USA > Pennsylvania > Lives of the governors of Pennsylvania : with the incidental history of the state, from 1609 to 1873 > Part 2
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WILLIAM VAN HULST, 1625-6. - In the spring of 1625, came two ship-loads of cattle, horses, sheep, and swine, and Mey was succeeded in the Directorship by William Van Hulst. "Just then," says Bancroft, " Jean de Laet, a mem- ber of the Chamber of Amsterdam, in an elaborate work on the West Indies, opportunely drew the attention of his coun- trymen to their rising colony, and published Hudson's own glowing description of the land."
PETER MINUIT, 1626-33 .- In 1626, the West India Com- pany being determined to establish more firmly its authority in the New World, ordained a more formal government with enlarged powers. The Director was assisted by a council of five, and a Schout Fiscal, an officer who combined the duties of Sheriff and District Attorney. Peter Minuit, of Wesel, in the kingdom of Westphalia, was vested with the power of Director, and by him a vast tract of land, embracing all the southern part of the Island of Manhattan, twenty-two thousand acres in extent, now the most thickly peopled part of the city of New York, was purchased of the natives for the sum of sixty gilders, equivalent to twenty-four dollars. During the administration of Minuit, which lasted until 1633,
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little is recorded of note beyond the regular course of trade, which was considerable. The ship that bore the news of the purchase of Manhattan to Holland was freighted with seven thousand two hundred and forty-six beaver-skins, eight hun- dred fifty-three and a half otter-skins, eighty-one mink-skins, thirty-six wild-cat skins, and thirty-four rat-skins, with a quantity of oak and hickory timber. A due proportion of this trade came from the Delaware, and though no fixed habitations had yet been established there, ships regularly plied between its waters and the Hudson.
DAVID PIETERZEN DE VRIES, 1632-3. - In 1629, a charter of privileges to patroons, a sort of feudal lords, was granted by the West India Company. Any one who should plant a colony of fifty souls became the ruler and the abso- lute possessor of lands sixteen miles in length, if on one bank of a stream, and if on both, half that distance, and extending " so far into the country as the situation of the occupiers would permit." In the same year, Samuel Goodyn and Samuel Bloemaert purchased a large tract of land of the natives at the mouth of Delaware Bay, embracing the shore- line of what became the two northern colonies of Delaware, which purchase was confirmed in presence of the savage chief- tains, by the Director, Minuit, and his Council, at Manhattan. As soon as the above recited charter of privileges was enacted, Goodyn gave notice of his intention to occupy his purchases as Patroon. Goodyn and Bloemaert were joined by David Pieterzen De Vries, " a bold and skilful seaman," and subse- quently by six others, all members of the West India Com- pany, and on the 12th of December, 1630, two vessels, with a number of people and a large stock of cattle, were dispatched by De Vries under the command of Peter Heyes, to occupy the new possessions upon the Delaware. The smaller of these vessels was captured, before leaving the Dutch waters, by Dunkirk privateers. The other, the Walrus, of eighteen guns, proceeded on its course, and arriving in the Delaware, a settlement was made on Lewes Creek, a short distance from
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its mouth, -its commander calling his little fort, which was well beset with palisades, Fort Optlandt, and the lands by the poetic name of Swanendael (Valley of Swans).
The chief purpose in acquiring possession of the soil and effecting a settlement here, was to cultivate grain and tobacco, and, in connection therewith, to carry on the whale-fishery along the coast, it appearing from various reports that during the winter season whales frequented these waters in great numbers. It was one of the arguments which Goodyn had used with De Vries to induce him to embark in the enterprise, that the whale-fishery could be readily estab- lished, and that the oil, at sixty gilders a hogshead, would yield a good profit. Heyes was accompanied on this voyage by Gillis Hosset, as commissary of the ship, and on the 5th of May, 1631, they together purchased of the Indians, in behalf of the Company which they represented, a tract of land on the northern shore of the bay, sixteen English miles square, having nearly an equal shore and bay coast line, which purchase was confirmed at Manhattan on the 3d of June. Heyes did nothing by way of prosecuting the whale- fishery, though he secured a specimen of oil from a dead whale which he found on the shore, and leaving Hosset in charge of the little colony, which consisted of but thirty-two men, he returned to Holland, arriving on the 31st of Sep- tember.
The result of this enterprise was anything but satisfactory, the stockholders having anticipated great profits from the prosecution of the whale-fishery. It was accordingly deter- mined to fit out another expedition, and that De Vries should go in person as commander of the vessels and Patroon of the colony. Having been supplied with a large vessel and a yacht, De Vries set sail on the 24th of May, 1632. At the moment of starting he received the mournful and dishearten- ing intelligence of the massacre by the savages of the settlers who had been left at Swanendael, and the destruction of all their possessions. It was not until the 5th of December that he reached the mouth of the Delaware, where the cry of " a
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whale near the ship" was well calculated to stimulate the cupidity of the commander, and suggest "royal work - the whales so numerous, and the land so fine for cultivation." But the site of the former settlement, which was visited on the following day, displayed a mournful spectacle, the skulls and bones of the colonists, and the heads of the horses and cows which they had brought with them, lying scattered about on every side, sad witnesses to the savage natures of the men of the forest by whom they were surrounded. From a native whose confidence was gained, the following account of the massacre was drawn : "He then showed us the place where our people had set up a column, to which was fastened a piece of tin, whereon the arms of Holland were painted. One of their chiefs took this off for the purpose of making tobacco-pipes, not knowing that he was doing amiss. Those in command at the house made such an ado about it that the Indians, not knowing how it was, went away and slew the chief who had done it, and brought a token of the dead to the house, to those in command, who told them that they wished they had not done it, that they should have brought him to them, as they wished to have forbidden him not to do the like again. They then went away, and the friends of the murdered chief invited their friends-as they are a people, like the Italians, who are very revengeful -- to set about the work of vengeance. Observing our people out of the house, each one at his work, that there was not more than one inside, who was lying sick, and a large mastiff who was chained -had he been loose they would not have dared to approach the house - and the man who had command standing near the house, three of the stoutest Indians who were to do the deed, bringing a lot of bear-skins with them to exchange, sought to enter the house. The man in charge went in with them to make the barter, which being done, he went to the loft where the stores lay, and, in descending the stairs, one of the Indians seized an axe and cleft his head so that he fell down dead. They also relieved the sick man of life, and shot into the dog, who was
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chained fast, and whom they most feared, twenty-five arrows before they could dispatch him. They then proceeded towards the rest of the men, who were at their work, and going amongst them with pretensions of friendship, struck them down. Thus was our young colony destroyed, causing us serious loss."
Taught by this sad experience, De Vries adopted an emi- nently pacific policy, and, by the free use of presents and mild words, gradually gained the esteem and confidence of the savages, and finally succeeded in concluding a treaty of peace. On the first day of the year 1633, De Vries sailed up the river in quest of food, which had been nearly exhausted in his long voyage out. At Fort Nassau he met numbers of the natives, whom he found to be the sole occupants, and who had assembled to trade away their furs; but the voyagers could enter upon no trade for gain until their necessities were first satisfied. They accordingly moved on up the river, where they found natives wearing English jackets, which proved to have belonged to a party from the Virginia colony who had visited the river the year before in a sloop, and had been murdered through the treachery of the Indians. At the mouth of Minquaskill (Christina Creek) they saw a whale, but, having no means for taking it, returned to the ship at Swanendael. On the 18th the yacht again sailed up the stream with a fresh supply of goods, but were frozen in and detained for nearly a month, experiencing a degree of cold which in this latitude, judging by the mild climate of Holland, they had deemed impossible. During their deten- tion the crew sent out hunting parties, who returned with " wild turkeys weighing from thirty to thirty-six pounds." Still in want of certain kinds of provisions necessary for the health and well-being of his men, which he was unable to obtain from the natives, and evidently desirous of seeing what he could of the New World, De Vries sailed for Vir- ginia, where he was well received by the Governor, who sent a present of six goats to his brother Governor at Manhattan, but was surprised to hear that the Dutch had settlements
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upon the Delaware, setting forth that the territory upon that stream had been discovered by De la War. Having pur- chased the needed stores, De Vries returned, and found that the party whom he had left at Swanendael had taken but seven whales, and these very poor, yielding but thirty-two cartels of oil. De Vries was satisfied by the large numbers seen that whales frequented these waters, but the small quantities of oil obtained from those taken convinced him that the business would not be profitable. Accordingly, on the 14th of April, gathering in all his effects, and taking all his party with him, thus leaving the bay clear of Europeans, he set sail for Holland, touching on his way at Manhattan, and leaving the present of the English Governor of Virginia.
WOUTER VAN TWILLER, 1633-38 .- A lucrative trade in furs had now been established in the New World, and the policy adopted by the West India Company seemed to be to make every other interest bend to the development of that. Hence only such permanent settlements as should enable them to hold firmly their possessions, and form a sufficient basis for trade, were encouraged. Accordingly, settlements upon the Delaware were made and abandoned as best suited their paramount purpose. As the trade increased in value, the strife became animated for its exclusive possession. And now a fatal evil in the system which had been adopted by the Com- pany, was developed. Patroonship and directorship came in conflict. Patroons had seized upon all the most valuable lands, and profitable points of trade, and the director and his council, who were vested with supreme authority, found them- selves stripped of power. Bitter quarrels ensued. The di- rector, Peter Minuit, having incurred the enmity of the powerful patroons, and forfeited the confidence of the Com- pany, was recalled, and Wouter Van Twiller, a near relative of one of the most grasping of the patroons, Van Rensselaer, was selected to succeed him. To rectify their system, and to re-acquire the exclusive control of trade, which had now been proven to be profitable, the Company authorized the purchase
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of patroonships. Accordingly, on the 7th of February, 1635, all the patroons having title to lands upon the Delaware sold their interests in them to the Directors of the Company for fifteen thousand six hundred gilders, equal to six thousand two hundred and forty dollars.
In the mean time, the New England colonies having rapidly increased in population, a party from Connecticut, during this same year, incited by the love of adventure, under command of George Holmes, sailed to the Delaware, with the design of planting themselves upon its shores. At Fort Nassau they found a Dutch garrison in possession, which they attacked. Finding it stronger than they anticipated, they were obliged to surrender to the party whom they had sought to conquer, who sent them as prisoners to Manhattan, where they were pardoned and allowed to settle in the vicinity of Fort Amsterdam, the first English to acquire a habitation in New Netherland.
CHAPTER II.
DUTCH AND SWEDISH RULE, 1638-55.
SIR WILLIAM KIEFT, 1638-47. - PETER MINUIT, 1638- 41 .- Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, a monarch no less renowned for his arbitrary will and personal courage, than for his devotion to the rights of humanity and the privileges of the Protestant religion, seeing the enterprise displayed by neighboring rulers in planting colonies and acquiring lands in the New World, determined to extend the power of his own throne in the same direction. As early as 1626, a Swed- ish West India Company was incorporated by the States of Sweden, under royal sanction and patronage, and William Usselincx, a Netherlander, who claimed to have been the origi- nator of the Dutch Company, was appointed to lead an expe- dition. But before the anticipations of prosperity and power which were fondly indulged could be realized, and to a participation in which all nations were invited, Gustavus found the Protestant religion in Germany in danger of over- throw, and postponing his plans of colonization for the time, and arbitrarily seizing the treasure which had been pledged to the new company, he buckled on his armor and led his legions to the defence of the cherished faith. At the battle of Lützen, fought on the 16th of October, 1632, where a glo- rious triumph for Protestantism and the rights of conscience was gained, the great monarch fell, mortally wounded. Though borne down by the cares and sore trials of the cam- paign, he had not forgotten his fond purpose of colonization, which he had come to regard as " the jewel of his kingdom," and a few days before his death he earnestly commended it to the people of Germany. It was not the hope of trade
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which allured him, but the visions of colonists planted in happy homes, a blessing to the common man, to the whole Protestant world, to all oppressed Christendom.
Christina, the little daughter of the king, succeeded to the throne, and Oxenstiern, the prime minister, desirous of carry- ing out the cherished policy of his late master, renewed the charter of the Company, and extended its benefits to Ger- many, the Chambers at Frankfort confirming the act on the 26th of June, 1633. But for more than four years active operations were delayed. Near the close of the year 1637, a little company of Swedes and Finns embarked in two small vessels, the Key of Calmar and the Griffin, under the charge of the same Peter Minuit, who, in 1626, had been invested with the general directorship of New Netherland, and who, in 1632, after being involved in frequent quarrels with the Patroons, had been superseded by Wouter Van Twiller.
Early in the spring of 1638, the vessels arrived in Dela- ware Bay, and the lands from the southern cape to the falls near Trenton were purchased of the Indians. Near the mouth of a little creek on the northern limits of the State of Delaware, which, in honor of their youthful sovereign, they called Christina Creek, the party landed and erected a fort, which they likewise named Christina. Kieft, who was now Director of New Netherland, sent a vigorous protest to Minuit against occupying and erecting forts on any part of the territory claimed by the Dutch Company, of which the lands upon the Delaware were a part. "This," says Kieft, " has been our property for many years, occupied with forts, and sealed by our blood, which also was done when thou wast in the service of New Netherland, and is therefore well known to thee." Minuit, trusting to the power of the flag under which he sailed, for Sweden was now one of the fore- most of nations, paid little attention to this protest, but went on with the crection of his fort, entered upon a vigorous competition for the trade in furs, an art which he had learned while in the service of the Dutch, and by the end of July had completed, his fort had erected pillars inscribed with the
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letters " C. R. S.," and the ships, well laden with furs, had been dispatched for Sweden.
Minuit remained with his infant colony, and to his enter- prise and skill was it due that the settlers were kept together and successfully protected against both savage and civilized foes. The Dutch were occupying Fort Nassau when the Swedes arrived in the river, and continued to hold it for the purpose of barter; but the arts of Minuit soon triumphed over the traders from Manhattan, Governor Kieft complain- ing to his masters soon after, that his trade had fallen off full thirty thousand beavers.
For more than a year the Christina colonists had no aid nor intelligence from their former homes, and they at length began to be in want. So pressing had their necessities finally become, that they had made overtures to the authorities at Manhattan for permission to remove thither; but on the day before this removal was to have taken place, early in the year 1640, a ship, richly laden with cattle and provisions, opportunely arrived upon the Delaware, and saved them the loss and humiliation of giving up their settlement. Minuit governed the colony for nearly three years with singular success, avoiding hostile encounters with the natives, and with the Dutch who claimed the soil, and finally died in the midst of the colony which he had planted.
PETER HOLLANDAER, 1641-43. - Peter Hollandaer, a Swede, was commissioned by the home government as Gov- ernor of New Sweden, in 1641. He had previously sailed with the colonists who had been sent to reinforce the original settlers. At about this time attempts were made by parties of English, from the New England and Virginia colonies, to get a foothold upon the Delaware. A party from Connecti- cut, sailing under command of Robert Cogswell, had planted themselves at the mouth of Salem Creek, near the present site of Salem, N. J. Another company had boldly sailed up past Fort Nassau, and without any commission of a potentate had made a beginning of settlement on the Schuylkill.
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These audacious intrusions were regarded by the authorities at New Amsterdam as intolerable indignities, and Jan Jansen Van Ilpendam was sent with two vessels and a hostile force to dispossess them. The intruders on the Schuylkill were routed, their fort destroyed, and themselves roughly handled. The party at Salem Creek was also driven away, the Swedes at Christina lending a helping hand.
JOHN PRINTZ, 1643-53. - After holding authority for about a year and a half, Hollandaer was succeeded by John Printz, who, in addition to the usual commission, received minute instructions for his guidance, dated August 15th, 1642, at Stockholm. He was, first of all, to maintain friendly rela- tions with the Indians, and by the advantage of low prices, hold their trade. His next care was to cultivate enough grain for the wants of the colonists, and, when this was insured, turn his attention to the culture of tobacco, the rais- ing of cattle and sheep, especially sheep of a good species, the culture of the grape, and the raising of silk-worms. The manufacture of salt by evaporation, and the search for metals and minerals, were to be prosecuted, and an inquiry into the establishment of fisheries, with a view to profit, especially the whale fishery, was to be made. Sailing from Gottenburg, on the 1st of Nov., 1642, in the Stoork and Renown, the new Governor and a strong party of settlers, after a tedious voy- age, arrived at Fort Christina, on the 15th of Feb., 1643. Printz was a military man, having been Lieutenant-Colonel of cavalry, and at once detected the weakness of the fort for commanding the navigation of the river. He accordingly selected a site for a new fort on the island of Tinicum, which he at once proceeded to erect. Here, also, he built for himself a palace suited to his rank, in the midst of orchards and pleasure grounds, the bricks used in its construction having been brought from Stockholm. These bricks, of a pale-yellow color, and quite small, are still found in the neighborhood. The fort, which was called New Gottenburg, was built of " grænen logs," and made quite strong. Printz
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also erected a fort called Elsinborg, near the mouth of Salem Creek, which he garrisoned with a lieutenant and twelve men, and on which were mounted eight brass twelve- pounders. All ships ascending the river were obliged to lie to, lower their colors, and secure a permit from the Governor before they were allowed to proceed.
Towards the close of the year 1643, John Pappegoya, who had previously been upon the Delaware, but had returned to Sweden, and who appears to have been a favorite at court, received from the Queen and her council, a letter dated at Stockholm on the 2d of November, 1643, commending him to Governor Printz, and requesting that he be " graciously employed in order to his advancement." This request was promptly accorded, Pappegoya marrying the Governor's daughter, and himself becoming Lieutenant-Governor of the province. The Minquas Indians, a tribe of the Five Nations who dwelt upon the Conestoga, possessed of great enterprise and skill in trapping for furs, brought by far the most lucra- tive trade to the Europeans. This the Swedes had monopo- lized. Indeed, the western bank of the Delaware, and its tributary, the Schuylkill, were exclusively claimed by them, and though Fort Elsenborg had been built upon the opposite bank, the titles to lands upon the western side had always been regarded as of especial binding force. Van Ilpendam, who had been sent by Kieft to drive away the English upon the Delaware, and who had remained at Fort Nassau as Com- missary or vice-Director, having forfeited the confidence of Governor Kieft, was recalled, and Andreas Hudde was ap- pointed to exercise authority in his place. Hudde seems to have been a man singularly discreet and politic, and to have adopted the instructions given by the ministers of Christina to Printz, " to work underhand as much as possible with good manners and success." Conflict of authority frequently arose between these two vicegerents of power as they faced each other from opposite sides of the stream, in which vigorous remonstrances and sharp protests passed between Tinicum and Nassau; but beyond this exchange of harmless paper 3
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missiles, the war was rarely carried. Under the vigilant and crafty policy of Hudde, the Dutch began gradually to push settlements upon the west shore. Land near the mouth of the Schuylkill, now the site of the city of Philadelphia, was acquired of the Indians, and a fort erected thereon. Printz, to show his contempt for this encroachment upon his domin- ions, immediately built a large frame building in its front, in close proximity, so as to cut off its command of the river. Hudde, believing in the policy of hold-fast, paid little atten- tion to this indignity; but quietly exercised all his arts to acquire favor with the Indians, and to secure possession of their lands.
PETER STUYVESANT, 1647-64. - On the 27th of May, 1647, Peter Stuyvesant succeeded to the supreme director- ship of New Netherland. Upon his assumption of power he found the integrity of his dominions threatened on all sides. New England was pushing him upon the north and east, and the Swedes upon the south. To maintain undiminished his territory, he had need for all his executive ability. Commis- sary Hudde was retained upon the Delaware, and by his con- stant vigilance kept his master well informed of all that was passing in his viceroyalty. He complains of constant aggres- sions and annoyances on the part of the Swedes, but these were doubtless mutual; for the Dutch had evidently deter- mined to gradually envelop and circumscribe the dominions of the Swedes until they should be compelled to yield to the Dutch power.
This is foreshadowed in the recommendation of Stuyvesant to the West India Company, to plant a colony at Swanendael, another on the east side of the bay, and a third at the Com- pany's redoubt at Beversreede. To discover what titles the Swedes had to lands upon the Delaware, Stuyvesant, in 1651, sailed thither, and opened negotiations with Printz, at first in writing, and finally in person, when the question as to titles was propounded. Printz, without producing any records, drew up a writing in which he made " the Swedish limits
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