of those parts, they threatened to procure a grante, and shutte them out from thence; espetially after they saw them so well furnished with commodities, as to carie the trade from them.' They thought it but needfull to prevente shuch a thing, at least that they might

not be excluded from free trade ther, wher them selves had first begune and discovered the same, a[n]d brought it to so good effecte. This year allso they had letters, and messengers from the Dutchplantation, sent unto them from the Gov[erno]r ther, writen both in Dutch and French.2 The Dutch had traded in these southerne

1 See vol. I. p. 439.

• The first advances to a correspondence came from the Dutch. In his Letter Book Bradford notes: "This year we had letters sent us from the Dutch plantation, of whom we had heard much by the natives, but never could hear from them nor meet with them before themselves thus writ to us, and after sought us out; their letters were writ in a very fair hand, the one in French, and the other in Dutch, but were one verbatim, so far as the tongue would bear." Here apparently followed in the Letter Book a transcript of this letter of March 9, 1627 (N. S.), in Low Dutch, and after the transcript Bradford added: "I will not trouble myself to translate this letter, seeing the effect of it will be understood by the answer which now follows in English, though writ to them in Dutch." As Bradford was familiar with Dutch the translation

parts, diverse years before they came; but they begane no plantation hear till 4 or 5 years after their coming, and here begining. Ther letters were as followeth. It being their maner to be full of complementall titles.

EEDELE, EERENFESTE WYSE VOORSINNIGE HEeren, den GovEERneur, ende RAEDEN IN NIEU-PLIEMUEN RESIDERENDE; ONSE SEER GOEDE VRINden.

Den directeur ende Raed van Nieu-Nederlande, wensen vue Ede: eerenfesten, ende wijse voorsinnige geluck salichitt [gelukzaligheid?], In Christi Jesu onsen Heere; met goede voorspoet, ende gesonthijt, naer siele, ende lichaem. Amen.1

The rest I shall render in English, leaving out the repetition of superfluous titles. [150]

We have often before this wished for an opportunitie or an occasion to congratulate you, and your prosperous and praise-worthy undertakeings, and Goverment of your colony ther. And the more, in that we also have made a good begining to pitch the foundation of a collonie hear; and seeing our native countrie lyes not farr from yours, and our forefathers (diverse hundred years agoe) have made and held frendship and alliance with your ancestours, as sufficently appears by the old contractes and entercourses, confirmed under the hands of kings and princes, in the pointe of warr and trafick; as may be seene and, read by all the world in the old chronakles. The which are not only by the king now reigning confirmed, but it hath pleased his majesty, upon mature used in his History was in all probability his own; but it is a matter for regret that the editors of the Letter Book did not reproduce the Dutch version of the letter. Bradford replies in Dutch.

1 "The orthography of some of these words differs from the modern way of spelling them; and we have no means of ascertaining the accuracy of Bradford's copy from the original letter. This passage may be rendered thus: 'noble, worshipful, wise, and prudent Lords, the Governor and Councillors residing in New Plymouth, our very dear friends: - The Director and Council of New Netherland wish to your Lordships, worshipful, wise and prudent, happiness in Christ Jesus our Lord, with prosperity and health, in soul and body.'" DEANE.

PLACCAET Hyde Hooghmo:Heeren

Staten Generael der Werecnighde Nederlanden/ ghemaeckt op 'tbelluyt vande WeftIndiflche Compaignie.

IN 'SGRAVEN-HAGHE, By Hillebrant IacobiTz, Ordinaris ende Ghefwooren Drucker vande Ho: Mo: Heeren Staten Generael. Anno 1621. Met Previlegie.

deliberation, to make a new covenante, (and to take up armes,) with the States Generall of our dear native country, against our commone enemie the Spaniards, who seeke nothing else but to usurpe and overcome other Christian kings and princes lands, that so he might obtaine and possess his pretended monarchie over all Christendom; and so to rule and command, after his owne pleasure, over the consciences of so many hundred thousand sowles, which God forbid.1

1 While the Dutch had traded for furs on the Mauritius or Hudson's River, and had explored the country near Manhattan, no permanent settlement was made until 1614, when they constructed the small fort on Castle Island near Albany, called Fort Nassau, to protect their fur traders. The burning of Adriaen Block's ship, the Tiger, at Manhattan, led to his stay on that island, where he passed the winter of 1613-14 in building a "jagt,” the Onrust. A few huts at the southern end of the island gave them shelter, and the Indians supplied them with food and other necessaries. De Laet, Book III, ch. x. In this boat of about sixteen tons burden, Block and his companions explored the coast of Connecticut, penetrating far into the interior by the Fresh or Connecticut River, the bay of Narragansett, Cape Cod and the coast of Cape Cod Bay as far as latitude forty-three, ending in Pye Bay, now Nahant Bay. Returning to the Cape Block entered another ship, and leaving the Onrust on the coast for further exploration, returned to Holland to make a report of his discoveries. The "figurative map" reproduced in these volumes is based upon his accounts, and constituted the foundation of the exclusive rights, granted for four voyages to a company of merchants by the States-General, to visit and navigate the lands lying in America between New France and Virginia, or between the fortieth and the forty-fifth degrees of latitude, known as New Netherland. Dermer in 1620 found the Dutch actively trading at Manhattan, and warned them away as interlopers and trespassers. The Dutch could not recognize the claim of absolute dominion made by the English, and with the formation in 1621 of the Dutch West India Company, intended to be a trade monopoly for a period of twenty-four years, and invested with very great powers of trade, colonization and government, the real importance of the settlements on the Hudson River began. In the issue of the charter to the Council for New England (1620) and the subsequent inquiry into its monopolistic features by Parliament, this settlement of New Netherland of the Dutch was entirely ignored. Gorges and his associates had received Dermer's intelligence, and probably were acquainted with the formation of the West India Company; for, six months after the issue of that charter, and in December, 1621, protest was made through Sir Dudley Carleton, then the British representative at the Hague, against further adventures of the Dutch in New England, either in way of trade or colonization. Carleton could not learn of any actual or intended colony in New Netherland, though ships passed there in trade, and with that the matter ceased to be of diplomatic importance. For two years nothing was done

And also seeing it hath some time since been reported unto us, by some of our people, that by occasion came so farr northward with their shalop, and met with

sundry of the Indeans, who tould

them that they were within halfe a days journey of your plantation, and offered ther service to cary letters unto you; therfore we could not forbear to salute you with these few lines, with presentation of our good will and ser

E

yland Kanatus

NEW AMSTERDAM

vise unto you, in all frendly kindnes and neighbourhood. And if it so under the charter towards colonization, but in the spring of 1623 the first permanent agricultural settlers took formal possession of Manhattan, established a station on the South or Delaware River, and constructed Fort Orange on the site of Albany. The fur interests increased in value, but the English were too much engrossed in other directions to give much attention to the New Netherland activities, and in September, 1625, the English and Dutch were more closely allied by the treaty of Southampton, which brought them into a combined effort to prey upon the commerce of Spain, and, to further that end, threw open their ports reciprocally to the war and merchant vessels of both parties to that treaty. Another step towards strengthening the Dutch title was the purchase from the Indians, in 1626, of the island of Manhattan by Peter Minuit, director, representing the West India Company. Trade had been prosecuted on the Fresh or Connecticut River, and while a factor may have been settled on its banks, a regular fort was not completed until 1633.

Some idea of the profits gained from the trade with the Indians is given by Higginson, in his New England's Plantation, *B2: "It is almost incredible what great gaine some of our English Planters haue had by our Indian Corne. Credible persons have assured me, and the partie himselfe auouched the truth of it to me, that of the setting of 13 Gallons of Corne he hath had encrease of it 52 Hogsheads, euerie Hogshead holding seuen Bushels of London measure, and euerie Bushell was by him sold and trusted to the Indians for so much Beauer as was worth 18 shillings; and so of this 13 Gallons of Corne which was worth 6 shillings 8 pence, he made about 327 pounds of it the yeere following, as by reckoning will appeare."