The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-10-30
THE DUTCH IN HARTFORD.

ley, Goffe, and Dixwell the Regicid
Judges.
THE DUTCH IN HARTFORD.
BY Edward Losty Donnghue Of tn
Arsenal school of Hartford.
winning the $40 prize offered by thu
Connecticut Society of Colonial Dame
for the best essay from the Gramma
Schools of the state.)
AT the beginning of the seventeenth
| century Holland was the great com
mercial country Of Europe, and grea
| deal Of trade was carried on with AISLE
| and the Indies; but the voyages t.
! these countries were very long SO Hen
| ny Hudson, an Englishman, in the en-
ploy of the Dutch East India Trading
company, sailed westward to find q
shorter route the attempt was fail
ure, for he landed September, 1909 on
the shores of America, discovered the
Island Of Manhattan and the Hudson
River; he also cruised along the coast
from Delaware Bay to Cape Cod. The
Dutch claimed this section of the
country and in order to be doubly Sc
cure, 1.-THE States General" purchased
the right Of discovery from Hudson,
on his return to Holland
The merchants thought America a
fine place to establish trading post,
so party of traders came over in 1914,
and located where New York City now
stands. Two of tANan, Adrian Block
and Samuel Hendrickson, built small
yacht--the "Onrust" (Restless) and
sailed through Long Island Sound,
giving names to bays, rivers and is
lands, and then up the beautiful Con-
necticut or Long River, some distance
beyond the present City of Hartford.
Maps were made of the surrounding
country which were to be submitted to
the States General on their return to
Holland.
The Connecticut flowed through
tracts Of rich meadow land that grad
ually rose in terraces to the hills be-
yond, while along it's banks and north
ward were countless numbers of wig
vans belonging to the friendly River
Indians, while to the eastward were
the warlilte Pequots The woods along
the Connecticut were full Of birds and
wild fowl, and such animals as mink,
marten, otter, beaver, wildcat, bear
squirrel and fox, all very valuable for
their furs; the Indians in this vicinity
were eager to trade the furs for bright
trinkete.
This was the right section for the
Dutch to erect another trading post,
so, in 1928, when the Island Of Man
haitian was sold by the Indians for
a,,a AL ne
ments, the Dutch traders erected
stockade, enclosing a rudely built log
hut at the junction of the Connecticut
and Little Rivers Trade was very
good and during the first year the
traders purchased 1925 bear skins, 1853
otter 81 mink, rs beaver, So wildcat,
and "a rat-skins
The Dutch, however, were not the
only white people in this section; for
about 300 miles northeast of Manhat-
tan were a party of Englishmen who
had left their native land on account
of religious persecution, and first go
ing to Holland had set sail for Ameri-
ca and landed at Plymouth Rock, De-
cember 20, 1920. This colony obtained
a grant from James I of all unex-
plored land lying between the S4th and
and 45th parallels of latitude. The
English claim was based upon the pre-
vious discovery by the Cabots. in 1897.
The Dutch claim from the 3Sth to 41st
parallels of latitude was then included
in English territory
When the people of Plymouth found
out that the Dutch had located trad
ing post on the Connecticut they pro-
tested against it, but as they had come
to trade and not to settle, the post was
allowed to remain there. The relations
between the two colonies had always
been friendly; but in 1927, Governor
Bradford sent letter to Governor
Of the Dutch colony warning
him not to settle on the Connecticut as
they were too near English land and
they had no right to the territory
In the winter of 1631-32 some Indians
from the River tribes paid a visit to
the Plymouth colony and begged the
governor to make settlement along
the Connecticut they told how the
Dutch intended soon to locate perma-
nently, and of the wonderful trade at
the post, and they agreed to supply the
English with corn and 80 beaver skins
IL year. lie OIL COuIS6, were |
looking out for their own interests. for |
with English settlements on the river |
they thought the attacks of the war
like Pequots would cease. If Governor
had acted at once, probably |
The Dutch would never have gained a |
foothold in the Connecticut valley He |
waited to have Governor Winthl op of |
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