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736 personally in Holland; but the order was not con- firmed by the Amsterdam chamber, and Stmvr-.nii refused to obey, sjiying : " I shall do as I please." In September, 1650, a meeting of the commission- ers on boundaries took place in Hartford, whither Stuyvesant travelled in state. The line was ar- ranged much to the dissatis- faction of the Dutch, who declared that " the governor had ceded away enough territory to found ' fifty colonies each fifty miles square." Stuy- vesant _re haughty in his treatment of his opponents, and threaten- ed to dissolve the council. A plan of municipal government was finally arranged in Holland, and the name of the new city New Amsterdam was officially announced on i 1-Vb.. 1653. Stuyvesant made a speech on this occasion, showing that his authority would remain undimin- ished. The governor was now ordered to Holland again ; but the order was soon revoked on the deela- ratioii of war with England. Stnyvesant prepared against an attack by ordering his subjects to make a ditch from the North river to the East river, and to erect breastworks. In 1665 he sailed into the Delaware with a fleet of seven vessels and aboutJOO men and took possession of the colony of New Swe- den, which he called New Amstel. In his absence New Amsterdam was ravaged by Indians, but his return inspired confidence. Although he organized militia and fortified the town, he subdued the hos- tile savages chiefly through kind treatment. In 1653 a convention of two deputies from each village in New Netherlands had demanded reforms, and Stuyvesant commanded this assembly to disperse, saying : " We derive our authority from God and the company, not from a few ignorant subjects." The spirit of resistance nevertheless increased, and the encroachments of other colonies, with a de- pleted treasury, harassed the governor. In 1664 Charles II. ceded to his brother, the Duke of York, a large tract of land, including New Netherlands : and four English war vessels bearing 450 men, commanded by Capt. Richard Nicholls. took pos- session of the harbor. On 30 Aug. Sir George Cartwright bore to the governor a summons to sur- render, promising life, estate, and liberty to all who would submit to the king's authority. Stuy- vesant read the letter before the council, and, fear- ing the concurrence of the people, tore it into pieces. On his appearance, the people who hail as- sembled around the city-hall greeted him with shouts of " The letter ! the letter ! " and. returning to the council-chamber, he gathered up the frag- ments, which he gave to the burgomasters to do with the order as they pleased. He sent a defiant answer to Nicholls, and ordered the troops to pre- pare for an attack, but yielded to a petition of the citizens not to shed innocent blood, and signed a treaty at his Bouwerie house on !i Sept.. 1664. The burgomasters proclaimed Nicholls governor, and the town was called New York. In 1665 Sti _ vesant went to Holland to report, and labored to ure from the king the satisfaction of the sixth article in the treaty with Nicholls. which granted free trade. During his administration commerce had increased greatly, the colony obtaining the privilege of trading w'ith Brazil in 1648, with Africa for slaves in 1652, and with other foreign ports in 1659. Stuyvesant endeavored unsuccessfully to introduce a specie currency and to establish a mint in New Amsterdam. He was a thorough conserva- tive in church as well as state, and intolerant of any approach to religious freedom. He refused to grant a meeting-house to the Lutherans, who were growing numerous, drove their minister from the colony,"and frequently punished religious offenders by fines and imprisonment. On his return from Holland after the surrender, he spent the remain- der of his life, on his farm of sixty-two acres out- side the city, called the Great Bouwerie. beyond which stretched woods and swamps to the little village of Haarlem. The house, a stately speci- men of Dutch architecture, was erected at a cost of 6,400 guilders, and stood near what is now Eighth street. Its gardens and lawn were tilled by about fifty negro slaves. A pear-tree which he brought from Holland in 1647 remained at the corner of Thirteenth street and Third avenue until 1867, bearing fruit almost to the last. The house was destroyed by fire in 1777. He also built an execu- tive mansion of hewn stone called Whitehall, which stood on the street that now bears that name. Gov. Stuyvesant was above medium height, with a fine physique. He dressed with care, and usually wore slashed hose fastened at the knee by a knotted scarf, a velvet jacket with slashed sleeves over a full puffed shirt, and rosettes upon his shoes. His lost leg was replaced by a wooden one with silver bands, which accounts for the tradition that he wore a silver leg. Although abrupt in manner, unconventional, cold, and haughty, full of preju- dice and passion, and sometimes unapproachable, he possessed large sympathies and tender affection. His clear judgment, quick perception, and extent of reading were remarkable. Washington Irving has humorously described him in his " Knicker- bocker's History of New York." The illustrations represent the old Stadt Huys. and the tombstone of In this Vault li e s buried PETRUS STUYVESANT

late Captain General and GovenxorinChief of Amsterdam inNewNetherlandnowcalled New York and tkcDutchWestInda Islands. died mAD167r aged 80 years.

Stuyvesant in the outer wall of St. Mark's church in New York city. His wife. Judith Bayard, b. in Holland; d. in' New York in 1687, Was the sister of Samuel Bayard, of Amsterdam, who married Anna Stuyvesant. She spoke several languages, possessed an excellent voice and a cultivated t.-i-te in music, displayed artistic skill in dress, and ex- tended a wide hospitality. She left a fund to the Dutch church in New York for St. Mark's chapel. Stuyvesant's son. Nicholas William, b. in 164S; d. in 1698, married Maria, the daughter of Will- iam Beekman. and afterward the daughter of Brant Van Slechtenhorst. Of their three children, GERARDUS married his second cousin. Judith Bay-