PETER MINUIT, FIRST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS
Peter Minuit was a large man, of middle age, whose hair was turning
gray, whose eyes were black and dull, and whose manners were quite
coarse.
The West India Company gave to this Governor absolute power over all the
Dutch lands in America. His power was equal to that of a king; much more
than some kings have had. To be sure, in matters of extreme importance
he was supposed to refer to the Company in Holland. But Holland was far
away, farther away than it is in these days of fast steamers and the
telegraph, and the Company had too many other matters to look after to
give much thought to New Netherland.
One of the first acts of Governor Minuit was to buy the Island of
Manhattan from the Indians, giving them in exchange some beads, some
brass ornaments, some bits of glass and some strips of colored cloth;
all of which seemed a rich treasure to the Indians, but were in reality
worth just twenty-four dollars.
As soon as Minuit had bought the island, he organized a government. In
authority next to the Governor was the koopman, who was secretary of the
province, and bookkeeper at the Company's warehouse, and who worked very
hard. Then came the schout-fiscal, who worked still harder, being half
sheriff, half attorney-general, and all customs officer. There was also
a council of five men who looked wise but had very little to say and did
not dare to disagree with the Governor.
Although in buying their land Governor Minuit had made the Indians his
friends, he took care to be prepared in case they should change their
minds and become warlike. He had Kryn Frederick, the Company's engineer,
build a solid fort on the spot where the fur-traders' stockade had
stood. This he called Fort Amsterdam. It was surrounded by cedar
palisades, and was large enough to shelter all the people of the little
colony in case of danger. Inside this fort there was a house for the
Governor, and outside the walls was a warehouse for furs, and a mill
which was run by horse-power, with a large room on the second floor to
be used as a church.
[Illustration: The Building of the Palisades.]
When Minuit had become fairly settled in his new colony, he divided the
lower part of the island into farms, which in those days were called
"bouweries." A road which led through these farms was named Bouwerie
Lane, and the same road is to-day known as The Bowery.
Minuit had been Governor four years, and there were 200 persons on the
island, when the Dutch West India Company, deciding that the colony was
not increasing fast enough, made a plan for giving large tracts of land
to any man who would go from Holland and take with him fifty persons to
make their homes in New Netherland. The grants of land, which were
really large farms, stretched away in all directions over the territory
of New Netherland. But no grant was made on the Island of Manhattan, as
the Company reserved that for itself. Each of these farms was called a
manor. The man who brought colonists from Holland was called a patroon.
He was the Lord of the Manor.
He had supreme authority over his colonists, who cleared the land of
the trees, planted seeds, gathered the ripened grain, and raised cattle
which they gave to the Lord of the Manor as rent.
The little town of New Amsterdam was to continue as the seat of
government, and the Lords of the Manors were to act under the direction
of the Governor. The farms established by these patroons were to belong
to them and to their families after them.
The one thing that the patroons were not permitted to do was to collect
the furs of animals, for these were very valuable and the Company
claimed them all.
Before many years had passed there was much trouble with these patroons,
who did a great deal to make themselves rich, and very little for New
Netherland. They traded in furs, notwithstanding they were forbidden to
do so, and did all manner of things they should not have done.
Governor Minuit was himself accused of aiding the patroons to make money
at the expense of the West India Company, and of taking his share of
the profit; and finally, the Company ordered him to return to Holland.
The ship in which he sailed was wrecked on the coast of England, and
Minuit was detained and accused of unlawfully trading in the territory
of the King of England. This was not the first time that the English had
laid claim to the Dutch lands in America. Charles I. was king then, and
he said that England owned New Netherland because an English king, more
than a hundred years before Hudson's time, had sent John Cabot and his
son Sebastian in search of new lands, and they had touched the American
shore.
But the Dutch called attention to the fact that it had been held, time
out of mind, that to own a country one must not only discover it, but
must visit it continually, and even buy it from any persons who should
be settled there. Even if the Cabots had discovered the land in America,
the Dutch had occupied it ever since Hudson's time and had paid the
Indians for it.
Matters were patched up for the time, and Minuit was permitted to
return to Holland. But he was no longer Governor of New Netherland,
for his place had been given to another man whose name was Walter
Van Twiller.
[Illustration: Old House in New York, Built 1668.]