Chapter III
AUGUSTINE HERRMAN AS ONE OF THE “NINE MEN” AND HIS QUARREL WITH PETER STUYVESANT
When Peter Stuyvesant first set foot in New Amsterdam he described the village as being in “low condition”.[1] In fact the town may have been in low condition in more ways than one, but the new governor had reference to only the military aspect. His contempt for the community he thought was justified, when he found only three hundred men in the whole of New Netherland capable of bearing arms.
But if Stuyvesant had reason to find fault with New Amsterdam, the village burgers were no less cautious of their laudatory remarks about him. Yet in all justice for Stuyvesant, for that matter any Director General might have appeared unpleasant to these colonial Dutchmen, regardless of how charming his personality was and how gracious he might have been in extending a glad hand upon his arrival. Kieft and his predecessors were unpopular and Stuyvesant was certainly anything but a gracious and charming individual, neither in personal approach nor in address; and in this instance neither the dignity of his office nor the furious outbursts of his temper could quite compensate for the lack of graciousness in the new Director General or cause emotions of much pleasantness in the hearts of his people. Moreover, Governor Kieft had left affairs in such a chaotic state and it was common knowledge that the States-General had sent Peter Stuyvesant to adjust
- ↑ Brodhead, J. R. Hist. of New York, Vol. I. p. 465.
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