History of the state of New York Vol I, Part 43

Author: Brodhead, John Romeyn, 1814-1873. 4n
Publication date: 1871
Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers
Number of Pages: 844

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12 August.

Eaton claims the territory by purchase from the savages.

In a few days, Eaton replied in Latin, professing to know no such river as the Mauritius, " unless it be that which the English have long and still do call Hudson's River," and denying that they had in any respect injured the Dutch. They had built, he admitted, a small house within their own territory, which they had purchased from the Indians " on Paugussett River, which falls into the sea in the midst of the English plantations, many miles, nay, leagues from the Manhattoes, from the Dutch trading-

* ii., N. Y. Coll., ii., p. 273 ; O'Call., i., 376 ; ante, p. 54, note, 261.

429

WILLIAM KIEFT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

house, or from any port on Hudson's river." And then, CHAP. XII. adroitly recriminating, he alluded to the injuries which the Dutch had donc the people of New Haven, at the South 1646. Complains again of the conduct of the Dutch on the South Riv- River and at Manhattan, and offered to refer the whole case to arbitration, "either here or in Europe," being well assured that the king and Parliament would maintain · er. their own rights, and that cven Kieft's own superiors would "approve the righteousness" of the proceedings of · New Haven .*

The next month the Commissioners of the United Colo- September. nies met at New Haven, and within the claimed limits of missioners The com- New Netherland. Taking advantage of the occasion, the New Ha- meet at Hartford people laid before them their story of the wrongs ven. which David Provoost, the commissary at Fort Good Hope, had committed against them. The commissioners ,55 Sept. " thought fit to express their apprehensions in writing," Kieft. Letter to and accordingly sent a letter in Latin to Kieft, complain- ing that the Dutch agent and his company at Hartford had " now grown to a strange and insufferable boldness." An Indian captive, who had fled from her English master, was "entertained" at the Fort Good Hope; and, though required by the magistrate, was detained by the Dutch. " Such a servant," urged the commissioners, "is part of her master's estate, and a more considerable part than a beast."t When the "watch at Hartford" was sent to re- claim the slave, Provoost drew and broke his rapier upon their weapons, and then retired within the fort. " Had he been slain in this proud affront, his blood had been upon his own head."

Lieutenant. Godfrey, who was dispatched to Fort Am- 22 Sept. sterdam with this letter, returned in a few days with wise reply. Kieft's un- Kieft's reply in Latin, addressed to the " Commissioners

* Hazard, ii., 55, 56.

t It appears to have been the practice in the Puritan colonies to enslave and sell into foreign bondage the natives of North America .- Winthrop, i., 234, 254 ; Bancroft, i., 168, 169 ; ante, p. 272. Winthrop himself bequeathed to his son his "Indians," at his island " called Governor's Garden."-Winthrop, ii., App., 360. The Massachusetts code of 1641 expressly sanctioned the holding in bond slavery of "lawful captives taken in just wars," and such "as willingly sell themselves, or are sold to us," several years before the example was followed by Virginia or Maryland .- Colony Charters and Laws, xii., 52, 53 ; Hildreth, i., 278.

430

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

CHAP. XII. of the Federated English, met together at the Red Mount, 1646. L or New Haven, in New Netherland." The Hartford peo- ple, he insisted, had deceived the commissioners with false accusations ; the wrongs were committed on their side ; their usurpation of Dutch jurisdiction, and shedding of blood, and seizure of cattle, "do sufficiently testify the equity of their proceedings." As to the " barbarian hand- maid," detained at Fort Good Hope, she was probably not a slave, but a free woman, " because she was neither taken in war nor bought with price." Yet she should not be "wrongfully detained." For the English at Hartford to complain of the Dutch at Fort Good Hope, was like "Esop's wolf complaining of the lamb." The answer of the New Haven people was what might have been expect- ed ; yet the Dutch would still pursue their own rights by Protest against the the com- missioners at New Ha- ven. just means. " We protest," concluded Kieft, " against meeting of all you commissioners met at the Red Mount, as against breakers of the common league, and also infringers of the special right of the Lords the States our superiors, in that ye have dared, without express commission, to hold your general meeting within the limits of New Netherland."

13 28 Sept. Rejoinder of the com- missioners.

The commissioners immediately declared themselves "much unsatisfied" with Kieft's letter. The Indian maid, they insisted, was a slave, captured in war, who had fled from public justice, and was detained by the Dutch, " both from her master and the magistrate." The conduct of the Dutch, in this and other respects, the commissioners con- ceived, fully warranted their use of the offensive term "unsufferable disorders." Kieft could hardly prove that the Hartford Confederates had deceived them by false complaints ; and " for your other expressions, proverbs, or allusions, we leave them to your better consideration." " We have more cause to protest against your protesta- tions," added the commissioners, " than you have to be of- fended at our boldness in meeting at New Haven, and, for aught we know, may show as good commission for the one as you for the other."*

* Hazard, ii., 57, 58, 68-72 ; i., N. Y. Hist. Coll., i., 189-199 ; Trumbull's Conn., i.,

t 15

431

WILLIAM KIEFT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

This quiet dispatch closed the correspondence between CHAP. XII. the Director of New Netherland and the colonial authori- ties of New England, whose long altercations "had no dig- 1646. nity, because they were followed by no result."* While justice and equity appeared to be on the side of the Hol- landers, the English negotiators showed themselves the best diplomatists ; and the reckless Kieft only injured a good cause by intemperate zeal and undignified language.

Kieft promptly sent an account of the fresh cncroach- 22 Nov. Instruc- ment of New Haven to the Amsterdam Chamber. The tions of the directors, in reply, instructed him to obtain authentic in- dam Cham- `Amster- formation respecting the assumed right of the Indians to pose the de ber to op- sell to the English any lands within the Dutch limits, in English. signs of the the direction of Fort Orange ; to prevent the erection of any more English trading-houses in that quarter by all possible measures short of those likely to provoke actual war; and to watch with vigilance, and oppose with vigor, all further movements of those grasping neighbors, who now seemed bent on appropriating to themselves the whole of New Netherland. Referring to the discovery of mines Explora- on Staten Island, and in the Raritan country, they also in- mines to be tion of timated that it was their purpose to send out proper per- aged. encour- sons to examine and report, and to continue explorations which they hoped would be advantageous to the com- pany.t

Kieft's disastrous administration was now drawing near its end. The differences among the several Chambers of the West India Company, which had so long delayed the 13 July. departure of their new director from Holland, were now pany apply The com- so far arranged, that in the summer of 1646 an applica- States Gen- to the eral to rati- tion was made to the general government for the ratifica- fy Stuyvr. tion of Stuyvesant's commission. But the statesmen at mission. sant's com-

155-158 ; Winthrop, ii., 268. Kieft having written to Winthrop, complaining of Whiting, a magistrate of Hartford, " for saying that the English were fools in suffering the Dutch in the centre," &c., the letter was referred to the commissioners, who wrote to the direct- or that they wished " all such provoking and threatening language might be forborne on both parts," as contrary to the peace and neighborly correspondence they desired to pre- serve between the two nations. Kieft replied, that he would "altogether forget" what Whiting had said, and added, "that the sun of peace may more clearly shine among us, I both applaud and desire."

* Bancroft, ii., 283.

t Alb. Rec., xii., 397, 398 ; O'Call., i., 359, 381.

432

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

CHAP. XII. the Hague declined to take any action upon the subject

1646. until they knew how the company had disposed of the complaints which the commonalty of New Netherland had addressed to the Fatherland, and until they had examined the instructions for the provincial director and council, The compa- which the company had proposed the year before. These ny's in- structions approved. 26 July. were promptly submitted; and the States General ap- proving their tenor, ordered them to be enrolled in their archives .*

28 July. Stuyve- Two days afterward, the draft of Stuyvesant's commis- sant's com- sion was considered and ratified. , By this instrument, the mission ap- proved. States General appointed him director over New Nether- land and the adjoining places, and also over the islands of Curaçoa, Buenaire, Aruba, and their dependencies. He was "to perform all that concerns his office and duties in accordance with the charter, and with the general and particular instructions herewith given and hereafter to be given to him;" and all the officers and subjects of the United Provinces in those countries were enjoined "to ac- knowledge respect, and obey the said Peter Stuyvesant as Director and vice-di- rector sworn in. 28 July. our director.". The same day Stuyvesant appeared in person in the meeting of the States General, and took his oath of office. Immediately afterward, Lubbertus van Dincklagen was sworn, in the same manner, as vice-di- rector and first counselor of New Netherland; and the newly-commissioned officers repaired to Amsterdam to hasten their preparations for embarking.t

Expedition sails from the Texel for New Nether- land. December.

But the departure of the expedition was still delayed nearly five months longer. At last, all the preliminary arrangements were completed ; and Stuyvesant and Van Dincklagen, accompanied by Fiscal Van Dyck, Captain Bryan Newton, an Englishman, who had served under the company several years at Curaçoa, Commissary Adriaen Keyser, and Captain Jelmer Thomas, embarked in four ships at the Texel. Besides these officers and their at-

* Hol. Doc , iii., 19, 70, 72, 74, 77, 78, 81.

t Hol. Doc., iii., 82-89. Stuyvesant was married at Amsterdam to Judith Bayard, the daughter of a French Protestant refugee .- ii., N. Y. H. S. Coll., i., 400, 455.

t I

433

WILLIAM KIEFT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.

tendants, several soldiers and a number of free colonists CHAP. XII. and private traders now proceeded to New Netherland. 1646.

The little squadron sailed from the Texel on Christmas 25 Dec. day, 1646. Running to the southward, the expedition visited the West Indies and Curacoa; and during the pro- Stuyve- longed voyage, Stuyvesant's imperious temper gave fre- trary con- quent earnests of a future arbitrary rule. At Saint Chris- voyage. topher's, the Fiscal Van Dyck, claiming a seat at the coun- 1647. cil board, to dispose of a captured prize, was rudely re- pelled-" When I want you, I will call you," was Stuy- vesant's haughty reply. Renewing his attempt at Cura- . çoa, the insulted fiscal met a still sterner rebuff, and was not allowed even a "stroll ashore" during the three weeks the ship lay at anchor there .*

sant's arbi-

duct on the

Manhattan.

In the middle of May, nearly six months after his de- 11 May. parture from Holland, the newly-commissioned director lands at general arrived at Manhattan, and landed under a spon- taneous salute of the inhabitants. The " whole commu- nity" turned out under arms; and there was so much shouting and firing, that almost all the powder in New Amsterdam was expended. "I shall govern you as a fa- ther his children, for the advantage of the chartered West India Company, and these burghers, and this land," said Stuyvesant, as he was about to assume the authority which Kieft had misused.t And the people went joy- ously home, with hopeful auguries of their new chief.

* Hol. Doc., vi., 62, 241.

t Alb. Rec., iv., 1 ; v., 36 ; xii., 30 ; Van Dincklagen to Van der Donck, in Hol. Doc., vi., 32 ; Breeden Raedt, 27.

E E

Stuyvesant

434

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

CHAPTER XIII.

. 1647-1648.

CH. XIII .. WHILE Stuyvesant was, commencing an administration which was to endure until the end of the Dutch domin- the Father- ion over New Netherland, political events in Europe were Affairs in gravely affecting the fortunes of the Fatherland.

land.

Negotia- tions at Munster.

Frederick Henry, prince of Orange, who, since the death 1647. of his brother Maurice in 1625, had been stadtholder of 14 March. Death of the Stadthold- the United Provinces, died in the spring of 1647, at the er, Freder- age of sixty-three years. During his long term of pub- ick Henry. lic service, he had approved himself worthy of his exalted station ; and the judgment of posterity has pronounced him one of the wisest and best chief magistrates the United Netherlands ever possessed. Under the Act of Reversion, which the States of the provinces had passed in 1631, Frederick Henry's offices devolved, immediately Succeeded by William II. upon his death, to his son, William II. The young prince burned to emulate his, father's military renown ; but the nation, distrusting his inexperience, was unwilling to pro- long hostilities which Frederick Henry had anxiously de- sired to terminate. The draft of a separate treaty with Spain was agreed to by the States General, and instruc- tions to complete it were sent to their plenipotentiaries at Munster, in Westphalia. These orders excited bitter complaints on the part of France, that the United Provin- ces were about to violate the treaty which they had lately made with Louis XIV .; and Mazarin even ordered Tu- renne, who was on his march to Bohemia, to return to the frontiers of Luxemburg. But the Dutch ambassadors were in no mood to lend themselves to the cardinal's

-Bornage .

es W iox it fi cont + Corp

C t

435

THE TREATY OF WESTPHALIA.

crooked diplomacy ; and, in spite of the intrigues of the CH. XIII. French plenipotentiaries, the long - pending treaty was

1648. signed at Munster, in January, 1648, by the representa- tives of the United Netherlands and of Spain. The treaty Treaty signed. 30 January was immediately ratified by Philip IV., and by the sever- al states of the United Provinces ; and peace was solemn- Peace pro- ly proclaimed, on the fifth of June, amid demonstrations 5 June. claimed. of general joy. On the very day on which the Counts of Egmont and of Hoorn, the first martyrs for Batavian lib- erty, had been beheaded eighty years before, the undoubt- ed sovereignty of the republic was formally recognized by the King of Spain, and formally published at the Hague. A few months afterward, the tranquillity of Europe was se- 24 October. Treaty of cured for a time by the definitive signature of the general Westpha- treaty of Westphalia .* lia.

Thus, after eighty years of constant strife-intermitted only for twelve years by the truce of 1609-the war which patriotism and justice commenced against tyranny 1568. and wrong, and which had cost Spain over fifteen hundred millions of ducats, was gloriously terminated by the full 1648. and absolute recognition of the sovereignty of the United Provinces. By the decree of unerring providence, the an- cient oppressors of the Netherlands hastened to propitiate the powerful republic they had at last distinctly recog- nized in the face of the world. Le Brun was sent as am- Spanish bassador to the Hague before Philip had himself received dor sent to ambassa- one from the Dutch; and in his address to the States Gen- 1649. the Hague. eral, on his first audience, the representative of Spain took 26 .June. cspecial pains to flatter the pride and conciliate the good- will of that nation with which his master was now anx- ious to be on the best terms.t

The Dutch Republic, which, for nearly a century after The Dutch it first took its place in the rank of independent nations, Republic. continued to sway the balance of European politics, owed

* Corps Dip., vi., 429, 450 ; Basnage, Annales des Prov. Un., i., 102, 110 ; Grattan, 262; Davies, ii., 645, 649 ; ante, p. 160.

t "On remarqua qu'il affectoit dans sa harangue de nommer la République avant le Roi son maître, et de répéter souvent les titres d'Etat Puissant, Florissant, et Souverain.' -Basnage, i., p. 156.

436

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

CH. XIII. its proud position to the moral qualities and free spirit of 1648. the people of the Netherlands ; to the constitution of their government ; to their geographical situation ; their mari- time power ; their liberal commercial policy ; their spirit of universal toleration; and to the wise statesmanship which attracted to their shores a winnowed population from other lands.

The house of Burgun- dy.

The feudal sovereignty of the Netherlands had early centred in the house of Burgundy ; and Philip I., from 1426. the time he became their chief, carefully respected the ancient rights and privileges of the Dutch. "Taxation only by consent," was the grand principle which the Ba- tavian burghers steadily asserted as the fundamental con- dition of their obedience. And during Philip's sovereign- ty, the self-ruling spirit of the towns demanded and ob- tained successive enlargements of their franchises. a

Philip I.

Charles the Bold.

Ruyter- geld.

The short and eventful rule of Philip's son, Charles the Bold, was not favorable to the liberties of the Dutch. Mil- itary service was the original feudal tenure of lands ; and the towns, which had commuted their liability by an ob- ligation to pay a fixed "Ruytergeld," or militia rate, were constantly called upon to assist their warlike sovereign. But relief from oppression came before long, and it came from an unexpected quarter. Like the Dutch, the Swiss had early learned to depend upon their own unaided in- dustry. Kindred in spirit, the Helvetians lived among the mountains whence the Rhine flowed ; while the horne of the Batavians was in the marshes where at length it reached the sea. At the memorable field of Morat, the forces of the impetuous Charles were overwhelmed ; and the fatal battle of Nanci, soon afterward, ended the brill- iant but ill-starred career of the last reigning Duke of Burgundy.

Battle of Morat. 1477.

Mary of Burgundy.

On the death of Charles the Bold, the sovereignty of the Netherlands passed to his only child Mary, then nineteen years of age ; and the Dutch at once determined to render secure those liberties which had been invaded, and to ex- tend still further the privileges they were resolved to en-

e S e

th do Bo

437

THE GREAT CHARTER OF HOLLAND.

joy. Three months after the accession of Mary, the first CH. XIII. assembly of the States General was summoned at Ghent. To this assembly came the deputies of the Netherlands, states Gen- 1477. with anxious. thought and immovable determination. Ghent. They told their young sovereign that they would support and assist her ; but, at the same time, they demanded of her the renouncement of prerogatives which had, of late years, made "great encroachments on the liberties and privileges of the provinces and towns." Mary was obliged to yield to the firm resolution of the States, and soon seal- ed patents of privileges for all the provinces of the Neth- erlands. The formal acknowledgment of the conditions Great Char- upon which the popular allegiance was based was com- land. ter of Hol- monly known among the Hollanders as their " Great Char- ter." It guaranteed and confirmed the ancient privileges of the municipal governments, and recognized the right of the towns, at all times, to confer with each other, and with the states of the Netherlands. It declared that no taxes Taxation should be imposed without the consent of the states ; and consent. only by it distinctly secured the freedom of trade and commerce .* To these vital principles the Dutch ever afterward clung with the noblest tenacity.

Twenty-three years after the concession of the " Great Charles V. Charter" of Holland, the future Emperor of Germany, Charles V., was born at Ghent. He was brought up in 1500. the Low Countries, where he passed the happiest of his years. Through his grandmother, Mary of Burgundy, he inherited the sovereignty of the Netherlands; toward which country, during the greater part of his reign, he manifest- ed so much partiality as to cause dissatisfaction to his Spanish subjects. At length he abdicated his enormous His abdica empire ; and the kingdom of Spain and the sovereignty of tion. 1555. the Netherlands passed to his son, Philip II.

But the son, on succeeding to his father's hereditary Philip Il. dominions, did not inherit his father's political wisdom. Born at Valladolid, and educated in Spain, Philip knew but little of the ardent patriotism and love of liberty which

* Groot Placaatbook, ii., 658 ; Barante, xi., 1 ; Davies, i., 284 ; McCullagh, ii., 129-139

438

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

CH. XIII. distinguished the people of the Netherlands. No native 1555. sympathies attached him to the Dutch. He came to the throne with all the strong prejudices of a Spanish king ; His bigotry and commenced his reign over the Low Countries without and despot- ism. the kindly feeling of a compatriot sovereign. Thinking that he could govern his Dutch subjects as a despot, and disregard their established laws, which the house of Bur- gundy had acknowledged and generally respected, he drove them into a Revolution, which resulted in the declaration of their national independence.

Free spirit of the Ba- taviens.

An indomitable spirit of civil liberty ever animated the Batavians. Of all the subjects of imperial Rome, they were the bravest. Dwelling in the isles rather than on the banks of the Rhine, they desired to avoid incorpora- tion with the empire. Rome asked them not for contri- butions; but in the hour of danger looked for their aid, as the javelin is sought for on the eve of battle .*

Fourteen centuries after Tacitus thus vividly delineated the character of the early dwellers at the mouths of the Rhine, the writings of Luther were printed and publicly 1518. sold in the provinces of Friesland and Holland. Thence- The Ref- ormation in Holland forward the Netherlanders resolved to shake off all shackles and Fries- upon the freedom of conscience. To their indomitable spir- land. it of civil liberty was now added a determined purpose of resistance to ecclesiastical intolerance. Friesland openly adopted the principles of the Reformation ; while Eras- mus, of Rotterdam, without actually declaring himself a disciple of Luther, did perhaps as much as any of the other advocates of religious reform to correct the abuses of the Church.t

1540.

The Spanish government presently attempted to impose restraints upon freedom of religion in the northern prov- inces of the Netherlands. Protestants were severely per-

* " Omnium harum gentium virtute præcipui Batavi, non multum ex ripa, sed insulam Rheni amnis colunt, Cattorum quondam populus, et seditione domestica in eas sedes transgressus, in quibus pars Romani imperii fierent. Manet honos et antiquæ societatis insigne ; nam nec tributis contemnuntur, nec publicanus adterit ; exempti operibus et collationibus, et tantum in usum præliorum sepositi, velut tela atque arma bellis reser- vantur."-Tacitus, De Mor. Ger., 29.

Hitho

PATA ing to

+ Brandt, ii., 62, 63 ; Grattan, 67; Davies, i., 355 ; McCullagh, ii., 1. See also chapter iv., ante, p. 100, et seq.

bo +

439

THE BEGINNING OF REVOLT IN HOLLAND.

secuted. A modified species of Inquisition was introduced CH. XIII. into Holland. The writings of the Reformers were pro- hibited. A succession of edicts against heretics, cach more 1549. Action of rigorous than the last, marked the growing intolerance the Spanish govern- ment. which distinguished the decade preceding the pompous abdication of Charles V.

The bigotry of Philip, so strongly in contrast to the mild spirit of Christianity, soon completed what Charles had begun. New bishoprics were erected, to provide, as the 1559. king alleged, for the spiritual wants of an increasing pop- erects new Philip ulation, but more particularly for the extirpation of her- bishoprics. esy. The measure was odious, not only to the clergy and the nobles, but more especially to the people, who had a firm conviction that its purpose was to support and in- crease the power of the Inquisition. Persecution was now Persecu- carried on with increased vigor in most of the provinces, tions. excepting those of Holland, Zealand, and Utrecht, of which William, prince of Orange, was stadtholder. The new decrees of the Council of Trent were published, and their 1565. enforcement proclaimed. Fresh edicts against heretics invested the clergy with almost unlimited power over the lives and property of the people. These edicts were no The popu- sooner published, than the popular mind became violently inflamed. lar mind inflamed. Pamphlets and placards were distributed and posted on the walls of the towns. The people were elo- quently exhorted to defend themselves against the Inqui- sition, and against the tyranny of the Spaniards. All ef- forts to discover the authors or printers of these unlicensed publications werc unavailing. The spirit of liberty was aroused and at work .*

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History of the state of New York Vol I, Part 43

Author: Brodhead, John Romeyn, 1814-1873. 4n Publication date: 1871 Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers Number of Pages: 844

Author: Brodhead, John Romeyn, 1814-1873. 4n
Publication date: 1871
Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers
Number of Pages: 844