plant there and called it New-Netherland but Sir Samuel Argal Governour of Virginia routed them after which they got leave of King James to put in there for Fresh-Water in their Passage to Brazile and did not offer to plant till a good while after the English were setled in the Countrey In 1664. His late Majesty King Charles the Second sent over four Commissioners to reduce the Colony into bounds that had been encroached upon by each other who marched with three hundred Red-Coats to Manhadees and took from the Dutch the chief Town then called New-Amsterdam now New-York and Aug. 29. turned out their Governour with a Silver Leg and all the rest but those who acknowledged Subjection to the King of England suffering them to enjoy their Houses and Estates as before Thirteen days after Sir Robert Car took the Fort and Town of Aurania now called Albany and twelve days after that the Fort and Town of Arasapha then Delaware-Castle manned with Dutch and Swedes so that now the English are Masters of three handsom Towns three strong Forts and a Castle without the loss of one man The first Governour of these Parts for the King of England was Colonel Nicols one of the Commissioners It is a Countrey of a rich and fertil Soyl It s Fertility well watered with Rivers as in Mary-Land already spoken of and is found to produce the same Beasts Birds Fish Fruits Commodities Trees c. and in as great plenty and it is reported that one Bushel of European Wheat has yielded an hundred in one year The most considerable Town is that of New-York It s Situation being well seated both for Trade Security and Pleasure in a small Isle called Manahatan regarding the Sea made so by Hudson's River which severeth it from Long-Island which said River is very commodious for Shipping being about two Leagues broad The Town is large containing about five hundred well-built Houses built with Dutch-Brick and the meanest not valued under one hundred Pounds to the landward it is encompassed with a Wall of good thickness and fortified at the entrance of the River so as to command any Ship which passeth that way by a Fort called James-Fort and for Civil Government it hath a Mayor Alderman Sheriff and Justices of the Peace for their Magistrates The Inhabitants are most English and Dutch who have a very considerable Trade with the Indians for the Skins of Elks Deer Bears c. also for those of Beaver Otter Racoon-skins with other rich Furs and are supplied with Venison and Fowl in the Winter and Fish in the Summer by the Indians at an easie price This Province formerly contained all that Land which is seated in the North part of America betwixt England and Mary-Land the length toward the North being not fully known the breadth is about 200 Miles The chief Rivers are Hudson-River Raritan River and Delaware-Bay and the principal Islands are the Manahatan-Island Long-Island and Stater-Island Manahatan-Island so called by the Indians lieth within land betwixt forty one and forty two Degrees of North Latitude and is in length about fourteen Miles and two broad New-York is seated on the west-West-end of this Island having a small Arm of the Sea which divides it from Long-Island on the South Long-Island runs Eastward above a hundred Miles and in some places eight twelve and fourteen Miles broad inhabited from one end to the other having a rich Soil for all English-Grain the Fruits Trees and Herbs very good in May you may see the Woods and Fields so richly bedecked with Roses and variety of other delightful Flowers as equal if not excel many Gardens in England This Country is also possessed with sundry sorts of People Its Inhabitants not much unlike the Indians of Virginia being well-proportioned swarthy black-haired very expert in their Bow and Arrows which are their chief Weapons of War they are very serviceable and courteous to the English being of a ready Wit and very apt to recieve Instruction from them but there are now but few Indians upon the Island being strangely decreased since the English first settled there for not long ago there were six Towns full of them which are now reduced to two Villages the rest being cut off by Wars among themselves or some raging mortal Diseases They live principally by Hunting Fowling and Fishing their Wives tilling the Land and planting the Corn they feed on Fish Fowl and Venison likewise Pol-cats Turtles Racoon and the like they build small moveable Tents which they remove three times a year chiefly quartering where they plant their Corn besides their Hunting and Fishing-Quarters Their principal Recreation are Foot-ball and Cards at which they will play away all they have except a Flap to cover their nakedness they are very great lovers of Strong-drink so that without they have enough to be drunk they care not to drink at all if their company be so great that they have not enough to make them all drunk they usually chuse so many as are proportionable to that quantity and the rest must be spectators if any happen to be drunk before he has taken his share which is ordinarily a quart of Brandy Rum or Strong-waters to shew their Justice they will pour the rest down his Throat in which debauches they often kill one another which the Friends of the dead revenge upon the Murtherer unless he purchase his Life with Money which is made of Periwinkle-shell both black and white strung like Beads They observe several Ceremonies in their Reigious Rites Their Religion and are said to Worship the Devil which usually they perform once or twice a Year unless upon some extraordinary occasion as the making of War or the like when their Corn is ripe which is usually about Michaelmas The day being appointed by their Chief Priest or Pawaw most of them go a Hunting for Venison when they are all assembled if the Priest wants Money he then tells them their God will accept no Offering but Money which the People believing every one gives according to his ability the Priest takes the Money and putting it into some Dishes sets them upon the top of their low flat-roofed Houses and so falls a calling upon their God to come and receive it which with many loud hollows and out-crys striking the ground with sticks and beating themselves is performed by the Priest and seconded by the People After being thus wearied a Devil by his conjuration appears amongst them sometimes in the shape of a Fowl a Beast or a Man which so amazeth the people that they dare not stir the Priest improves the opportunity and stepping out makes sure of the Money and then returns to lay the Spirit who is often gone before he comes back having taken some of the company along with him but if at such times any English come among them it puts a period to their proceedings and they will desire his absence saying Their God will not come till
have formerly been Fields of Indian Maiz or Wheat but the Spaniards when they made themselves Masters of the Isle and had destroyed all the Natives to the number of about sixty thousand Persons converted them to Pasture for the feeding of Horses Cows Hogs and other Cattel which they brought with them for Breed which they did so fast that there are now great Heards of Horses and other Cattel running wild in the Woods These Savanaes are accounted the most barren parts of the Island in regard they have lain so long without Tillage which notwithstanding doth produce such vast quantities of Grass that the Planters are oftentimes constrained to burn it up The Air is there very serene and clear It s Temperature and more temperate than in any other Islands in those parts and in reference to Heat is as mild as in any place that lieth between the Tropicks in regard it is continually fann'd and cool'd by fresh Breezes which continually blow Eastwardly beside which 't is refreshed with frequent Showers of Rain and great Dews which fall in the night and conduce very much to the quickning the growth of what is planted so that it may truly be called temperate and healthful and its continual Verdure commends it as one of the most delightful Places in the World to live in especially the South part of the Isle the East and West parts being somewhat more subject to Rains and Winds and in regard the Mountainous and Woody renders the Air less wholsom and agreeable than it is in the North but especially the Southern which gave the occasion to the English to build Port-Royal there it being thought convenient that the chief Port and Capital City be upon the best Spot they could find out in the Island However no part of this Island is in the least subject to those violent and injurious Storms called Hurricans wherewith the Caribbies and some other places in those parts are sometimes pestered which with a sudden fury drive their Ships from Harbour cast them on shore blow down their Houses tear up their Canes and hurry all into confusion And had not this Island afforded Relief to many of the wracked Inhabitants when they had been thus distressed they must in all probability have perished Nor doth any part of this Island unavoidably necessitate any of its new Inhabitants to any particular Distemper as Virginia and other places do but if those who go thither will upon their Arrival but forbear excess of eating and drinking use moderate exercise and make choice of such places for their settlement as lie not too low in Vallies where there comes but little Air or too near Rivers where they may peradventure be incommoded with too much moisture or at the Foot of Mountains or Morasses where probably you may have more Rain than you 'l desire nor by the Sea side or upon Bays where besides the inconvenience of its Sandiness it will occasion your want of good Water you will be mightily afflicted with the violent Reflections of the Sun's Beams which are much fiercer here than in other parts of the Isle It hath been observed by some who have lived in the Island that the Mountains which run along through the midst of the Isle from one extream point to the other are much cooler than the other parts insomuch that sometimes in the Morning early there are small white Frosts As for the Weather it is less certain in Jamaica than in the rest of the Caribby Islands The Air. but wet Seasons are most expected in May and November The Winds blow constantly from the East without the least variation which they call Briezes They usually rise about Nine in the Morning and blow fresher as the Sun mounts higher so that Travel and Labour are tolerable at Mid-day These Easterly Winds commonly blow till about six or seven in the Afternoon and then they change to the West which the Islanders call Land-Briezes because they blow off the Shoar and carry their Ships and Vessels out of their Harbors There is no apparent Winter only they have somewhat more Rain and Thunder in the Winter-Months than at other times nor doth the length of the Days and Nights vary much but they continue almost all the year round of an equal length viz. about fifteen hours day And that which seems much stranger is the Seas having seldom been observed to ebb or flow above a foot or thereabouts nor hath any Pilot ever yet been able to give a certain account of the Currents of those Seas in regard they are so various and uncertain nor could any ever give a reason why the Hurricans and Earthquakes should never reach Jamaica although they have so grievously afflicted the adjacent Islands The Rivers of this Island are none of them fair or navigable up into the Country It s Road and Harbors in regard the Island is very mountainous and their original is for the most part in those Hills that run through its Center which running East and West the Rivers that rise in them disembogue themselves North and South and falling out of those high Mountains are very fierce and rapid in their motion being likewise in regard of the great Rains subject to great and sudden Inundations at which times they fall with such fury that great Stone-Rocks and large pieces of Timber are born down and carried along by the violence of the Torrent which makes their usual passage so foul and troublesom that they are thereby rendred altogether unpassable by Boats and other small Vessels Besides which there are divers of them which at some times have not one drop of Water in them but are wholly dried up which renders them likewise useless for Navigation as particularly that of Minoa that runs through Clarendon which sometimes hath not a drop of Water and yet at other Seasons hath as much as the River of Thames at high-water But although the Rivers are thus useless yet towards the Sea the Island abounds with great plenty of very good Bays Roads and Harbours the principal whereof are 1. Port-Royal Port-Royal which at it first setling by the English soon after they took the Island from the Spaniards received the Name of Cagway but when the Town began to encrease and draw towards its perfection it obtained in Sir Charles Littleton's time the Name of Port-Royal in regard of the excellency of its Harbour It is situated on the extream end of that long point of Land that makes the Harbour running about twelve Miles from the Main Westerly having the Sea on its South and the Harbour on the North which Harbour is so exceeding safe and commodious for Shipping that they are secure in all Weathers and can unlade themselves afloat at the Merchants-Key being likewise during their Riding there secured from any Attempts that might be made on them by an Enemy by one of the strongest and most considerable Castles that His Majesty hath in all Amemerica which is well
West other Mountains prevented their sight and the exceeding Coldness prevented further Discovery and compelled them to a speedy return The same Gentleman at another time when he went to make what Discovery he could of the Countrey met with another sort of Indians who were Enemies to the Christians yet venturing amongst them and presenting them with some small Trifles of Glass and Metals found them very kind to him and would fain have obliged him to have setled amongst them by proposing a Match between him and their King's or some other Great Man's Daughter whom he should best fancy nor could he wave their Courtesie nor obtain leave to depart without a Promise of returning again within six Months And South-west from them he found a Nation differing in Government from all the other Indians that inhabit those Parts being rather Slaves than Subjects to their King who was a very grave Man and courteous to Strangers yet horrid barbarous in his Superstition that whilst this Gentleman was there he sent three Youths to kill as many young Women of their Enemies as they could meet withal to serve his Son who was then newly dead in the other World They were not long before they returned with Skins torn off the Head and Faces of several young Girls which they laid at the Feet of their King who received them as the most acceptable Presents CHARLES the Second by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. Whereas by Our Letters Patents bearing date the Twenty Fourth Day of March in the Five and Twentieth Year of Our Reign We were graciously pleased to give unto our right Trusty and right Well-beloved Couzen and Counsellor Edward Earl of Clarendon Our High Chancellour of England Our right Trusty right entirely Beloved Couzen Counsellour George Duke of Albemarl Master of Our Horse Our right Trusty and Well-beloved William now Earl of Craven Our right Trusty and Well-beloved Councellour Anthony Lord Chancellour of our Exchequer Our right Trusty and Well-beloved Counsellour Sir George Carteret Knight and Baronet Vice-Chamberlain of Our Houshold Our right Trusty and Well-beloved Sir John Colleton Knight and Barronet and Sir William Berkley Knight all that Territory Province or Tract of Ground called Carolina situate lying and being within our Dominions of America extending from the North end of that Island called Luke-Island which lyeth in the Southern Virginia Seas within six and thirty deg of Northern Latitude and to the West as far as the River of St. Matthias which Bordereth upon the Coast of Florida and within one and thirty deg of Southern Latitude and so West in a direct Line as far as the South Seas aforesaid Now know ye that We at the humble Request of the said Grantees in the aforesaid Letters Patents named and as a farther mark of Our particular Favour towards them We are graciously pleased to enlarge Our said Grant unto them according to the Bounds and Limits hereafter specified and in Favour to the Pious and Noble purpose of the said Edward Earl of Clarendon c. of Our especial Grace certain Knowledge and meer Motion have Given Granted and Confirmed and by this Our present Charter for Us Our Heirs and Successors do Give Grant and Confirm unto the said Edward Earl of Clarendon c. their Heirs and Assigns at that Province Territories or Tract of Land situate lying and being within Our Dominions of America aforesaid extending North and Eastward as far as the North end of Carah-Tuck River or Inlett upon a straight Westerly Line to Wianoacke Creek which lyeth within or about thirty six deg thirty min. of Northern Latitude and so West in a direct Line as far as the South-Seas and South and Westward as far as thirty nine deg inclusive Northern Latitude and so West in a direct Line as far as the South Seas together with all and singular Ports Harbours Bays Rivers and Islets belonging unto the Province and Territory aforesaid and also all the Soil Lands Fields Woods Mountains Fenns Lakes Rivers Bays Islets situated or being within the Bounds or Limits last before mentioned with the Fishing of all sorts of Fish Whales Sturgeons and all the Royal Fishes in the Seas Bays Islets and Rivers within the Premises and the Fish therein taken together the Royalty of the Sea upon the Coast within the Limits aforesaid And moreover all Veins Mines and Quarries as well discovered as not discovered of Gold Silver Gems and Precious Stones and all other whatsoever be it of Stones Marble or any other thing whatsoever found or to be found within the Province Territory Isles and Limits aforesaid And furthermore the Patronage and Advowsons of all the Churches and Chappels which as Christian Religion shall encrease within the Province Territory Isles Islets and Limits aforesaid shall happen hereaf-to be Erected together with Licence and Power to Build and Found Churches and Chappels and Oratories in convenient and fit places within the said Bounds and Limits and to cause them to be dedicated and consecrated according to the Ecclesiastical Laws of our Kingdom of England together with all and singular the like and as ample right Jurisdictions Priviledges Prerogatives Royalties Liberties Immunities and Franchises of what kind soever within the Territories Isles Islets and Limits aforesaid to have Use Exercise and enjoy the same as amply and fully and in as ample manner as any Bishop of Durham in our Kingdom of England ever heretofore had held used or enjoyed or of right ought or could have use or enjoy and them the said Edward Earl of Clarendon c. their Heirs and Assigns we do by these Presents for Us Our Heirs and Successors make create and constitute the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of the said Province or Territory and of all other the Premisses saving always the Faith Allegiance and Sovereign Dominions due to Us Our Heirs and Successors for the same to have hold possess and enjoy the said Province Territories Isles Islets and all and singular of them the Premisses unto them the said Edward Earl of Clarendon c. their Heirs and Assigns for ever to be holden of Us Our Heirs and Successors as of our Manor of Eastgreen within Our County of Kent in free and common Soccage and not in Capite nor by by Knight-Service yielding and paying a parly to Us Our Heirs and Successors for the same a fourth part of all Gold and Silver Oâ—r which within the Limits hereby granted shall from time to time happen to be found over and beside the yearly Rent of twenty Marks and the fourth part of the Gold and Silver Oar in and by the said recited Letter Patents reserved and payable And that the Province or Territory hereby granted and described may be dignified with as large Titles and Priviledges as any other Part of our Dominions and Territories in that Region Know ye that We of our further Grace certain Knowledge and meer