of his nation in the new world. A charter was granted to a company in 1626, and a few Swedes came over the following year. A war, however, arose, which engrossed the attention of Gustavus, and he fell on the field of Lutzen [loot'zen] without carrying his scheme into execution. Yet it was not forgotten. Through the efforts of the wise statesman Oxenstiern [oks'-en-stern], a company of Swedes and Finns was sent over in 1638, under Peter Min'-u-its, who had previously been in the service of the Dutch. They arrived in Delaware Bay, bought a tract from the natives, to which they gave the name of New Sweden, and built Fort Christiana, near the present site of Wilmington, calling it in honor of the young queen of Sweden. The colony flourished, reenforcements came over, and another settlement was made on a spot now embraced in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

142. The Dutch looked on this Swedish colony with jealous eyes. Some years before its arrival, a body of men had been sent out from New Amsterdam to settle this region; but quarrels arose, and the whole party was cut off by Indians. On this the Dutch founded a claim to the country, and in 1651 they built a fort at Newcastle [new'-kas-sl], within five miles of Christiana, Resolved to prevent such encroachments, the settlers of New Sweden attacked and destroyed the fort. In revenge for this injury, Stuyvesant [sti'-ve-sant], then governor of New Netherlands, with more than 600 men, invaded their country, subjected it to Holland, and put an end to Swedish power in America. New Sweden at this time contained about 700 colonists. They remained quietly under the sway of the Dutch, and with the Dutch in 1664 passed under the dominion of the English.

Gustavus Adolphus from carrying out his plans? Who did carry them out? Give an account of the first settlement. 142. How did the Dutch regard the Swedish colony? What grounds had they for claiming this region? What did they do in 1651? What followed? How did the Dutch revenge themselves? How many colonists did New Sweden then contain? What was its subsequent history?

1621]

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CHAPTER X.

NEW NETHERLANDS, FROM 1621 TO 1664.-FOUNDING OF NEW JERSEY.

143. THE Dutch West India Company, in 1621, obtained from the government of Holland a grant of nearly the whole African coast and all the countries they might conquer in America, for the purposes of trade and colonization.

this extensive territory, New Netherlands, embracing the valley of the Mauritius [mau-rish'-e-us] River (as the Hudson was then called), seemed the most important, and to it the company gave their chief attention.

Peter Minuits was the first governor. He came over in 1625, and bought the whole island of Manhattan from the Indians for $24. Friendly courtesies were interchanged. with the Plymouth Colony. A brisk trade in furs was carried on, and the capture of such Spanish vessels as approached the harbor was a further source of profit. New Amsterdam (such, it will be remembered, was then the name of New York) grew apace. This was the day of "hunters and traders, otter and beaver skins, straw roofs, wooden chimneys, and windmills". The Dutch spread out over Long Island, Staten Island, and New Jersey. Wherever the soil was good or beaver were abundant, thrifty Hollanders settled, buying their land honorably from the Indians for knives, beads, or wampum. To encourage immigration, the company offered every man who in four years would plant a colony of fifty souls, a tract sixteen miles in length, of which, after buying the right of the Indians, he should be "patroon", or lord. Godyn [go-dine'], Van Rensselaer [van ren'-se-ler], and others, availed themselves of this offer.

144. Meanwhile the Indians, excited by the rum obtained

143. In 1621, what extensive grant did the Dutch West India Company obtain ? To what region did they give the most attention? Who was the first governor? What did he pay for Manhattan Island? What sources of profit did the Dutch find? Describe New Amsterdam at this time. Where did the Dutch settlements spread? How did the Dutch obtain their lands? How did the company encourage immigration? Who availed themselves of this offer? 144. Give an ac

from white traders, committed various trespasses, which the Dutch in turn punished severely. This roused the Indians to vengeance, and in 1640 they attacked a settlement on Staten Island. The next year, a Hollander was killed at Manhattan, by an Indian who had vowed to revenge the murder of his uncle ten years before. In 1642, a Hackensack warrior, who had been made drunk and then robbed by the colonists, on returning to a sense of his injury, killed two of the Dutch. When satisfaction was demanded, the natives offered to pay 200 fathoms of wampum, but refused to give up the guilty party, on the ground that the Dutch had themselves provoked the act. Just at this time a band of river Indians, driven by the Mohawks, took refuge on the bank of the Hudson opposite Manhattan, and solicited the aid of the Dutch. Instead of granting the desired assistance, Kieft [keeft], who was then governor, sent a party of his countrymen across the river at the dead of night, to butcher the helpless and unsuspecting savages.

Mothers
Such

and children, old and sick, shared the same cruel fate. as escaped the knife were driven from the cliffs, and perished in the freezing river. Nearly a hundred fell by this wicked attack.

A desperate and bloody war was the result. The Red Men cried for vengeance from the Jersey shore to the Connecticut, and many a pale-face suffered for the doings of that night. The Indians drew no distinction between innocent and guilty; and among other victims of their revenge was Mrs. Hutchinson, who, as we have seen, had fled from the Massachusetts Colony and found refuge in Rhode Island.

In this war several powerful tribes united, and it was feared at one time that every Hollander would be swept from the country. But Roger Williams, whose great influence with the Indians was always exerted in behalf of peace, succeeded in persuading the exasperated warriors to bury

count of the difficulties which arose between the Dutch and the Indians. What satisfaction did the Indians offer? Just at this time, what happened? How was the request of the river Indians met by Kieft and his countrymen? sued? Who perished in this war? What was at one time feared?

What en

Who suc

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the tomahawk. The war was afterwards renewed; and the Dutch escaped utter destruction only by appointing John Underhill, who had won renown in the Pequod war, to the command of their forces. His courage and management were finally successful.

145. The people were tired of Kieft, whose cruelty had provoked this disastrous war, and procured his recall. Peter Stuyvesant, a veteran who had served with distinction in the West Indies, succeeded. Stuyvesant cultivated the friendship of the Indians, settled boundary disputes, granted the colony a more liberal system of trade, and promoted its interest in various ways.

At this time, the island on which the great city of New York stands was occupied mostly by farmers. The tract now known as "the Park" was covered with a forest, in which boys gathered chestnuts, and tanners procured their bark. Land was very cheap, and Stuyvesant bought for a mere trifle that "Bowerie" beyond the town from which one of the principal streets of the city is named. A wall was run across the island, at what is now Wall-street, to keep off the Indians. Here is a view of New York, as it appeared from the Bay about 1650.

ceeded in appeasing the Indians for a time? On the renewal of the war, whom did the Dutch make their leader? What was the result? 145. How did the people feel towards Kieft? By whom was he superseded? What measures were taken by Stuyvesant? Describe Manhattan Island at this time. 146. In 1655, what did

sant conquered New Sweden, since called Delaware. During his absence, sixty-four canoes full of Indians appeared before New Amsterdam, and did considerable damage. His return restored peace. The colony from time to time received large additions, many victims of persecution in different parts of Europe seeking it as a home.

147. An earnest desire for greater freedom had for some years shown itself in the people; but Stuyvesant, accustomed to strict military discipline, would make no concessions. The principles of liberty continued to spread; and at last a general assembly of deputies from the Dutch villages was held, for the purpose of asserting the rights of the people. Little was then gained, but the spirit displayed was not to be mistaken.

148. The English had long coveted the flourishing settlement on Manhattan Island; and in 1664, Charles II., who cared little for the rights of others, granted the whole tract from the Connecticut to the Delaware to his brother James, Duke of York, afterwards James II. A powerful fleet was fitted out to take possession of the Dutch settlements. Stuyvesant, however, was too old a soldier to be frightened; and, had he been supported by the people, he would have made a brave and perhaps successful defence. But the colonists remembered how their recent appeals had been met; and, thinking they would enjoy greater freedom and happiness under English rule, they turned a deaf ear to Stuyvesant's stirring appeals, and refused to fight. Thus left without means of resistance, the brave old governor had to surrender, and all the possessions of the Dutch passed without bloodshed into the hands of the English (1664). The inhabitants were not disturbed, and even Stuyvesant himself passed the rest of his days under the sway of the conquerors. The name of the colony, as well as that of the settlement on

Stuyvesant do? What happened during his absence? By whom was the colony sought as a home? 147. What spirit began to manifest itself in the people? How was it met by Stuyvesant? What was finally done by the Dutch villages? 148. How had the English felt towards the Dutch settlement on Manhattan? In 1664, what grant was made by Charles II.? What steps were immediately taken? How did Stuyvesant endeavor to meet them? How were his efforts frustrated?