網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版

"Emigrants continued to arrive from Sweden, and the dwellings of the enterprising colonists sprung up in all the little favorite spots from Christina creek to the mouth of Schuylkill, and even as far up as Coaquennack, where is now the city of Philadelphia. These little hamlets were occasionally protected by a log fort, or blockhouse. Such a one was built at Manaiung, at the mouth of Schuylkill. At Mocoponaca arose the Swedish village of Upland, which afterwards became the respectable town of Chester." "Kingsessing," says Campanius, "was called the new fort. It was not properly a fort, but substantial log houses, of good, strong, hard hickory, sufficient to secure people from the Indians; but what signifies a fort without God's assistance? In that settlement there dwelt five freemen, who cultivated the land and lived very well."

Many other settlements were made, and the old maps of Campanius and Lindstrohm are crowded with Dutch and Swedish names of places, on both sides of the Delaware. "Towards the close of Gov. Printz's administration, about the year 1651, the Dutch, still determined to maintain their footing on the Delaware, erected Fort Kasimir, on the south side of Minquaas creek, near the mouth, now the site of Newcastle. Against this act of defiance Printz contented himself with timidly protesting. To check further encroachments of the Dutch, Printz erected Fort Elsinberg, further down the river, on the Jersey side, at or near Salem creek. This, it was thought, would compel the Dutch, in passing up, to succumb to the flag of Sweden; but no opportunity offered to test its efficacy. The garrison, at the first occupation, encountered a foe more active than the Dutch, and more bloodthirsty than the Indians. The fort was stormed on all sides; the Swedes were put to flight; and the name of Muschetosburg, which the fort thereafter took, sufficiently indicates the character and success of the conquerors.'

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Printz returned to Sweden in 1652, and was succeeded by John Claudius Rising. Mr. Lindstrohm, the engineer, and several military and civil officers, accompanied Gov. Rising. The dissatisfaction of the Swedes with the building of Fort Kasimir had not abated, and Gov. Rising, finding remonstrance with the Dutch ineffectual, took the fort, in 1654, either by storm or stratagem, repaired and strengthened it, and hoisted upon it the Swedish flag, calling it Trefaldigheet, or Trinity fort. Sven Schute, a valiant Swede, was appointed to the command of the garrison. It was easy to take the fort; not so easy to appease the wrath of the redoubtable governor of New Amsterdam. Gov. Peter Stuyvesant, in the next year, 1655, came up the Delaware, with seven ships, and six or seven hundred men, and took, one after another, all the Swedish forts, laid waste New Gottenburg, and assumed the jurisdiction of the colony. The Swedes, however, obtained honorable terms of capitulation. The principal officers were compelled to return to Europe; but private citizens were encouraged to remain on their lands, and were protected in their rights, on yielding allegiance to the powers of New Amsterdam. Thus, although the governing power was held by the Dutch, the colony itself continued to be Swedish. They looked to Sweden for their ministers of religion and their public teachers: Swedish manners and language prevailed, and were preserved and transmitted for many generations.

Another Swedish ship, the Mercurius, arrived in 1656, with colonists, which the Dutch would gladly have prevented from ascending the river;

but the Indians, firm friends of the Swedes, interfered with their authority, and the ship passed up. Andrew Bengsten, the ancestor of the Banksons of Philadelphia, was a passenger in this ship. The Dutch and Swedes continued, for nine years, to occupy the Delaware in commonthe Dutch being the rulers; the Swedes giving character and prosperity to the colony. In 1664, the English, under Charles II., conquered the whole country of New Netherlands. Sir Robert Carr sailed up the Delaware, and took possession of the fort at Newcastle.

Thus it appears that the Delaware was first settled by the Dutch; Pennsylvania by the Swedes. It is not certain, however, that there were not Dutch settlements on the soil of Pennsylvania, as early as, or earlier than those of the Swedes. The settlements at Esopus, on the Hudson, were commenced as early as 1616; and from this place, probably not many years after its first occupation, there was a great road extended over to the Delaware river, communicating with mines near the Blue Mountain, and with numerous Dutch settlements along the flats of the Delaware.— (See Monroe co.)

Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret had obtained a grant from the Duke of York, of the province of New Jersey. In 1665, Philip Carteret was appointed governor, and the eastern part of that province began to be peopled. In 1676, it was divided into East and West Jersey. Lord Berkeley, in 1675, transferred his half, the western, to John Fenwick, in trust for Edward Byllinge, both "of the people called Quakers;" and in that same year, the Griffith arrived at Salem with emigrants. Byllinge, being embarrassed, transferred his interest to trustees, for the benefit of his creditors. William Penn was one of the trustees, and was thus induced to take an interest in the settlement of New Jersey, and thereby to acquire some knowledge of the country that afterwards bore his name. In the year 1672, the Dutch, being at war with the English, recovered New Netherlands, and held possession for two years, when a return of peace restored the country to the English.

Between 1677 and 1680, the eastern shore of the Delaware, from Burlington to Salem, was extensively settled by Quakers, principally from Yorkshire.

THE COLONY OF WILLIAM PENN.

SIR WILLIAM PENN, the father of the founder of Pennsylvania, had been a distinguished admiral under Charles II.; and at his death left claims, of considerable amount, against the crown, for his services. His son William, by way of liquidating these claims, and with the still nobler motive of securing an asylum where his Quaker brethren might enjoy unmolested the full development of their peculiar tenets, sought from King Charles II. a grant of a tract of land in the new world. His request was granted, and by the king's order, much against Penn's inclination, the new province was to be called Pennsylvania, in honor of the services of his illustrious father. The charter was dated 4th March, 1681, and confirmed

in April, by the royal proclamation. The assent of the Duke of York, then the proprietor of all New Netherlands, and that of Lord Baltimore, whose possessions joined on the south, had been obtained to the provisions of the charter; and Lord North, then Lord Chief-justice, was careful to add several clauses in favor of the king's prerogative, and the parliament's right of taxation. The extent of the province was three degrees of latitude in breadth, by five degrees of longitude in length; the eastern boundary being the Delaware River, the northern "the beginning of the three-and-fortieth degree of northern latitude, and on the south a circle drawn at twelve miles distance from Newcastle, northward and westward unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern latitude, and then by a straight line westward to the limits of longitude above mentioned." This impossible southern line was afterwards the source of much dispute with Lord Baltimore. The proprietor immediately published "certain conditions or concessions" to adventurers; drew up a form of government, and a code of laws, all bearing the stamp of his benevolent mind; and sent forward his kinsman, William Markham, with three ships and a number of planters, to take possession of the country, and prepare for the reception of a larger number of colonists. Many persons, principally Quakers, were induced to emigrate. An association was formed at London and Bristol, the "Free Society of Traders," who purchased lands, with a view both to agricultural settlement and for the establishment of manufactories, and for carrying on the lumber trade and whale fisheries. The title and jurisdiction of the three lower counties (Delaware) was still in the Duke of York. Penn saw the importance of his having the control of this vestibule to his province, and obtained a grant of the counties from the duke, "together with all the royalties and jurisdictions thereunto belonging."

Having thus carefully adjusted his preliminary plans, Penn took an affectionate leave of his family and friends, and sailed for Pennsylvania, in the ship Welcome, on the 30th August, 1682. Near a hundred colonists accompanied him, many of whom died of small-pox, on the passage. At length, after a long passage, the gallant ship anchored at Newcastle; and the eager colonists, of every nation, tongue, and people-English, Dutch, Swedes-hastened to welcome the beloved proprietor. He addressed the magistrates and people, setting forth his designs, and assured them of his intentions to maintain their spiritual and temporal rights, liberty of conscience, and civil freedom. At Upland, (now Chester,) he convened the assembly, and made known his plans and benevolent designs. The assembly tendered their grateful acknowledgments. The Swedes deputed Lacy Cock to acquaint him that "they would love, serve, and obey him, with all they had," declaring "it was the best day they ever saw.' At this assembly, which continued only three days, an Act of Union was passed, annexing the three lower counties to the province. The frame of government, with some alterations, was accepted and confirmed; the laws agreed upon in England, with some alterations, were passed in form; and the Dutch, Swedes, and other foreigners, were received to the privileges of citizenship. Penn had been careful, on sending out his deputy, Markham, to enjoin upon him and his colonists to deal amicably with the Indians; and soon after his own arrival he held the memorable interview with the native chiefs, under the great elm at Shackamaxon, now Ken

sington. No authentic record has been preserved of this treaty; yet there is every reason to believe that its object was not the purchase of lands, but the establishment of a lasting covenant of love and friendship between the aborigines and Penn. "Under the shelter of the forest," says Bancroft, "now leafless by the frosts of autumn, Penn proclaimed to the men of the Algonquin race, from both banks of the Delaware, from the borders of the Schuylkill, and, it may have been, even from the Susquehanna, the same simple message of peace and love which George Fox had professed before Cromwell, and Mary Fisher had borne to the Grand Turk. The English and the Indian should respect the same moral law, should be alike secure in their pursuits and their possessions, and adjust every difference by a peaceful tribunal, composed of an equal number of men from each race." For the purchase of land, treaties were held in the subsequent year, one of which Penn describes as follows:

"Every king hath his council; and that consists of all the old and wise men of his nation; which, perhaps, is two hundred people. Nothing of moment is undertaken, be it war, peace, selling of land, or traffic, without advising with them; and, which is more, with the young men too. It is admirable to consider how powerful the kings are, and yet how they move by the breath of their people. I have had occasion to be in council with them, upon treaties for land, and to adjust the terms of trade. Their order is thus: The king sits in the middle of an half moon, and hath his council, the old and wise, on each hand; behind them, or at a little distance, sit the younger fry, in the same figure. Having consulted and resolved their business, the king ordered one of them to speak to me: he stood up, came to me, and, in the name of his king, sa. luted me; then took me by the hand, and told me, 'he was ordered by his king to speak to me; and that now it was not he, but the king, that spoke; because what he should say was the king's mind.' He first prayed me to excuse them, that they had not complied with me, the last time, he feared there might be some fault in the interpreter, being neither Indian nor English; besides, it was the Indian custom, to deliberate, and take up much time, in council, before they resolve; and that, if the young people, and owners of the land, had been as ready as he, I had not met with so much delay.' Having thus introduced his matter, he fell to the bounds of the land they had agreed to dispose of, and the price; which now is little and dear, that which would have bought twenty miles, not buying now two. During the time that this person spoke, not a man of them was observed to whisper or smile; the old, grave, the young, reverent, in their deportment. They speak little, but fervently, and with elegance. I have never seen more natural sagacity, considering them without the help (I was going to say, the spoil) of tradition; and he will deserve the name of wise, that outwits them in any treaty about a thing they understand. When the purchase was agreed, great promises passed between us, ' of kindness and good neigh. borhood, and that the Indians and English must live in love as long as the sun gave light :' which done, another made a speech to the Indians, in the name of all the Sachamakers, or kings; first, to tell them what was done; next, to charge and command them, 'to love the Christians, and particularly live in peace with me, and the people under my government; that many govern. ors had been in the river, but that no governor had come himself to live and stay here before; and having now such an one, that had treated them well, they should never do him, or his, any wrong.' At every sentence of which they shouted, and said Amen, in their way."

Late in the year 1682, assisted by Thomas Holme, the surveyor, Penn laid out Philadelphia, on land purchased from three Swedes. Soon afterwards many small houses were erected; and in the spring of 1683 Philadelphia was honored for the first time by the session of the council and assembly. An important question came before them, "whether to have the old charter or a new one?" A new one was adopted, which continued in force until after the revolution in England. By this charter the provincial council was to consist of eighteen persons-three from each county-and the assembly of thirty-six, men of most note for virtue, wisdom, and ability; the laws were to be prepared and proposed by the governor and council, and the number of assemblymen to be increased at their pleasure. The proprietor had previously divided the province into

three counties, Bucks, Chester, and Philadelphia; and the "territories" into three, New Castle, Kent, and Sussex.

At the time of Wm. Penn's arrival, the Dutch had already a settlement and "meeting place" at Newcastle, the Swedes at Christeen, at Tinicum, and at Wicaco, (now near the navy-yard in Philadelphia.) The Quakers had three, one at Upland, one at Shackamaxon, and one near the falls of Delaware, opposite Trenton. Within a year after Penn's arrival great numbers of Welsh had arrived, who settled in Philadelphia and Chester counties, giving Welsh names to townships, which they still retain. Many English settled about Chester and the waters of the Brandywine; and Germans from Chresheim settled at Germantown.

Before Penn left the province he made short journeys to New York and New Jersey, and to Maryland, where he visited Lord Baltimore, with the hope of adjusting the differences between them, but without success. To bring this dispute to a close, by an appeal to higher authority, was one great reason for his visiting England.

He had great reason to congratulate himself upon his success and the prosperity of his little colony, the population of which he already estimated at about four thousand.

Having thus established his colony upon the broad principles of Christian charity and constitutional freedom, he left the executive power in the hands of the council, under the presidency of Thomas Lloyd, an eminent Quaker; and having appointed the provincial judges for two years, he embarked, in July, 1684, on his return to England. On board ship he wrote a farewell letter to his colony, replete with his characteristic benevolence.

66

"My love and life is to you and with you, and no water can quench it, nor distance wear it out, or bring it to an end. I have been with you, cared over you, and served you with unfeigned love, and you are beloved of me, and near to me, beyond utterance." ****" And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of this province, named before thou wert born, what love, what care, what service, and what travail has there been to bring thee forth! Oh, that thou mayst be kept from the evil that would overwhelm thee; that, faithful to the God of thy mercies, in the life of righteousness, thou mayst be preserved to the end. My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayst stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blessed of the Lord, and thy people saved by his power."

Penn was absent from his colony fifteen years. It would have been highly desirable if he had never left it. Often during his absence did the state of affairs need the guidance of his powerful mind. The constitution was not yet sufficiently established, and in the infancy of the settlement a powerful hand was necessary to prevent disorders, and to maintain the empire of the laws, particularly of those which enforce the practice of virtue and morality. The different authorities did not support each other as they should have done; there was a constant bickering between the legislature and the executive, and between the members from the "territories" and those of the province; and this infant legislature, representing a population scarcely larger than the smallest of our present counties, often exhibited the same scenes of personal bitterness, of petty intrigue, of legislative stubbornness, and executive caprice, which now disgrace the larger assemblies of Harrisburg and Washington. It appears, too, that the best understanding did not subsist between the predominant Quakers and those of other persuasions, nor even among the Quakers themselves, among whom George Keith fomented a most unhappy quarrel. Nicolas Moore, chief-justice of the colony, had incurred

« 上一頁繼續 »