The First Settlement of the Hudson.—In 1610 a Dutch ship visited Manhattan to trade with the Indians and was soon followed by others on like enterprise. In 1613 Adrian Block came with a few comrades and remained the winter. In 1614 the merchants of North Holland organized a company and obtained from the States General a charter to trade in the New Netherlands, and soon after a colony built a few houses and a fort near the Battery. The entire island was purchased from the Indians in 1624 for the sum of sixty guilders or about twenty-four dollars. A fort was built at Albany in 1623 and known as Fort Aurania or Fort Orange. From Wassenaer's "Historie van Europa," 1621-1632, as translated in the 3d volume of the Documentary History of New York, a castle—Fort Nassau—was built in 1624, on an island on the north side of the River Montagne, now called Mauritius. "But as the natives there were somewhat discontented, and not easily managed, the projectors abandoned it, intending now to plant a colony among the Maikans (Mahicans), a nation lying twenty-five miles (American measure seventy-five miles) on both sides of the river, upwards." In another document we learn that "The West India Company being chartered, a vessel of 130 lasts, called the 'New Netherland' (whereof Cornelius Jacobs, of Hoorn, was skipper), with thirty families, mostly Walloons, was equipped in the spring of 1623."
West India Company
In the
beginning of May they entered the Hudson,
found a "Frenchman" lying in the mouth of
the river, who would erect the arms of the
King of France there, but the Hollanders
would not permit him, opposing it by
commission from the Lord's States General
and the Directors of the West India Company,
and "in order not to be frustrated therein,
they convoyed the Frenchman out of the
rivers." This having been done, they sailed
up the Maikans, 140 miles, near which they
built and completed a fort, named "Orange,"
with four bastions, on an island, by them
called "Castle Island." This was probably
the island below Castleton, now known as
Baern Island, where the first white child
was born on the Hudson.
In another volume we read that "a colony was
planted in 1625 on the Manhetes Island,
where a fort was staked out by Master Kryn
Fredericke, an engineer. The counting-house
is kept in a stone building thatched with
reed; the other houses are of the bark of
trees. There are thirty ordinary houses on
the east side of the river, which runs
nearly north and south." This is the
description of New York City when Charles
the First was King.
Moreover, we should not forget that Communipaw outranks New York in antiquity, and, according to Knickerbocker, whose quiet humor is always read and re-read with pleasure, might justly be considered the Mother Colony. For lo! the sage Oloffe Van Kortlandt dreamed a dream, and the good St. Nicholas came riding over the tops of the trees, and descended upon the island of Manhattan and sat himself down and smoked, "and the smoke ascended in the sky, and formed a cloud overhead; and Oloffe bethought him, and he hastened and climbed up to the top of one of the tallest trees, and saw that the smoke spread over a great extent of country; and, as he considered it more attentively, he fancied that the great volume assumed a variety of marvelous forms, where, in dim obscurity, he saw shadowed out palaces and domes and lofty spires, all of which lasted but a moment, and then passed away." So New York, like Alba Longa and Rome, and other cities of antiquity, was under the immediate care of its tutelar saint. Its destiny was foreshadowed, for now the palaces and domes and lofty spires are real and genuine, and something more than dreams are made of.
The Original Manors and Patents
The Original Manors and Patents.—According to a map of the Province of New York, published in 1779, the Phillipsburg Patent embraced a large part of Westchester County. North of this was the Manor of Cortland, reaching from Tarrytown to Anthony's Nose. Above this was the Phillipse Patent, reaching to the mouth of Fishkill Creek, embracing Putnam County. Between Fishkill Creek and the Wappingers Creek was the Rombout Patent. The Schuyler Patent embraced a few square miles in the vicinity of Poughkeepsie. Above this was the purchase of Falconer & Company, and east of this tract what was known as the Great Nine Partners. Above the Falconer Purchase was the Henry Beekman Patent, reaching to Esopus Island, and east of this the Little Nine Partners. Above the Beekman Patent was the Schuyler Patent. Then the Manor of Livingston, reaching from Rhinebeck to Catskill Station, opposite Catskill. Above this Rensselaerwick, reaching north to a point opposite Coeymans. The Manor of Rensselaer extended on both sides of the river to a line running nearly east and west, just above Troy. North and west of this Manor was the County of Albany, since divided into Rensselaer, Saratoga, Washington, Schoharie, Greene and Albany. The Rensselaer Manor was the only one that reached across the river. The west bank of the Hudson, below the Rensselaer Manor, is simply indicated on this map of 1779 as Ulster and Orange Counties.
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam.—For about fifty years after the Dutch Settlement the island of Manhattan was known as New Amsterdam. Washington Irving, in his Knickerbocker History, has surrounded it with a loving halo and thereby given to the early records of New York the most picturesque background of any State in the Union.
Among other playful allusions to the Indian
names he takes the word Manna-hatta of
Robert Juet to mean "the island of manna,"
or in other words a land flowing with milk
and honey. He refers humorously to the
Yankees as "an ingenious people who
out-bargain them in the market,
out-speculate them on the exchange, out-top
them in fortune, and run up mushroom palaces
so high that the tallest Dutch family
mansion has not wind enough left for its
weather-cock."
What would the old burgomaster think now of
the mounting palaces of trade, stately
apartments, and the piled up stories of
commercial buildings? In fact the highest
structure Washington Irving ever saw in New
York was a nine-story sugar refinery. With
elevators running two hundred feet a minute,
there seems no limit to these modern
mammoths.
The Dutch and the English
The Dutch and the English.—From the very
beginning there was a quiet jealousy between
the Dutch Settlement on the Hudson and the
English Settlers in Massachusetts. To quote
from an old English history, "it was the
original purpose of the Pilgrims to locate
near Nova Scotia, but, upon better
consideration, they decided to seat
themselves more to the southward on the bank
of Hudson's River which falls into the sea
at New York."
To this end "they contracted with some
merchants who were willing to be adventurers
with them in their intended settlement and
were proprietors of the country, but the
contract bore too heavy upon them, and made
them the more easy in their disappointment.
Their agents in England hired the Mayflower,
and, after a stormy voyage, 'fell in with
Cape Cod on the 9th of November. Here they
refreshed themselves about half a day and
then tacked about to the southward for
Hudson's River.'
"Encountering a storm they became entangled
in dangerous shoals and breakers and were
driven back again to the Cape." Thus
Plymouth became the first English settlement
of New England. Another historian says that
it was their purpose "to settle on the
Connecticut Coast near Fairfield County,
lying between the Connecticut and Hudson's
River."
From
the very first the Dutch occupation was
considered by the English as illegal. It was
undoubtedly part of the country the coasts
of which were first viewed by Sebastian
Cabot, who sailed with five English ships
from Bristol in May, 1498, and as such was
afterwards included in the original province
of Virginia. It was also within the limits
of the country granted by King James to the
Western Company, but, before it could be
settled, the Dutch occupancy took place,
and, in the interest of peace, a license was
granted by King James.
The Dutch thus made their settlement before
the Puritans were planted in New England,
and from their first coming, "being seated
in Islands and at the mouth of a good river
their plantations were in a thriving
condition, and they begun, in Holland, to
promise themselves vast things from their
new colony."
Sir Samuel Argal in 1617 or 1618, on his way
from Virginia to New Scotland, insulted the
Dutch and destroyed their plantations. "To
guard against further molestations they
secured a License from King James to build
Cottages and to plant for traffic as well as
subsistence, pretending it was only for the
convenience of their ships touching there
for fresh water and fresh provisions in
their voyage to Brazil; but they little by
little extended their limits every way,
built Towns, fortified them and became a
flourishing colony."
"In an island called Manhattan, at the mouth
of Hudson's River, they built a City which
they called New Amsterdam, and the river was
called by them the Great River. The bay to
the east of it had the name of Nassau given
to it. About one hundred and fifty miles up
the River they built a Fort which they
called Orange Fort and from thence drove a
profitable trade with the Indians who came
overland as far as from Quebec to deal with
them.
The Dutch Colonies were therefore in a very
thriving condition when they were attacked
by the English. The justice of this war has
been freely criticized even by English
writers, "because troops were sent to attack
New Amsterdam before the Colony had any
notice of the war."
The "Encyclopedia Britannica" thus briefly
puts the history of those far-off days when
New York was a town of about 1500
inhabitants: "The English Government was
hostile to any other occupation of the New
World than its own. In 1621 James I. claimed
sovereignty over New Netherland by right of
'occupancy.' In 1632 Charles I. reasserted
the English title of 'first discovery,
occupation and possession.' In 1654 Cromwell
ordered an expedition for its conquest and
the New England Colonies had engaged their
support. The treaty with Holland arrested
their operations and recognized the title of
the Dutch. In 1664 Charles the Second
resolved upon a conquest of New Netherland.
The immediate excuse was the loss to the
revenue of the English Colonies by the
smuggling practices of their Dutch
neighbors. A patent was granted to the Duke
of York giving to him all the lands and
rivers from the west side of the Connecticut
River to the east side of Delaware Bay."
"On the 29th of August an English Squadron
under the direction of Col. Richard Nicolls,
the Duke's Deputy Governor, appeared off the
Narrows, and on Sept. 8th New Amsterdam,
defenseless against the force, was formally
surrendered by Stuyvesant. In 1673 (August
7th) war being declared between England and
Holland a Dutch squadron surprised New York,
captured the City and restored the Dutch
authority, and the names of New Netherland
and New Amsterdam. But in July, 1674, a
treaty of peace restored New York to English
rule. A new patent was issued to the Duke of
York, and Major Edmund Andros was appointed
Governor."
New York
New York.—On the 10th of November, 1674, the Province of New Netherland was surrendered to Governor Major Edmund Andros on behalf of his Britannic Majesty. The letter sent by Governor Andros to the Dutch Governor is interesting in this connection: "Being arrived to this place with orders to receive from you in the behalf of his Majesty of Great Britain, pursuant to the late articles of peace with the States Generals of the United Netherlands, the New Netherlands and Dependencies, now under your command, I have herewith, by Capt. Philip Carterett and Ens. Cæsar Knafton, sent you the respective orders from the said States General, the States of Zealand and Admiralty of Amsterdam to that effect, and desire you'll please to appoint some short time for it. Our soldiers having been long aboard, I pray you answer by these gentlemen, and I shall be ready to serve you in what may lay in my power. Being from aboard his Majesty's ship, 'The Diamond,' at anchor near. Your very humble servant. Staten Island this 22d Oct., 1674." After nineteen days' deliberation, which greatly annoyed Governor Andros, New Amsterdam was transferred from Dutch to English authority.
"In 1683 Thomas Dongan succeeded Andros. A general Assembly, the first under the English rule, met in October, 1683, and adopted a Charter of Liberties, which was confirmed by the Duke. In August, 1684, a new covenant was made with the Iroquois, who formally acknowledged the jurisdiction of Great Britain, but not subjection. By the accession of the Duke of York to the English throne the Duchy of New York became a royal province. The Charters of the New England Colonies were revoked, and together with New York and New Jersey they were consolidated into the dominion of New England. Dongan was recalled and Sir Edmund Andros was commissioned Governor General. He assumed his vice regal authority August 11, 1688. The Assembly which James had abolished in 1686 was reestablished, and in May declared the rights and privileges of the people, reaffirming the principles of the repealed Charter of Liberties of October 30, 1683."
From this
time on to the Revolution of 1776 there is
one continual struggle between the Royal
Governors and the General Assembly. The
Governor General had the power of dissolving
the Assembly, but the Assembly had the power
of granting money. British troops were
quartered in New York which increased the
irritation. The conquest of Canada left a
heavy burden upon Great Britain, a part of
which their Parliament attempted to shift to
the shoulders of the Colonies.
A general Congress of the Colonies, held in
New York in 1765, protested against the
Stamp Act and other oppressive ordinances
and they were in part repealed.
A Page of Patriotism
A Page of Patriotism.—During the long political agitation New York, the most English of the Colonies in her manners and feelings, was in close harmony with the Whig leaders of England. She firmly adhered to the principle of the sovereignty of the people which she had inscribed on her ancient "Charter of Liberties." Although largely dependent upon commerce she was the first to recommend a non-importation of English merchandise as a measure of retaliation against Britain, and she was the first also to invite a general congress of all the Colonies. On the breaking out of hostilities New York immediately joined the patriot cause. The English authority was overthrown and the government passed to a provincial congress.
New York Sons of Liberty
New York Sons of Liberty.—In 1767, in the
eighth year of the reign of George III.
there was issued a document in
straightforward Saxon, and Sir Henry Moore,
Governor-in-Chief over the Province of New
York, offered fifty pounds to discover the
author or authors. The paper read as
follows: "Whereas, a glorious stand for
Liberty did appear in the Resentment shown
to a Set of Miscreants under the Name of
Stamp Masters, in the year 1765, and it is
now feared that a set of Gentry called
Commissioners (I do not mean those lately
arrived at Boston), whose odious Business is
of a similar nature, may soon make their
appearance amongst us in order to execute
their detestable office: It is therefore
hoped that every votary of that celestial
Goddess Liberty, will hold themselves in
readiness to give them a proper welcome.
Rouse, my Countrymen, Rouse! (Signed) Pro
Patria."
In December, 1769, a stirring address "To
the Betrayed Inhabitants of the City and
County of New York," signed by a Son of
Liberty, was also published, asking the
people to do their duty in matters pending
between them and Britain. "Imitate," the
writer said, "the noble examples of the
friends of Liberty in England; who, rather
than be enslaved, contend for their rights
with king, lords and commons; and will you
suffer your liberties to be torn from you by
your Representatives? tell it not in Boston;
publish it not in the streets of
Charles-town. You have means yet left to
preserve a unanimity with the brave
Bostonians and Carolinians; and to prevent
the accomplishment of the designs of
tyrants."
Another proclamation, offering a reward of
fifty pounds, was published by the
"Honorable Cadwalader Colden, Esquire, His
Majesty's Lieutenant-Governor and
Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New
York and the territories depending thereon
in America," with another "God Save the
King" at the end of it. But the people who
commenced to write Liberty with a capital
letter and the word "king" in lower case
type were not daunted. Captain Alexander
McDougal was arrested as the supposed
author. He was imprisoned eighty-one days.
He was subsequently a member of the
Provincial Convention, in 1775 was appointed
Colonel of the first New York Regiment, and
in 1777 rose to the rank of Major-General in
the U. S. Army. New York City could well
afford a monument to the Sons of Liberty.
She has a right to emphasize this period of
her history, for her citizens passed the
first resolution to import nothing from the
mother country, burned ten boxes of stamps
sent from England before any other colony or
city had made even a show of resistance, and
when the Declaration was read, pulled down
the leaden statue of George III. from its
pedestal in Bowling Green, and molded it
into Republican bullets.
In 1699 the population of New York was about 6,000. In 1800, it reached 60,000; and the growth since that date is almost incredible. It is amusing to hear elderly people speak of the "outskirts of the city" lying close to the City Hall, and of the drives in the country above Canal Street. In the Documentary History of New York, a map of a section of New York appears as it was in 1793, when the Gail, Work House, and Bridewell occupied the site of the City Hall, with two ponds to the north—East Collect Pond and Little Collect Pond,—sixty feet deep and about a quarter of a mile in diameter, the outlet of which crossed Broadway at Canal Street and found its way to the Hudson.
Greater New York
Greater New York.—In 1830, the population of Manhattan was 202,000; in 1850, 515,000; in 1860, 805,000; in 1870, 942,000; in 1880, 1,250,000; in 1892, 1,801,739; and is now rapidly approaching three million. Brooklyn, which in 1800 had a population of only 2,000, now contributes, as the "Borough of Brooklyn," almost two million. So that Greater New York is the centre of about six million of people within a radius of fifteen miles including her New Jersey suburbs with almost five millions under one municipality.
Brooklyn.—In June, 1636, was bought the first land on Long Island; and in 1667 the Ferry Town, opposite New York, was known by the name "Breuckelen," signifying "broken land," but the name was not generally accepted until after the Revolution. Columbia Heights, Prospect Park, Clinton Avenue, St. Mark's Place and Stuyvesant Heights are among the favored spots for residence.
Jersey City
Jersey City occupies the ground once known as Paulus Hook, the farm of William Kieft, Director General of the Dutch West India Company. Its water front, from opposite Bartholdi Statue to Hoboken, is conspicuously marked by Railroad Terminal Piers, Factories, Elevators, etc. Bergen is the oldest settlement in New Jersey. It was founded in 1616 by Dutch Colonists to the New Netherlands, and received its name from Bergen in Norway. Jersey City is practically a part of Greater New York, but state lines make municipal union impossible.