Activities

1. Analyzing a Document

CHARTER OF FREEDOMS AND EXEMPTIONS TO PATROONS

III. All such shall be acknowledged Patroons of New Netherland who shall, within the space of four years next after they have given notice to any of the Chambers of the Company here, or to the Commander or Council there, undertake to plant a Colonie there of fifty souls, upwards of fifteen years old; one- fourth part within one year, and within three years after the sending of the first, making together four years, the remainder, to the full number of fifty persons; but it is to be observed that the Company reserve the Island of the Manhattes to themselves.

IV. They shall from the time they make known the situation of the places where they propose to settle Colonies, have the preference to all others of the absolute property of such lands as they have there chosen: but in case the situation should not afterwards please them, or they should have been mistaken as to the quality of the land, they may, after remonstrating concerning the same to the Commander and Council there, be at liberty to choose another place.

V. The Patroons, by virtue of their power, shall and may be permitted, at such places as they shall settle their Colonies, to extend their limits four leagues along the shore, that is, on one side of a navigable river, or two leagues on each side of a river, and so far into the country as the situation of the occupiers will permit; provided and conditioned that the Company keep to themselves the lands lying and remaining between the limits of Colonies, to dispose thereof, when, and at such time as they shall think proper, in such manner that no person shall be allowed to come within seven or eight leagues of them without their consent, unless the situation of the land thereabout be such that the Commander and Council, for good reasons, should order otherwise....

VI. They shall forever possess and enjoy all the lands lying within the aforesaid limits, together with the fruits, rights, minerals, rivers and fountains thereof; as also the chief command and lower jurisdictions, fishing, fowling and grinding, to the exclusion of all others, to be holden from the Company as a perpetual inheritance, without it ever devolving again to the Company, and in case it should devolve, to be redeemed and repossessed with twenty guilders per Colonie, to be paid to this Company, at the Chamber here or to their Commander there, within a year and six weeks after the same occurs, each at the Chamber where he originally sailed from; and further, no person or persons whatsoever shall be privileged to fish and hunt but the Patroons and such as they shall permit. And in case any one should in time prosper so much as to found one or more cities, he shall have power and authority to establish officers and magistrates there, and to make use of the title of his Colonie, according to his pleasure and to the quality of the persons

XV. It shall be also free for the aforesaid Patroons to traffic and trade along the coast of New Netherland and places circumjacent, with such goods as are consumed there, and receive in return for them all sorts of merchandise that may be had there, except beavers, otters, minks and all sorts of peltry, which trade the Company reserve to themselves. But the same shall be permitted at such places where the Company have no factories, conditioned that such traders shall be obliged to bring all the peltry they can procure to the Island of Manhattes, in case it may be, at any rate, practicable, and there deliver to the Director, to be by him shipped hither with the ships and goods; or, if they should come here without going there, then to give notice thereof to the Company, that a proper account thereof may be taken, in order that they may pay to the Company one guilder for each merchantable beaver and otter skin; the property, risk and all other charges remaining on account of the Patroons or owners.

XVIII. The Company promises the colonists of the Patroons that they shall be free from customs, taxes, excise, imposts or any other contributions for the space often years; and after the expiration of the said ten years, at the highest, such customs as the goods pay here for the present....

XXIX. The Colonists shall not be permitted to make any woolen, linen or cotton cloth, nor weave any other stuffs there, on pain of being banished, and as perjurers, to be arbitrarily punished.

XXX. The Company will use their endeavors to supply the colonists with as may Blacks as they conveniently can, on the conditions hereafter to be made, in such manner, however, that they shall not be bound to do it for a longer time than they shall think proper.

After you have read this document, please answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think the charter required the patroon to bring not fewer than 50 people to the New World?
2. What do you think some of the obstacles were in encouraging people to come here?
3. What evidence is there in the charter that not much was known of the quality of land in various parts of the Hudson River valley?
4. What control was the patroon to have over all future cities?
5. What restrictions were placed upon trade and upon manufacturing in the areas granted to the patroons?
6. Clause XVIII grants the patroons specific benefits. Do we grant any benefits to any groups to encourage them to perform certain acts?
7. What does the charter show concerning the 17th century attitude toward Black slavery?

2. Researching the Colonial Land System

After the class has researched the above terms and compared notes with each other, have them answer the following questions: How and where would each of the following have been likely to come into possession of land in the New World?

1. A man with sufficient wealth and influence to become a proprietor.
2. The proprietor's friend with a wife and two children, but little money.
3. An indentured servant with his term of indenture completed.
4. A member of a church congregation settling a new area.

3. Expressing an Opinion

An insight into the cause of the distressing poverty and man's inhumanity to man in Europe clearly shows that poverty emanated from feudal landlordism, and this being stabilized as it was, relief was possible only through emigration. America offered the only escape. I believe it will be recognized that during more than two centuries the compelling cause of the mass movement of people seeking homes in the savage-infested wilderness of America was the desire for material betterment of themselves and their children through access to land.

This is the opinion of one author. Do you agree or disagree with him, based upon your study of American and European history?

Now, write a short essay dealing with what you feel is the major reason as to why immigrants came to this country. In writing this essay, break it into two paragraphs, the first dealing with an example of a specific group and why they came here. In the second paragraph, state your opinion and ideas as to why this motive influenced many groups.