1643] Kieft and Stuyvesant 83 ing posts. Roberts's New York, I, ch. iii. Following on Hudson's voyage, the Dutch established Dutch tradtrading posts on the Hudson River: the most important one was Fort Amsterdam, on Manhattan Island; another was Fort Orange, on the site of the Albany of the present day. Dutch captains sailed along the coast eastward as far as Boston harbor and southward to Delaware Bay and River. In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was established; it had exclusive rights as to trade in lands, bordering on the Atlantic-so far, of course, as the Dutch authorities could confer such rights. These early Dutch settlements were for the purposes of trade; it was not until 1623 that the first colonists came over. New Netherland did not attract settlers, and, in 1629, The patroonthe Dutch West India Company attempted to stimulate ships. colonization by the establishment of patroonships. This arrangement was embodied in a document called the Charter of Privileges to Patroons; its principal provisions were that any member of the company who should transport, at his own expense, fifty colonists to New Netherland, should be entitled to a grant of land extending sixteen miles along one side of the river, or eight miles on both sides, if that were preferred. Each of these large grants was styled a patroonship, and the owner, or patroon, enjoyed extensive rights within its limits, subject, in important matters, to appeal to the company's representative at New Amsterdam. No sooner was the plan determined upon than the more enterprising directors sent out agents to seize the best lands. The most successful of these was Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a rich diamond merchant of Amsterdam, who acquired the region around Fort Nassau, or Orange. Subsequently, the system was modified to extend the rights of patroons to less important men, and, in 1639, the trade of the colony was thrown open to all comers, and land was granted in small quantities on payment of an annual rent. 75. Kieft and Stuyvesant. In 1643-44, owing to the wretched mismanagement of Kieft, the governor, the colony Kieft and Stuyvesant; Hart's Con became involved in a serious conflict with the Indians who lived in the vicinity of Manhattan Island; the colony was nearly ruined and Kieft was recalled. He was replaced by I, chs. iv, v; Stuyvesant, an able and energetic soldier, who had lost a Tuckerman's leg in the company's service. Stuyvesant's administration was very despotic, as was that of all the Dutch governors. temporaries, The people of New Amsterdam gained a few privileges of I, 154. self-government in 1652, but Stuyvesant was able to deprive these concessions of nearly all their value. In his dealings with the neighboring English colonies, he was not so successful. The Dutch claimed as far east as the Connecticut River, which had been discovered by one of their navigators; but the Confederation of New England was too powerful for Stuyvesant; he was obliged to give way and to acknowledge the rights of the English settlers. With the Swedes on the Delaware he was more fortunate. Attracted by the advantages it offered, many Englishmen emigrated to New Netherland. Among them were some of the most important men of the Dutch colony. They taught their new associates the English hostility towards arbitrary rule, and the fall of New Netherland in 1664 seems to have been hailed with satisfaction by nearly all its inhabitants. Swedish 76. The Swedes on the Delaware. — The Swedish settlements had their rise in the desire of Sweden's greatest king and one of Europe's greatest men, Gustavus Adolphus, to establish a colonial empire. It was not until after his death, however, that a beginning was made by the formation of a Swedish company, on the model of the Dutch and the English trading corporations. The new colony was planted on the southwestern side of Delaware Bay, on ground claimed by the Dutch. At the moment the Swedes were the foremost military power in Europe. The Netherlanders were practically under their protection, and could hardly refuse a few square miles of unoccupied land in America to such a necessary ally in Europe. In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia put an end to this state of affairs: the independence of the Netherlands was acknowledged by all the important powers; 1660] Summary 85 there was no longer any necessity of dealing gently with the Swedish intruders; the Swedish colonists were conquered by Stuyvesant, and their territory again added to New Netherland (1656). in 1660. 77. Summary. In 1660 the Puritan supremacy sud- The colonies denly came to an end: Charles the Second was restored to the throne occupied by his father, and a new page was opened in the history of England and of America. the sixty years of colonizing activity described in this chapter, there were in North America the French settlers in the north, few in point of numbers but formidable on account of their organization and because of their influence with the natives excepting the members of the League of the Iroquois. In the south, the Spaniards still maintained a feeble colony in Florida, at St. Augustine, and there were a few Spaniards in the southwest. On the seaboard of what is now the Middle States the Dutch were supreme. Between the Spaniards and the Dutch, and between the Dutch and the French, were English colonists. They occupied no great extent of territory, but they were more permanently fixed to the soil than were the French, the Dutch, or the Spaniards. They had established English home life and English institutions in their wilderness homes; and they were practically self-governing. SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND TOPICS $35. FRENCH COLONIZATION a. Give a brief sketch of the career of Henry IV of France. b. What further facts can you ascertain about Champlain ? § 36. REVIVAL OF ENGLISH ENTERPRISE a. Give a brief sketch of the reigns of the Tudors. b. Have the voyages of Gosnold, Pring, and Weymouth any real importance in American history? Why? S$ 37-46. VIRGINIA a. Give a connected account of the Plymouth Company; of the London Company. b. Place as headings in note-book, "Slavery," "Representative Institutions," "Limited Power of Congress," and enter under them all fitting matter as you proceed. c. Make a brief digest of English history, 1600-60, and place in parallel columns leading events in American history. d. Compare conduct of Virginia and of Massachusetts during Puritan supremacy. Give causes of difference. $$ 47-50. MARYLAND a. What events of vital importance in American history are connected with Maryland's western and southern boundaries? b. What matter in these sections must you enter in your note-book under "Representative Institutions"? What under "Power of Congress"? c. In Congress where does the right of initiative belong? Where in the legislature of you rown state? Where in the British Parliament? d. Does the word "toleration" prove that absolute religious freedom did not exist? Give your reasons. S$ 51-57. PURITANS AND PILGRIMS a. Puritans, Nonconformists, and Separatists: carefully define and explain. 66 b. What is a pure democracy"? Does any such exist at the present time? c. The "Pilgrim Compact"; its formation and provisions. d. Trace at length the history of Plymouth to 1643. $$ 58-63. MASSACHUSETTS Bay a. Describe the struggle between the aristocratic and the democratic elements in Massachusetts. b. Was John Cotton's declaration identical with the principle embodied in the present Civil Service Law? Give your reasons. c. What in these sections will you note under " Representative Institutions"? d. Do you blame the Massachusetts authorities for expelling Roger Williams or Mrs. Hutchinson ? Were the two cases parallel? §§ 64-66. RHODE ISLAND a. Roger Williams's place in history. Turn to passages in the Constitution which relate to this matter. How is it arranged in the constitution of your state? b. Give Roger Williams's explanation of "liberty of conscience "; of civil liberty. a. What spirit prompted the settlement of Connecticut? of New Haven? b. Why did not Massachusetts need to draw up a written constitution? c. Compare carefully the reason for the founding of Massachusetts, of the first Connecticut towns, of New Haven. What essential differences can you discern? What common elements? § 71. THE BODY OF LIBERTIES a. Were the English people accustomed to a written code of law? b. Look up some brief analysis of Magna Charta (e.g. TaswellLangmead), and compare it with the Body of Liberties. c. Turn to Constitution and find passages which relate to matters in sections of the Body of Liberties noted on margin of p. 79. Do the same with the constitution of your state. §§ 72, 73. THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND a. Were taxation and representation on the same basis in the New England confederation ? b. Place in note-book as headings: "Nullification," "Fugitive Slave Laws," "Colonial Denials of Supremacy of Parliament," and enter all fitting matter as you proceed. $$ 74-76. THE DUTCH AND THE SWEDES a. Give a brief sketch of history of Holland to 1648, and add a briefer sketch of the Thirty Years' War. b. Consider at length how the fortunes of the world might have been changed had Champlain treated the Iroquois kindly. c. Do we owe any distinctive elements of our national progress to the Dutch settlers? Prove your statement. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY a. Represent in colors upon an Outline Map (1) the details of the Virginia charters (1606, 1609); (2) the boundaries of Maryland (1632); (3) the boundaries of New England (1620). b. Represent in colors upon an Outline Map the boundaries of the New England colonies; Massachusetts (1629); New Netherland (1660). c. Make any necessary changes in the map of your own state. GENERAL QUESTIONS a. What matter in this chapter must you enter in note-book under "Representative Institutions"? What under " Power of Congress"? |