The Dutch Colony of New Netherland - Smith Burnham
Smith Burnham
OUR BEGINNINGS in EUROPE and AMERICA
from
CHAPTER XVIII. THE SECOND PERIOD OF ENGLISH SETTLEMENT IN AMERICA
The Dutch Colony of New Netherland.— Within five years of the discovery of the Hudson River by Henry Hudson the Dutch had established trading stations upon the banks of that stream. Dutch traders came to these stations to get the skins of the beaver, the otter, and the mink. A Dutch writer of the time says that in exchange for their peltries the Indians received “beads, with which they decorated their persons; knives, adzes, axes, case-knives, kettles and all sorts of iron ware which they require for housekeeping.”
In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was given the exclusive right to trade in, to settle, and to govern New Netherland, as the Dutch territory in America was called. Two years later this company sent the first party of permanent colonists to the banks of the Hudson. Some of these settlers founded New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, while others went up the river to Fort Nassau near the present site of Albany.
New Netherland grew very slowly. There was much trade, but the number of actual settlers was small. At this time the Dutch were too prosperous and happy in their own country to leave it in large numbers. To quicken the growth of the colony the West India Company offered to give a great tract of land to any of its members who would bring fifty grown-up persons to New Netherland and settle them in homes in this country. The proprietors of these great estates were called patroons. The patroon received a rent from the farmers settled on his land, and_ besides this he was entitled to a part of the increase of the cattle and to a part of the crop. In a few years there were several patroons living on the banks of the Hudson.
New Netherland, unlike the New England colonies near it, did not have self-government. Its people were ruled by a governor and other officers sent out by the West India Company. The most famous of the Dutch governors of New Netherland was the last one, Peter Stuyvesant. Washington Irving calls him ‘a valiant, weather-beaten, mettlesome, obstinate, leathern-sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited old governor.” Stuyvesant ruled with an iron hand, but the colony grew and prospered under his sway. His most serious troubles were with intruders from other countries who were trying to get a foothold on the soil of New Netherland.
The Dutch claimed that New Netherland included the valleys of the Delaware and the Connecticut as well as that of the Hudson. They established trading posts on both of these rivers. In 1638 the Swedes made a settlement within the present state of Delaware.
The Dutch protested that the Swedes were trespassing upon their territory, but as they wanted the friendship of Sweden in Europe at this time they did nothing more. By 1655 affairs had so changed in Europe that the Dutch thought it time to act. Governor Stuyvesant invaded New Sweden with a large force, and the people of that colony surrendered. They were not molested, but became subject to the government of New Netherland.
How New Netherland Became New York.— On the Connecticut the Dutch were less fortunate. They had a trading post on that river, but the English settlers came so thick and fast that they were unable to maintain it. Later English colonists began to encroach upon the Dutch settlements on Long Island and west of New Haven. The English had always claimed that New Netherland rightfully belonged to them, and at last Charles II made up his mind to seize it.
In 1664 Colonel Nicolls, with four ships and five hundred veteran English troops, appeared before New Amsterdam. Governor Stuyvesant wanted to fight to the last ditch but his people would not support him. Many of them were weary of his arbitrary ways, and thought that they would have more liberty under an English government. Ninety-three of the leading citizens signed a remonstrance against resistance. “Women and children flocked about the brave old man and added their entreaties.” “Well, let it be so,” he said, “I had rather be carried to my grave.” In a few moments the white flag fluttered over the ramparts of Fort Amsterdam, and so the rule of Holland in America came peacefully to an end.
King Charles II had already given this Dutch province of New Netherland to his brother James, duke of York, and in honor of the new proprietor the name of the colony and of its principal town was changed to New York. In 1685 the duke of York became king as James II, and New York became a royal province.
The English conquest of New Netherland brought few changes to the Dutch inhabitants. Perhaps the most important of these changes was in giving them more power to manage their own local affairs. For many years there were more Dutchmen than Englishmen in the colony, and New York life kept many of its Dutch features throughout the colonial period. Slowly more settlers came, English, Scotch, French Huguenots, and Germans. Most of the people of early New York made their living by farming and by trading with the Indians.