"
* * *
On his view
Ocean, and earth, and heaven burst before him,
Clouds slumbering at his feet and the clear blue
Of summer's sky in beauty bending o'er him.
_Fitz-Greene Halleck._
* * *
The "Encyclopaedia Britannica" thus briefly puts the history of those
far-off days when New York was a town of about 1500 inhabitants: "The
English Government was hostile to any other occupation of the New
World than its own. In 1621 James I. claimed sovereignty over New
Netherland by right of 'occupancy.' In 1632 Charles I. reasserted the
English title of 'first discovery, occupation and possession.' In 1654
Cromwell ordered an expedition for its conquest and the New England
Colonies had engaged their support. The treaty with Holland arrested
their operations and recognized the title of the Dutch. In 1664
Charles the Second resolved upon a conquest of New Netherland. The
immediate excuse was the loss to the revenue of the English Colonies
by the smuggling practices of their Dutch neighbors. A patent was
granted to the Duke of York giving to him all the lands and rivers
from the west side of the Connecticut River to the east side of
Delaware Bay.
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