EXPANSION UNDER THE LATER STUARTS (1660-1689)
NEW YORK
The period of the later Stuarts was remarkable for colonial expansion.
New Netherlands was acquired, the Jerseys, Pennsylvania, and the
Carolinas were founded, the Hudson's Bay Fur Company was formed, and new
settlements were made in the West Indies.
Causes of the attack upon the Dutch.--In 1664 New Netherlands was
seized. This was not an isolated event but was a part of a general plan
to weaken Dutch power. England had three main objects: to cripple the
Dutch carrying trade, to get control of the slave trade, and to obtain
New Netherlands, an acquisition which would give geographical unity to
the colonies on the Atlantic seaboard. The navigation acts were weapons
against the carrying trade. The African Company was organized to strike
at the slave trade.
The African Company.--During the first half of the seventeenth century,
the Dutch had obtained a monopoly of the trade in slaves to the Spanish
and Portuguese colonies in America. To break this monopoly the African
Company was formed in 1660, headed by the Duke of York. During the next
two years the Dutch vigorously opposed the English Company, soon
convincing its officers that it must be organized on a larger scale if
it would succeed. In 1663 the Company of Royal Adventurers trading to
Africa was organized, being granted the coast from Sallee to the Cape of
Good Hope. Vessels sent to the African coast encountered such opposition
that in 1664 a squadron was sent to protect them and succeeded in
capturing several Dutch forts, but Admiral DeRuyter soon recaptured
them.
Seizure of New Netherlands, 1664.--At the same time England prepared to
seize New Netherlands, a territory which she had always claimed. The
king granted to the Duke of York the northern part of Maine, Long
Island, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and New Netherlands. The Duke in
turn granted the Jerseys to Carteret and Lord Berkeley. A royal
commission was despatched to America with three war vessels and several
hundred men. At Boston the expedition was reinforced and then proceeded
to New Amsterdam, which surrendered without a struggle. One member of
the commission went to the Delaware and took possession. In the Treaty
of Breda (1667) the English were given important slave trading
privileges, their conquests between the Hudson and the Delaware were
confirmed, and Lord Willoughby's colony of Surinam was ceded to the
Dutch, who had captured it in the course of the recent war.
Administration of Nicolls.--Nicolls was made governor and his
administration was conducted with tact and firmness. In dealing with
Connecticut he insisted upon the Duke's right to Long Island. In New
Netherlands several Dutch place names were changed, New Amsterdam
becoming New York, and Ft. Orange, Albany. The right of property was not
disturbed; judicial districts were organized; and to New York City he
granted a charter which provided for a mayor, aldermen, and sheriff,
whom he appointed. Nicolls drew up a code, known as the Duke's Laws,
which was a combination of portions of the codes of Massachusetts and
New Haven, Dutch customs, and original ideas. Religious toleration was
allowed, and landholding was made the basis for voting. The lack of a
representative assembly was a noticeable feature, which led to discord
when taxes were demanded.
Representative government demanded.--Lovelace became governor in 1668,
and during his administration of five years friction increased, but he
managed to maintain his authority. In 1673 when war broke out between
England and Holland, New York was captured by the Dutch, but the
following year it was restored to the English. Edmund Andros was then
appointed governor. He informed the proprietor of the desire for a
representative assembly, but James stubbornly refused. In 1681, when
James neglected to renew the customs duties, the merchants refused to
pay them. Because of the resulting loss of revenue Andros was ordered to
England, and during his absence the disaffection greatly increased.
Thomas Dongan was appointed governor in 1682. He was instructed to call
a representative assembly to advise the governor and council regarding
taxation and law making. In October, 1683, seventeen representatives met
at New York and drew up a Charter of Franchises and Liberties. This was
sent to the Duke, who signed it, but when he became king he rejected it.
Dongan's administration.--Dongan administered the province of New York
with marked ability. He granted a new charter to New York City by which
the mayor, recorder, and sheriff were appointed by the governor, and the
aldermen were popularly elected. He maintained the boundaries of the
province against the claims of Penn on the west and Connecticut on the
east. In 1684 he made a treaty with the Iroquois, and henceforth they
sided with the English in the great international struggle for trade and
territory.
Leisler's rebellion.--When James II attempted to consolidate all of the
northern provinces under one head New York was included. But when the
king was overthrown, Jacob Leisler led a rebellion and drove out
Nicholson, the royal representative. Leisler summoned a convention which
gave him dictatorial powers. He maintained authority until 1691, when
Henry Sloughter arrived as governor. Leisler surrendered, but was tried
and hanged.
THE JERSEYS
Settlements in the Jerseys.--When the Jerseys passed into the hands of
Carteret and Berkeley, there were two settled areas, one of Dutch origin
about Bergen, Hoboken, and Wiehawken, the other of Dutch, Swedish, and
Finnish settlements on the Delaware. When Nicolls came to New York he
was not aware that part of the province had been granted to others. He
immediately sought to bring in settlers; about two hundred people,
descendants of New Englanders, moved from Long Island to the
neighborhood of what was later known as Elizabethtown. Others, most of
whom were Quakers, settled at Middletown and Shrewsbury under a special
grant from Nicolls.
Government in East New Jersey.--In 1665 Philip Carteret, probably a
brother of the proprietor, arrived with a governor's commission. With
him were about thirty persons, most of whom were French people from the
Island of Jersey. Elizabethtown was made the capital. Carteret brought
with him a plan of government, which provided that the governor was to
choose a council of not less than six, nor more than twelve members. The
freemen were to choose twelve representatives, who were to join with the
governor and council in law-making. When local divisions were
established each division was to elect a representative to an assembly,
which would then take the place of the twelve. The assembly could pass
laws subject to certain restrictions, create local divisions,
incorporate towns, erect forts, provide for a militia, wage war,
naturalize foreigners, and perform many other acts. Religious liberty
and property rights were carefully protected. The enforcement of laws,
appointment of officers, and pardoning power were left in the hands of
the governor and council.
Difficulties with New Englanders.--During 1666 many families from the
Connecticut Valley migrated to East New Jersey, most of them settling on
the Passaic River, Bradford and Guilford being founded. Newark was also
settled. The settlers drew up a form of government copied from New
Haven, which restricted the franchise to membership in the
Congregational church. In April, 1668, the first assembly was called by
Carteret, but the people from Middletown and Shrewsbury did not send
delegates. To a session held in October these towns sent
representatives, but they were not allowed to sit in the meeting. A
quarrel ensued between the governor and assembly, which soon adjourned
and did not convene again for seven years. In 1670, when Carteret
attempted to collect quit-rents, the settlers refused to pay, and for
two years the colony was in turmoil. Middletown and Shrewsbury, acting
under their original patent from Nicolls, set up an independent
government, but the governor refused to recognize it and was sustained
by the proprietors, who, however, granted some concessions, whereupon
the difficulties subsided.
The Quakers in West New Jersey.--In 1672 George Fox, the founder of the
Quaker sect, crossed New Jersey and visited the Quakers in the eastern
part. To this visit Penn's interest in the region may be traced. In 1674
Berkeley disposed of his share of the colony to two Quakers, Edward
Byllynge and John Fenwick, this transaction being due to a desire on the
part of the Society of Friends to establish an independent colony.
Byllynge and Fenwick became involved in a dispute over property rights,
and William Penn was made arbiter. Penn awarded one-tenth to Fenwick,
who, after considerable litigation, accepted it. Byllynge shortly
afterward conveyed his holdings to Penn, Lawrie, and Lucas, who soon
acquired Fenwick's interests. In 1676 Carteret and the Quaker
proprietors fixed the line of demarcation between East and West New
Jersey. It was to run from the most southwardly point of the east side
of Little Egg Harbor to the point where the Delaware River crossed the
forty-first parallel. The Quaker migration to West New Jersey began in
1675, when Fenwick led a group to Salem. In 1677 two hundred and thirty
more settled at Burlington. During the next two years eight hundred
arrived, and by 1681 nearly fourteen hundred had come to the colony. In
every case title to the soil was obtained by purchase from the Indians.
[Illustration: The Delaware River Region. (From Fisher, _The Quaker
Colonies_, in the Series, "The Chronicles of America," Yale University
Press).]
Government of West New Jersey.--The original Burlington colonists
brought with them a body of laws which have been described as "the
broadest, sanest, and most equitable charter draughted for any body of
colonists up to that time." No doubt Penn played the principal role in
the draughting. It provided for a board of commissioners to be appointed
by the proprietors and an assembly chosen by the people, which was to
have full rights of making laws if they were not contrary to the charter
or the laws of England. The charter provided for public trials by jury
and assured the right of petition. Capital punishment was prohibited.
Trouble with the Duke of York.--After the expulsion of the Dutch in
1674, the Duke of York attempted to regain control of the Jerseys and
refused to recognize the validity of Berkeley's sale to Byllynge. When
Andros became governor of New York he attempted to assert the authority
of James over the Jerseys, but the courts refused to uphold the claims
of the Duke, and in 1680 he finally gave up the struggle.
Later history of West New Jersey.--In 1680 Byllynge obtained a title to
West New Jersey from the Duke of York and the charter of 1677 was put
into effect, with the exception that the executive was vested in a
single person instead of in commissioners. In 1687 Byllynge died and
Daniel Coxe, a London merchant, acquired his properties. Burlington was
made the capital, and Coxe bent his efforts to make it a commercial
center. In 1688 the colony was placed under the jurisdiction of Andros
as a part of the northern administrative unit which included New York
and New England, but Coxe was restored to his rights after the
dethronement of James, though he soon sold out to the West New Jersey
Society.
Later history of East New Jersey.--In 1682 Philip Carteret resigned, and
the board of trustees who controlled the estate of Sir George Carteret
sold East New Jersey to William Penn and eleven other Quakers. Shortly
afterwards twelve others were taken into the company, several of whom
were Scotch Presbyterians. In 1683 the twenty-four men received a deed
from the Duke of York. Under these proprietors the colony prospered, and
population increased rapidly. In 1688 the province came under royal
jurisdiction and it was annexed to New York, but after the revolution it
was restored to the proprietors.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Quaker faith.--The Reformation produced many religious sects. Writh
the breaking down of one authoritative church and the substitution of
the idea that any one might read and interpret the Bible, religious
groups began forming. Among the numerous sects were the Quakers, the
followers of George Fox. Seventeenth century religion was based upon the
fundamental idea that the universe was dualistic, natural and
supernatural. The question on which men split was how the chasm was to
be bridged. Most of the Protestant sects believed that the crossing was
made by a definite revelation of the word of God. Fox believed "that it
was bridged by the communication of a supernatural Light given to each
soul."
The coming of the Quakers.--Most of the seventeenth century religious
sects, once in power, were as intolerant as the Catholics had been. The
Quaker was looked upon with disfavor and persecution was his lot. In
America he hoped to find an abiding place. Between 1655 and 1680 Quakers
appeared in nearly all the colonies. Fox came to America in 1671 and in
the course of the following year visited the Quaker communities from
Barbados to Rhode Island.
Penn obtains lands on the Delaware.--The desire to obtain lands where
they would be in complete control was long in the minds of the Quaker
leaders. In 1680 William Penn petitioned for lands along the Delaware
north of Maryland, in payment of a debt of 16,000 pounds. In spite of
his faith Penn stood well at court, and on March 4, 1681, the charter of
Pennsylvania was signed. The extent of the grant was defined as follows:
"All that Tract or parte of land in America, with all the Islands
therein conteyned, as the same is bounded on the East by Delaware River,
from twelve miles distance, Northwarde of New Castle Towne unto the
three and fortieth degree of Northerne Latitude if the said River doeth
extend soe farre Northwards; But if the said River shall not extend soe
farre Northward, then by the said River soe farr as it doth extend, and
from the head of the said River the Easterne Bounds are to bee
determined by a Meridian Line, to bee drawne from the head of the said
River unto the said three and fortieth degree, The said lands to extend
westwards, five degrees in longitude, to bee computed from the said
Eastern Bounds, and the said lands to bee bounded on the North, by the
beginning of the three and fortieth degree of Northern latitude, and on
the South, by a Circle drawne at twelve miles, distance from New Castle
Northwards, and Westwards unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of
Northerne Latitude; and then by a streight Line westwards, to the Limitt
of Longitude above mentioned."
Both the northern and southern boundaries caused future disputes. Penn
claimed as far north as the forty-third parallel, while New York
insisted on the forty-second, a difference which was settled a century
later in favor of New York. On the south the boundaries conflicted with
the claims of Baltimore. In 1682 the question was further complicated by
a grant to Penn from the Duke of York of the territory on the western
shore of Delaware Bay. The difficulty was finally settled in 1760, and
seven years later two surveyors, Mason and Dixon, ran the present line
between Maryland and Pennsylvania at 39 deg. 44', and erected the present
boundaries of the state of Delaware.
Powers of the proprietor.--By the charter Penn was made a proprietor,
having the right to make laws with the advice and consent of the
freemen. The proprietor was given power to execute the laws, issue
ordinances, appoint judges and magistrates, pardon criminals except in
cases of treason and willful murder, erect municipalities, and grant
manors. The form of government in the colony was left to the proprietor.
Laws had to be sent to the privy council for approval, but if action
were not taken within six months, they were valid. The king reserved the
right of hearing appeals. The navigation laws were to be enforced, and
if damages accrued from non-enforcement and were not settled within a
year, the king had the right to take over the government of the colony
until payment was made.
The founding of Philadelphia.--Penn published a prospectus of his colony
which was widely circulated, and drew up a body of conditions and
concessions which dealt with the division and settlement of the province
and with Indian relations. In 1681 he sent to America as deputy-governor
his cousin, William Markham, who received the allegiance of the settlers
already within the colony. Shortly afterward the first body of colonists
arrived bearing instructions to lay out a town. The site of Philadelphia
was surveyed the following year, a symmetrical plan being adopted which
made Penn's capital the best-arranged city in colonial America.
The "frame of government."--The government devised by Penn consisted of
"the Governor and freemen of the said province, in form of a Provincial
Council and General Assembly, by whom all laws shall be made, officers
chosen, and publick affairs transacted." An elective council was to
consist of seventy-two persons "of most note for their wisdom, virtue
and ability." This body, with the governor, was to prepare and propose
all bills, and together they were to share executive powers. They were
to erect courts of justice, elect county officers, provide schools, and
perform numerous other duties. The assembly, which was to consist at
first of not more than two hundred members, was to be elected annually.
Its chief business was to consider and pass upon bills prepared by the
governor and council.
Penn's first sojourn in the province.--Penn arrived on the ship
_Welcome_ in the fall of 1682 and immediately called an election for an
assembly, in this case ignoring the details of the frame of government.
The first assembly annexed the territory on the western shore of
Delaware Bay, naturalized foreigners, and adopted a set of laws proposed
by the proprietor, which provided for liberty of conscience, a strict
code of morals, and for capital punishment for treason and murder only.
Penn inspected his province, watched the building of Philadelphia, and
visited New York, Maryland, and West New Jersey. He also held several
meetings with the Indians, entering in June, 1683, into a treaty with
them which had the salutary effect of keeping Pennsylvania free from
Indian war. The number of representatives provided for in the frame of
government proving too large, a new frame was drawn up by which the
council was reduced to eighteen and the lower house to thirty-six
members.
Penn's activities in England.--In August, 1684, Penn went to England to
obtain a settlement of his disputes with Baltimore and to aid the
persecuted Quakers. His claim to the Delaware tract was confirmed and he
secured the release from English jails of more than twelve hundred
Quakers. In 1688 he also succeeded in keeping his province from being
incorporated within the jurisdiction of Andros.
Friction in the colony.--The political peace for which Penn had hoped
was soon disturbed. Friction over the right to initiate legislation
broke out between the council and assembly. Trouble with one of the
justices also occurred. Hoping to quiet affairs, Penn took away the
executive powers of the council and appointed a commission of five
councillors who were to compel all to do their duty. As trouble
continued, he did away with the commission and appointed Captain
Blackwell, a Puritan, to act for him. This choice proved unfortunate,
for the Puritan could not get along with the Quakers. In despair, Penn
recalled Blackwell and allowed the council to select its own executive.
The council again assumed the governorship, and chose Thomas Lloyd
president. Friction also existed between the settlers along the shore of
Delaware Bay and those in the river settlements, a difficulty which
eventually led to the separation of Delaware from Pennsylvania.
Growth of the colony.--In spite of frictions the colony prospered. When
Penn acquired his province, it contained about a thousand Swedes,
Finns, and Dutch, and a few Quakers. By 1685 the population had
increased to more than eight thousand, made up of diverse elements;
Quakers, mostly from central and southwestern England and from Wales,
Mennonites from the Rhineland, Swedes, Scotch, Irish, and French.
Philadelphia soon boasted a tannery, sawmill, and kiln; linen
manufacture began; and the colony entered upon a prosperous
intercolonial trade in flour, staves, and horses. A weekly post and a
school were established, and a printing press installed. It was evident
that Penn's "holy experiment" had justified itself.
THE INSULAR COLONIES
Reorganization in the Bermudas.--Complaints by the settlers against the
rule of the Somers Islands Company in the Bermudas had been common since
its foundation. As time went on it became composed of men who had little
interest in the colony. The settlers, on the other hand, grew in numbers
and independence. Under the circumstances, in the general reorganization
by the later Stuarts, the company was dissolved, and in 1679 the
Bermudas became a crown colony.
Reorganization in the West Indies.--Down to 1671 the English Caribbean
island possessions were all included in one government within the
Carlisle grant. In that year they were separated into two governments,
St. Kitts, Nevis. Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla and "all other
the Leeward islands" to the north of French Guadeloupe were separated
from Barbados and the Windward Islands, and erected into the government
of the Leeward Islands, the islands to the south of Guadeloupe being
formed into the government of the Windward Islands. The Leeward Islands
were put under one governor-in-chief, each island being given a deputy
governor, council, assembly, and courts. In 1689 the islands together
were granted a general assembly, which first met in 1690.
New settlements in the West Indies.--During the period of the later
Stuarts the Leeward Islands extended their influence among the smaller
islands to the northwest In 1665 a buccaneering expedition from Jamaica
captured St. Eustatius and Saba. In 1666 settlers from the Bermudas
settled on New Providence, one of the Bahamas, and elected a governor.
Four years later six of the Carolina proprietors secured a patent to
the island but did little toward colonizing it. In 1672 Tortola was
taken from the Dutch and added to the Leeward Islands.
Unrest in Barbados.--The first important movement to settle Carolina
came from Barbados, the most populous of the English colonies. A spirit
of unrest pervaded the island. During the Commonwealth it had been a
refuge for both Cavaliers and Roundheads, and the newcomers had taken up
lands without securing titles. When the Stuarts were restored, the
former proprietors attempted to regain their possessions. A lively
controversy ensued. The king settled it by establishing his authority in
the island, but levied a tax of four and one-half per cent. on its
products to be applied to satisfy in part the claims of the proprietors,
an arrangement which pleased no one. The navigation acts also
considerably interfered with the trade of the island which had
previously been carried on largely with the Dutch. As a result many
settlers were anxious to leave. Between 1643 and 1667 at least twelve
hundred Barbadians went to fight or settle in Jamaica, Tobago, St.
Lucia, Trinidad, Surinam, New England, Virginia, or Carolina.
THE CAROLINAS
The Carolina coast.--From the James River region to the Spanish
settlements in Florida, stretched a vast territory, which, with the
single exception of a settlement on the Chowan River, was unoccupied by
white men when Charles II came to the throne. After Raleigh's
ill-starred venture it had received little attention until 1629, when
Sir Robert Heath obtained a patent to lands between 31 deg. and 36 deg. north
latitude, but he did nothing to improve the territory. The coasts were
occasionally visited by mariners, but there is no definite knowledge of
any settlement until 1653, when colonists from Virginia appear to have
started a settlement at Albemarle on the Chowan River. About 1660 some
New Englanders inspected the Cape Fear River mouth but departed soon
afterward.
The charters.--In 1660 Sir John Colleton, a prominent resident of
Barbados, went to England where he became a member of the Council for
Foreign Plantations. He soon interested Anthony Ashley Cooper, later
known as Lord Ashley, in the Carolinas. In 1663 a charter was granted
to eight proprietors, Cooper, Clarendon, Craven, Albemarle, Carteret,
Lord Berkeley, Colleton, and Sir William Berkeley. The territory granted
extended from the thirty-sixth to the thirty-first parallel and from sea
to sea. Over this region the proprietors were given practically the same
rights as Baltimore possessed in Maryland. In 1665 a second patent was
granted to the proprietors, extending the boundaries to 36 deg. 30' on the
north and to 29 deg. on the south.
The fundamental constitutions.--The philosopher, John Locke, drew up a
constitution for the province. It provided for a high official called
the palatine, and minor officials designated as admiral, chamberlain,
chancellor, constable chief justice, steward, and treasurer. The
province was to be divided into counties, and each county into
seigniories, baronies, and precincts. On these divisions were to be
based the ranks of the nobility to be designated as land-graves,
caciques, and lords of manors. An elaborate system of courts was
provided; also a grand council and a parliament. This archaic feudal
document is of interest mainly as a study in the political philosophy of
the time, but it was of little real importance as it was totally
unsuited to the needs of a frontier community. It was never put in force
except in certain minor particulars, the settlers themselves soon
solving their problems of government in their own way.
Beginnings of settlement.--In 1663-1664 an expedition from Barbados
examined the Carolina coast, and in 1665 Sir John Yeamans conducted a
group of settlers to the mouth of Cape Fear River. Yeamans soon returned
to Barbados and the settlers, left to their own devices, in 1667
abandoned the settlement, most of them going to Albemarle, Virginia, and
Boston. In 1669 vessels carrying ninety-two colonists sailed from
England to Barbados, where Sir John Yeamans, who had been appointed
governor, joined them. They then proceeded to the Bermudas, where
Yeamans handed over the authority to William Sayle and abandoned the
expedition. The colonists under Sayle then went to Port Royal, but
finally settled on the Ashley River, where they laid out old Charles
Town (1670). Political strife soon developed, owing mainly to the
incompetence of the aged executive. In 1671 he died and Joseph West was
chosen governor by the people.
[Illustration: The Southern Colonies, 1607-1735. (From Johnston,
_Pioneers of the Old South_, in the Series, "The Chronicles of America,"
Yale University Press).]
Plans of the proprietors.--In 1670 the proprietors obtained a grant of
the Bahamas and planned to build up trade between the island and
mainland settlements. They also planned to improve the Charles Town
settlement and in 1671 secured settlers from Barbados. Yeamans came over
and claimed the governorship, but West succeeded in keeping the office
for several months. In 1672 Yeamans was again appointed governor, but he
managed things so badly that in 1674 West was reappointed and remained
governor for eight years.
Development of the Charles Town region.--Colonists came in considerable
numbers; in 1672 there were about four hundred people in the colony, and
by 1685 the population had increased to about twenty-five hundred. Among
the immigrants were a hundred French Protestants, and a colony of Scots
who settled at Port Royal in 1683. Other colonists came from Barbados
and many from western England. In 1680 the seat of government was moved
from old Charles Town to the junction of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers.
After 1680 settlements began to expand into the back country. This soon
brought on the inevitable Indian war, which continued intermittently for
three years. In 1685 the Spaniards raided the settlements, burning many
houses, and the following year destroyed the Scotch settlement at Port
Royal.
Unrest at Charleston.--During West's administration the colony was not
greatly disturbed by political difficulties, the proprietors making
little attempt to enforce the Locke constitution. The colony was
governed by a popularly elected "parliament," which chose a council of
five men. The chief executive was the governor commissioned by the
proprietors. From 1682 to 1689 proprietary interference increased,
bringing the colony to the verge of rebellion. The colonial parliament
had steadily refused to confirm the constitution. During 1682 it was
revised by the proprietors, more power being placed in the hands of the
people, but still the colonists refused to confirm it. This irritated
the proprietors, who retaliated by introducing a new form of land
tenure, which required the colonists to pay a cash quit-rent. When James
II came to the throne, Governor Morton demanded that they swear
allegiance to the king and accept the constitution, whereupon twelve
members of the parliament refused and were excluded. The colonists also
took with ill grace the attempt to collect the customs. In 1688 the
governor and council found themselves at complete loggerheads with
parliament, and legislation stopped. James Colleton, the governor,
proclaimed martial law. This led to an open rebellion, and in 1691
Colleton was expelled, but the proprietary power was soon restored.
The Albemarle colony.--During these troublous times the Albemarle
settlement was slowly developing. The colony was mainly recruited from
Virginia, but there was also a considerable influx of Quakers. In 1682
the Albemarle settlement contained about twenty-five hundred
inhabitants. When an attempt was made in 1677 to collect the customs and
to shut off the New England trade, about a hundred colonists led by John
Culpeper rebelled and imprisoned Miller, who was the collector of
customs and acting governor. They also arrested the president of the
assembly and all but one of the deputies. The proprietors removed Miller
from office and appointed Seth Sothell governor, but the people soon
drove him from the colony. The turbulence did not quiet down until the
appointment of Governor Ludwell, who from 1691 resided at Charleston,
Albemarle being governed henceforth by a deputy.
WESTERN TRADE AND EXPLORATION
By now English explorers and fur traders had crossed the Alleghanies. As
early as 1648 Governor Berkeley was preparing an expedition to the
southwest, where red capped Spaniards riding "long eared beasts," came
to trade with the natives. Twenty-five years later (1673) two
Virginians, James Needham and Gabriel Arthur, reached the Cherokees on
the Upper Tennessee. To these mountain dwellers on the "western waters"
the Englishmen were a novel sight, but they had long been acquainted
with the Spaniards and possessed "some sixty Spanish flintlocks," and
among them lived Spanish mulatto women. Before the end of the century
South Carolina traders had established the "Chickasaw Trail" through the
Creek and Chickasaw country, and had crossed the Mississippi. In
1699-1700 Carolinians ascended the Savannah, descended the Tennessee,
Ohio, and Mississippi to the mouth of the Arkansas. Frontiersmen had
gone northwest as well as southwest, and before the end of the century
had begun to make their way among the Indians on both sides of the upper
Ohio River.
HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Continued search for the Northwest Passage.--Some of the same men who
represented the Carolinas now extended English enterprises to the region
of Hudson Bay. The English search for the Northwest Passage had not
ended with the sixteenth century. Henry Hudson, who in 1609 had explored
Hudson River in an attempt to find the passage, made further attempts in
the following year. Finding his way in the _Discovery_ through Hudson
Strait, he wintered at the southern extremity of James Bay. He paid
dearly for his discoveries, for he was cast adrift by mutinous followers
and perished. In Hudson's wake went numerous explorers, backed by
syndicates of merchants and sometimes with royal support, still seeking
the passage. In 1612 Button crossed Hudson Bay and entered the mouth of
Nelson River. At the same time a company was formed to seek the passage.
In 1616 Bylot and Baffin discovered Baffin Bay, and in 1631 Foxe made
new discoveries in Fox Channel. Denmark also entered the field of
northwestern discovery and in 1619-1620 Jens Munck explored Hudson Bay,
wintering at Churchill Harbor.
Radisson, Groseilliers, and Gillam.--The primary purpose of the
foregoing voyages had been to find a passage to the Far East. They were
followed, after an interval, by trading enterprises. The operations of
the French fur traders. Radisson and Groseilliers, have been mentioned
previously. Having been imprisoned and fined for illicit trading, they
left Canada, went to New England, and got up an expedition to Hudson Bay
to gather furs. Sailing in 1664 with Captain Zachariah Gillam, they
reached Hudson Strait but not the bay. After another failure in 1665,
they met Sir George Carteret whom they interested in their project.
Going to England, through Carteret's influence they organized a company
among whose stockholders were the Duke of York, Prince Rupert, Carteret,
the Duke of Albemarle, and the Earls of Craven, Arlington, and
Shaftesbury, several of whom were already influential in colonial
enterprises. In 1668 the company again sent Gillam to Hudson Bay, where
he built Charles Fort on Rupert's River, and traded profitably in furs.
The part played by Radisson and Groseilliers in this enterprise became a
basis for French claims to the Hudson Bay region.
[Illustration: Hudson's Bay Company Posts.]
Hudson's Bay Company.--The return of Gillam to London in 1669 was
followed by the formation of a new Company. On May 2, 1670, Charles II
issued a royal charter to "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of
England trading into Hudson's Bay." The Company was made absolute
proprietor with a complete monopoly of all trade of the Hudson Bay
basin. The government was centered in a governor, deputy-governor, and
committee of seven, who were empowered to make laws and were given
judicial and military authority. They lost no time in establishing
posts, and by 1685 there were trading houses at Albany River, Hayes
Island, Rupert's River, Port Nelson, Moose River, and New Severn.
Trading methods.--Ships were fitted out annually in London with
merchandise, and brought back rich cargoes of furs. In contrast with the
French traders and with the English of the Atlantic seaboard colonies,
the Hudson's Bay Company did not penetrate the interior, but depended
upon the natives to bring their peltry to the posts on the Bay. In the
spring, therefore, after the break-up of the ice, Crees, Chipewyans, and
Eskimos came down the rivers in fleets of canoes laden with furs, traded
them for merchandise, and returned for another season's hunt. In London
the furs were sold at auction at the Company's headquarters, where the
annual fair took on the nature of a social function. Gradually the
markets widened, agents being sent to establish trade with Holland,
Russia, and other parts of Northern Europe. Profits were large, the
dividend in 1690 being seventy-five per cent. of the original stock.
French Rivalry.--The success of the English aroused the jealousy of the
French traders in the St. Lawrence Valley, and there ensued a rivalry
which constituted one of the important episodes of the intercolonial
wars which now occurred. In the contest Radisson, who had aided in the
formation of the Company, played fast and loose between the English and
the French. Before the end of the century French rivalry in the
interior, beyond Lake Superior, did much to shake the "H.B.C." from its
exclusive, seaboard policy. By 1691 Henry Kelsey, an employe of the
Company, had made an expedition to the Winnipeg district.
READINGS
NEW YORK
Andrews, C.M., _Colonial Self-Government_, 74-100, 273-287; Andrews,
C.M., ed., _Narratives of the Insurrections_, 315-401; Brodhead, J.R.,
_History of New York_, II; Channing, Edward, _History of the United
States_, II, 31-60, 203-209; Doyle, J.A., _The Middle Colonies_, 78-223;
Fiske, John, _Dutch and Quaker Colonies_, II, 1-98, 168-208; New York
Historical Society, _Collections_, 1st Series, I, 307-428; Osgood, H.L.,
_The English Colonies in the Seventeenth Century_, II, 119-168; Winsor,
Justin, _Narrative and Critical History_, III, 385-411.
THE JERSEYS AND PENNSYLVANIA
Andrews, C.M., _Colonial Self-Government_, 101-128, 162-201; Channing,
Edward, _History of the United States_, II, 31-62, 94-130; Clarkson,
Thomas, _Memoirs of Pennsylvania_; Doyle, J.A., _The Middle Colonies_,
287-350, 379-410; Fiske, John, _Dutch and Quaker Colonies_, II, 115-194;
Fisher, Sidney, _The Quaker Colonies_; Hodgkin, Thomas, _George Fox_;
Holder, C.F., _The Quakers in Great Britain and America_, 169-217;
Janney, S.M., _Life of Penn_; Jones, R.M., _The Quakers in the American
Colonies_, 357-371, 417-436; MacDonald, William, _Select Charters_,
139-149, 171-204; Osgood, H.L., _The English Colonies in the Seventeenth
Century_, II, 169-197, 252-276; Sharpless, Isaac, _A Quaker Experiment
in Government; Two Centuries of Pennsylvania History_, 17-77; Smith,
Samuel, _The History of the Colony of Nova-Caesaria or New Jersey_,
35-207; Tanner, E.P., _The Province of New Jersey_, 1-147; Whitehead,
W.A., _East Jersey under the Proprietary Governments_.
THE CAROLINAS
Andrews, C.M., _Colonial Self-Government_, 129-161; Andrews, C.M., ed.,
_Narratives of the Insurrections_, 143-164; Ashe, S.A., _North
Carolina_, I; Channing, Edward, _History of the United States_, II,
13-25; Hamilton, P.J., _Colonization of the South_, 133-135; McCrady,
Edward, _The History of South Carolina under the Proprietary
Government_, I, 1-209; Osgood, H.L., _The American Colonies in the
Seventeenth Century_, II, 200-225; Ramsay, David, _South Carolina_.
HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
Burpee, Laurence J., _The Search for the Western Sea_, 64-95; Bryce,
George, _The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company_, 1-55;
Laut, Agnes, _The Conquest of the Great Northwest_, I, 1-255; Laut,
Agnes, _The Adventurers of England on Hudson Bay_; Willson, Beckles,
_The Great Company_, 1-181; Winsor, J., _Narrative and Critical
History_, VIII, 1-34.
WESTERN EXPLORATION
Alvord and Bidgood, _First Explorations of the Trans-Alleghany Region
... 1650-1674_; Crane, V.W., "The Tennessee River as the Road to
Carolina," in _Miss. Valley Hist. Rev._, III, 3-18.