HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
 

CHAPTEE   V.
 

QOVBRNOR  VAN  TWILLER.

Wouter Van Twiller. — Captain De Vries. — Van Twillee. .and the EltoListf
■ Vessel. — Captain De Vries and the Governor.—The First Minister.—The
FiusT Church and Parsonage.—The First Schoolmaster. — Buildings and Im¬
provements. — New Amsterdam. — Beginnings of Hartford. — Troubles with
the English.—Quarrels with the Patroons.—Quarrels with the English.—
Fort Amsterdam. — Excess and Irregularities. — Purchase of Lands. — Gov¬
ernor Van Twiller's Recall.
 

THE Amsterdam Chamber, having at last, as was beUeved, obtained
mastery over the patroons, decided to establish forts and mills in
New Netherland, in order to give wider scope to their mercantile oper¬
ations. Despite his private interests, Van Eensselaer bad great
infiuence among the directors, and succeeded in procuring the
appointment of Wouter Van TwUler, one of his relations by maniage,
to the command of the colony. It was a poUtic measure as far as he was
concerned; aud it was a stupid concession on the part of the company.

Van Twiller had been
clerk in the com-
 

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panys warehouse at
Amsterdam for nearly
five years, and in the
mean time had made
two voyages   to   the
 

Hud
 

. Eii
 

the
 

employ of Van Kens-
Autograph of Van Twiifer.                                 sclacr, who had select¬
ed him as a fit person to attend to the shipment of cattle to Eensselaers¬
wick. Van Twiller claimed to know all about affairs in New^ Netherland.
He was in point of fact a shrewd trader; but he had no practical knowledge
of government, and was iU-qualffied to manage the general concerns of a
remote province, shaken with intemal jealousies and threatened with out-