The talk continued until dark, when the candles were lighted. Suddenly, at a signal, all were blown out. When they were re-lighted, the charter, which had been lying on the table in plain sight, was nowhere to be found. Captain Wadsworth had slipped out during the interval of darkness and hidden the paper in the hollow of an oak. Then he returned and took his place among the members, looking the most innocent of all. Andros fumed and raved and informed the assembly that their trick would avail them nothing, since their charter government was at an end. He went back to Boston, to be turned out of office two years later, when the precious charter was brought from its hiding-place.
No effort was spared to preserve the historical "Charter Oak," that had thus been made famous. It was supported and propped in every part that showed signs of weakness, and held up its head until 1856, when a terrific storm brought it to the ground, shattered to fragments, all of which were carefully gathered and preserved by those fortunate enough to obtain them.
The early division of the colonies was long marked by the fact that Hartford and New Haven served as the two capitals of the State until 1873, when Hartford became the sole capital.
SETTLEMENT OF RHODE ISLAND.
It has been stated that when Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts he took refuge among the Narragansett Indians, who occupied the country at the head of Narragansett Bay. Canonicus, the chief, held the good man in high esteem, and presented him with a large tract of land, which the devout Williams named "Providence" in remembrance of the manner in which he believed God had directed him thither. Settlers from Massachusetts followed him, and all were hospitably received and kindly treated. The fullest religious liberty was allowed, and even when Anne Hutchinson visited Williams, he treated her like a sister. Williams obtained a charter in 1644 from the Parliament and it was confirmed in 1654. The new one granted by Charles II. in 1663 united all the colonies into one, under the name Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. This is still the legal name of the State, which retains its two capitals, Providence and Newport, the Legislature meeting alternately in each. The charter of Charles II. suited the people so well that it remained in force until 1842, when Thomas Dorr headed a rebellion, as related hereafter, which resulted in the establishment of a new charter.
The existence of Rhode Island was threatened by the claim of Connecticut to all the land on the west to the shore of Narragansett Bay, while Plymouth insisted that the land on the east to the shore of the same bay belonged to her. Rhode Island stoutly resisted, and succeeded in 1741 and 1752 in fixing her boundaries as they are to-day, which make her the smallest State in the Union.
SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK.
It has been shown that Holland was more anxious to secure trade than territory. Soon after the discovery of the Hudson, by Captain Henry Hudson, the Dutch traders sent vessels to Manhattan Island, now constituting the city of New York, and began bartering with the Indians. In 1621 Holland granted the territory from Delaware Bay to the Connecticut River to the Dutch West India Company. The name given to the territory was New Netherland, while the settlement, which grew in time into the metropolis of America, was called New Amsterdam. The whole island was bought from the Indians for sixty guilders, equal to about twenty-four dollars, a price which is considerably less than would be demanded to-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.