTH. - NEW NETHERLAND NOT A PECUNIARY SUCCESS. - THE CHARTER OF FREE- DOM AND EXEMPTIONS. - THE MANORIAL LORDS. - KILIAEN VAN RENSSELAER. - THE VAN RENSSELAER MANOR-HOUSE. - THE GREAT SHIP. - GOVERNOR MINUET AND RECALL. - WRANGLING AMONG THE DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY.
T THE rocky point of Manhattan Island, near what is now known as the Battery, was, on the 6th of May, 1626, the scene of one of the most interesting business transactions which has ever occurred 1626.
in the world's history. It was the purchase of the site of the May 6. city of New York. The West India Company had instructed Peter Minuet to treat with the Indians for their hunting-grounds, before he took any steps towards the erection of buildings. He accordingly made a somewhat superficial survey of the island, which had been designated as the field for pioneer operations, and estimated its area at about twenty- two thousand acres.1 He then called together some of the principal Indian chiefs, and offered beads, buttons, and other trinkets in exchange for their real estate. They accepted the terms with unfeigned delight, and the bargain was closed at once. The value of the baubles which secured the title to the whole of Manhattan Island was about sixty guilders, equal in our currency to twenty-four dollars. On the part of the Dutch, it was merely a politic measure to establish future amicable relations with the natives of the country, although it was subsequently made the basis of the company's claim to the territory. It was, in itself, a commonplace event; but, in its relation to what has since taken place, it assumes peculiar significance, and stands out in immortal char-
1 In Dutch phraseology "it was eleven thousand morgens in size." The Rhineland rod was the Dutch measure for land. It contained twelve English feet four and three fourths inches. There are five rods to a Dutch chain, and six hundred square Dutch rods constitute a morgen. Peter Fauconnier's Survey Book, 1715 - 1734.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
acters as the chief starting-point of the great commercial capital of the west.
Governor Minuet was a man of rare energy and fully equal to the situation. He had had some East Indian experience, and, during the last two years, had spent several months in South America. He was of mid- dle age, hair slightly flecked with gray, a somewhat dull black eye, and a full-sized robust frame. He was permeated with the spirit of adven- ture, without being hampered with habits of luxury and indolence, like his Virginia contemporaries. He was brusque, and coarse, and self-willed, but kind-hearted, and was admirably successful in winning the confidence of the Indians. His duties were multifarious, but not remarkably difficult, since the people to rule over were few in numbers and obediently disposed.
He organized the government of the province as soon as he had obtained the title deed to Manhattan Island. The supreme authority, executive, legislative, and judicial, had been vested in him by the com- pany, with an advisory council of five of the best men in the colony. These were Peter Byvelt, Jacob Ellertsen Wissinck, Jan Jansen Brouwer, Simon Dircksen Pos, and Reynert Harmenssen. He was empowered with the administration of justice, except in capital cases, when the offender, after being convicted, must be sent with his sentence to Holland. The secretary of the council board, and also of the prov- ince, was Isaac De Rasiers, a well-educated young Hollander who arrived in the same vessel with Minuet. After him, in order of position, was the Schout-Fiscal, a sort of civil factotum, half sheriff and half attorney-general, and the special custom-house officer. Jan Lampo, of Cantleburg, received the appointment; but he knew very little of law, and was very inefficient in every particular. He was allowed to sit in the council during its deliberations, but had no voice in official proceedings. His compensation was in the civil fines and penalties, and such portion of criminal fines and confiscated wages as the governor and council after prosecution might see fit to bestow upon him. He had no part in captured prizes, and was forbidden to receive presents under any circumstances.
Minuet brought over with him a competent engineer, Kryn Fredrick, who was to superintend the construction of a fort, that being wisely deemed the first business to be dispatched. It did not take long to dis- cover a triangular spot of earth hemmed in by ledges of rock, as if modelled by Nature herself for a fortress. It had a commanding view of the Bay and Narrows, and was but a short distance from the water's edge. This was chosen; but when the work was accomplished it reflected no
55
THE FIRST BUILDINGS.
remarkable credit upon its projectors, except so far as it responded to their immediate necessities, for it was simply a block-house with red- cedar palisades.
About the same time was erected a warehouse of Manhattan stone, having a roof thatched with reeds. It was primitive even to ugliness, without one redeeming touch of architectural finish, but we honor it as the pioneer of all the present long miles of costly business edifices. One corner of it was set apart as the village store, and was the depot of sup-
The First Warehouse.
plies for the colony. It grew erelong to be much haunted by the Indians, who came to sell their furs and drink the " white man's fire-water."
In the course of a few weeks several vessels arrived from Holland, each laden with passengers. The population of the island was thus increased to nearly two hundred; thirty or more cheap dwellings were built around the fort, and the prospect was animated and encouraging. Governor Minuet, Secretary De Rasiers, and Sheriff Lampo occupied a habitation together for nearly three years. Negro servants performed the labor of the household.
The most notable building, as well as one of the most useful, June. which was speedily erected, was a horse-mill. It was located on what is now South William Street, near Pearl. The loft was furnished with a few rough seats and appropriated to the purposes of religious worship. Thus we may observe that, while the settlement of the prov- ince had been undertaken with no higher aim than commercial specu- lation, the moral and spiritual necessities of its people were not entirely overlooked. Two " comforters of the sick " had been sent over with the governor, and it was among their specified duties to read the Bible and lead in devotional exercises every Sabbath morning. Two years later, the
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
learned and energetic Jonas Michaelius was employed to officiate at religious meetings and instruct the children. He was a warm personal friend of Governor Minuet, and exerted a very wholesome influence in the community.
An event occurred late in the autumn which, from its sad consequences, deserves special mention. A Weekquaesgeek Indian came from West Chester, accompanied by his young nephew, to sell beaver-skins to the Dutch. When near the Fresh Water Pond, he was met by three of the governor's negro servants, who seized and robbed, and then murdered him. The boy witnessed the scene and ran away, vowing vengeance. He grew up to manhood, cherishing the terrible oath in his heart, and many long years afterward carried into execution his Indian ideas of justice. The murder was concealed from the authorities, and the mur- derers escaped punishment.
The fur-trade was so prosperous that the company were quite elated with their operations upon Manhattan Island. Perhaps the reader will be grateful for a glimpse of this remarkable commerce, as pictured Nov. 5. in a leter from Peter Schagen of Amsterdam, dated November 5,
1626, in which he announces to the company the arrival of the ship Arms of Amsterdam, direct from New Netherland. He writes : -
"They had all their grain sowed by the middle of May, and reaped by the middle of August. Our people are in good heart and live in peace there. They send thence samples of summer grain : such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, buck- wheat, canary-seed, beans, and flax. The cargo of the aforesaid ship is :-
7,246 beaver-skins. 36 wild-cat skins.
178} otter-skins. 33 minck-skins.
675 otter-skins. 34 rat-skins. 48 minck-skins. Much oak and hickory timbers."
The same letter contains a record of the birth of the first girl in New Netherland, - Sarah Rapaelje, daughter of Jan Joris Rapaelje, born June 9, 1625.1
1 There have been various statements in regard to the residence of Rapaelje at the time of the birth of Sarah. But the depositions of his wife, Catelina Trico, made in New York before Governor Dongan, the year prior to her death, establish the time of her arrival in this country and her first residence. Doc. Hist. N. Y., III. 49-51. They went first to live at Fort Orange, Albany, where they remained three years, and where Sarah, the "first-born Christian daughter in New Netherland," was born. They afterwards removed to Manhattan, and from thence to the Waleboght on Long Island. The age of Catelina Trico, at the time her deposi- tions were taken, was eighty-three years. She stated that she came to this country in 1623 or 1624, in a ship called the Unity or Eendragt, commanded by Adraen Joris, and that there were four women came along with her who were married on shipboard. Wassenaer, whose
57
DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE.
The Dutch were by no means ignorant of their near proximity to the English settlement at Plymouth, and after a while began to discuss 1627. the propriety of establishing friendly intercourse with their neigh- March 9. bors. Minuet wrote two letters to the governor of Plymouth, one in Dutch and the other in English, which contained the most polite expres- sions of good-will, and an offer of various kinds of goods in exchange for beaver and otter skins and other wares.
A courteous response came promptly from Governor Bradford. March 29. He assured Governor Minuet that for the current year they were fully supplied with necessaries, but would trade at some future time should the rates be reasonable. He took care, however, to throw out some very marked hints on the questionable propriety of the Dutch traffic with the Indians within the limits of the king's patent. After writing it in English, he translated his letter into the Dutch language, and sent both copies.
Governor Minuet wrote again in August. His language was Aug. 7. expressed in the same general friendly terms, but he firmly main- tained the right to trade in the disputed localities, quoting the States- General and Prince of Orange as authority. As an evidence, however, of continued good feeling, he sent to Governor Bradford "a rundlet of sugar and two Holland cheeses."
Governor Bradford replied with great apparent deference of Aug. 24. manner, only deprecating the "over-high titles " which Dutch politeness required, but which Puritan usage rejected, and repeated his warning respecting the boundary question, requesting that a commissioner be sent to confer personally in the case.1
The secretary, Isaac De Rasiers, was accordingly dispatched as Sept. 5. ambassador extraordinary to Plymouth. He was a man of fine address and pleasing manners, and in other respects well fitted for this mission, which was of as much importance in those primitive days as account was contemporaneous, calls the ship the New Netherland. Sarah Rapaelje, who gave birth to fourteen children, was the maternal ancestor of several of the most notable families of King's County. At the age of twenty-nine she was the widow of Hans Hansen Bergen, the ancestor of the Bergen family, with seven children. She afterwards married Theunis Gysbert Bogaert, the ancestor of the Bogaert family in this country. Some travelers in 1679 visited Catelina Trico, who lived "in a little house by herself, with a garden and other conveniences," and evidently regarded her as a distinguished historical personage. Long Island H. S. Coll., Vol. I. 342. It will be observed, that the statement calling her daughter Sarah "the first-born Christian daughter in New Netherland," does not conflict with the statement of Jean Vigne, that he was the first male born of European parents in this province.
1 Bradford's correspondence in N. Y. H. S. Coll., I. (Second Series), 355, 360. Baillie's Mem. of Plymouth, I. 146, 147. Prince, N. E. Chron., 249. Mass. Hist. Coll., III. 51. Morton's Memorial, 133. Moulton, 378.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
the more stately embassies are at the present time. The bark Nassau was brushed up and freighted with a few articles of trade, and manned by a retinue of soldiers and trumpeters. Early in October he arrived October. at Manomet, the advanced post of the English colony, near an Indian village at the head of Buzzard's Bay, the site of the present village of Monument, in the town of Sandwich, and from there he dispatched a courier to Plymouth to announce his presence in the neighborhood. Governor Bradford immediately sent a boat for him and his cargo, and he was escorted with many and imposing ceremonies to the town.1 He was pleasantly entertained for several days, and sold a large quantity of Indian corn, which enabled the English to better carry on their lucrative trade with the natives. He established a commercial relation, which, but for the subsequent petty quarrels, might have been mutually advantageous to the two lone European colonies. It is interesting to know that the whole tonnage of New England then consisted of " a bass-boat, shal- lop, and pinnace." 2
When he returned to Manhattan, De Rasiers brought another letter from Bradford to Minuet, in which, saving always their allegiance to the king of England, he pledged the performance by his colony of all good offices toward the Dutch in New Netherland.
Just about that time, the commander at Fort Orange committed a ter- rible blunder, whereby he not only lost his own life, but imperiled the lives of all the settlers in that region. He joined a party of Mohicans on the war-path against the Mohawks, which was in disobedience of orders, for the Dutch were pledged to principles of neutrality in reference to all differences among the Indian tribes. In the battle which fol- lowed he was killed, also three of his men.
His folly was particularly felt in the sense of insecurity which 1628. it threw over the colony; and Minuet, although he succeeded in restoring good feeling with the Mohawks, deemed concentration a necessary policy, and recalled the families from the exposed points, Fort Orange, Fort Nassau, and Verhulsten Island, to Manhattan, where they could be better protected in their interests as well as their homes. Six- teen soldiers only were left at Fort Orange, and the traffic to the South River was limited to the voyages of one small yacht for the present.
The crop of furs in 1628, amounting to four ship-loads, yielded fifty- six thousand guilders ; and two cargoes of ship-timber from Manhattan
1 Winslow's account in Young's Chronicles, 306. Prince, 208. Book of Court Orders, Vol. III. 82. Pilgrim Memorials, 122 - 124.
2 De Rasiers' Letter, 350. Bradford's Letter Book, 364.
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THE CHARTER OF FREEDOMS AND EXEMPTIONS.
Island sold at Amsterdam for sixty-one thousand guilders. But, after all, the New Netherland colony was not self-supporting. None of the soil was reclaimed, save what supplied the wants of a few farmers and their families ; and the only exports were the spontaneous productions of the forest. The mode of life pursued by the people was irregular, and the current expenses of the plantation more than the receipts. It was an unpalatable fact. The company had won brilliant victories by sea, and infatuating wealth had poured into its treasury. Between 1626 and 1628, it had captured one hundred and four Spanish prizes. The nation shared in the glory, but the company alone received the spoils of this marvelous war. Its dividends were advanced suddenly to fifty per cent. Insignificant indeed, in comparison, were the returns from New Nether- land. The very subject of North American trade became painfully unin- teresting, and the directors avoided allusions to it whenever possible. Finally, at one of their meetings a plan was introduced for a systematic and extended colonization of the whole province of New Netherland. It was discussed at several subsequent meetings, and resulted in a selfish commercial scheme, with a view to drawing private capitalists into the company's ventures.
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