CHAPTER XVI

LIFE  AND AMUSEMENTS  OF THE YOUNG FOLKS

In coming under English rule the Dutch lost
much and gained more. One of the first things
done by the conquerors of New Netherland was to
sweep away the public schools, which, along with
their language and religion, the home-makers from
Patria had brought with them. The idea of gen¬
eral popular education, the very foundation of the
Dutch Republic, was openly scoffed at by the aris¬
tocratic governors and systematically hindered by
them. Thus it came to pass that the girls and boys
in the new province of New York were the first to
be seriously affected by the change of flags, while
a heavier responsibility for the education of the
young was thrown upon the Dutch Church and her
ministers, who were henceforth to maintain schools
conducted in the Dutch vernacular. No doubt at
first the youngsters enjoyed the freedom from
school life.

It is indeed surprising to note how little change
passed over the daily life of the people because
of the " English conquest." Outwardly, names
and forms were altered somewhat, but habits re¬
mained very much as of yore. Happily for the fu¬
ture of the United States, Dutch republican Ideas