o-day for the site of Greater New York.

New Netherland was governed successively by Peter Minuet, Walter Van
Twiller, William Kieft, and Peter Stuyvesant, who were sent out by the
Dutch West India Company, and whose rule extended from 1626 to 1664. Of
these, Stuyvesant was by far the ablest, and he made a strong impression
on the social and political life of New Netherland. He was severe and
stubborn, however, and many of the Dutchmen found his rule so onerous
that they were rather pleased than otherwise, when the English, in 1664,
claimed the territory by right of discovery and sent out a fleet which
compelled Stuyvesant to surrender the town. The doughty old governor
stamped about New Amsterdam with his wooden leg, calling upon his
countrymen to rally and drive back the rascals, but little or no heed
was paid to his appeals.

Charles II. had granted the territory to his brother the Duke of York,
who soon after ascended the throne, thus making the colony, which
included that of New Jersey, a royal one. The Connecticut people had
settled a large part of Rhode Island, which they claimed, but the duke
was too powerful to be resisted, and Long Island became a part of New
York, as the city and province were named.

In 1673, while at war with England, Holland sent a fleet which
recaptured New York, but it was given back to England, upon the signing
of a treaty in 1674. The manner in which New Netherland was settled by
the Dutch was quite different from that of New England. Wealthy men,
termed "patroons," were granted immense tracts of laud and brought over
settlers, whose situation was much like that of the serfs of Russia.
Traces of the patroon system remained long after the Revolution, and, in
1846, caused the "Anti-Rent War," which resulted in the death of a
number of people.

The province of New York suffered greatly from misrule. The people were
not permitted to elect their own assembly until 1683, and two years
later, when the Duke of York became king, he took away the privilege.
William and Mary, however, restored it in 1691, and it remained to the
Revolution.

As a proof of the bad governorship of New York, it may be said that
there is good reason to believe that one of its rulers was interested
with the pirates who infested the coast, while another, who refused to
sign the death-warrant of two persons who had committed no serious
crime, was made drunk and then persuaded to sign the fatal paper. When
he became