Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/421

NEW YORK (CITY) 407 come to the English throne, assumed the Dutch occupancy in North America to be a usurpa- tion, and on March 12, 1664, granted the entire territory to his brother the duke of York. A small fleet arrived in August, and the city sur- rendered without resistance, Col. Richard Ni- colls assuming the office of governor. The name (New Amsterdam) was changed to New York, and an English form of government was established, which lasted nine years. In July, 1673, the Dutch recaptured the city, named it New Orange, made Anthony Colve gov- ernor, and drove out the English. Their tri- umph was short, for by the peace between England and the states general the city was restored to the British crown, and once more called New York, and the Dutch power was finally ended, Nov. 10, 1674. For the remain- der of the 17th century the progress of the city was rapid. The only untoward event of the period was the unsuccessful rebellion of Jacob Leisler in 1689. (See LEISLER.) The first Trinity church was built in 1696. In 1702 a malignant epidemic prevailed. The "New York Gazette," the fifth newspaper in the col- onies, was begun in 1725, and Zenger's "New York Weekly Journal " in 1733. In 1735 oc- curred the first great libel suit in the city, re- garded as an attack upon the freedom of the press. It grew out of the claim of Gov. Cosby to half the salary of his acting predecessor. The people took up the quarrel, the " Gazette " supporting Cosby and the " Journal " violent- ly opposing Mm. Zenger was imprisoned for libel, and Cosby's party strained every nerve to convict him, but the jury acquitted him. The year 1741 was remarkable for the sup- posed discovery of a plot on the part of the negroes (slavery having been introduced at an early period) to burn the city and murder the whites, which derived some support from the burning of a part of the public buildings in that year and the breaking out of fires in other places about the same time. Mainly upon the testimony of a single servant girl more than 150 negroes and about 20 whites were imprisoned. About 20 of the negroes were hanged, a smaller number burned at the stake, and more than 75 transported. In 1765 a congress of delegates from nine colonies met in the city, and adopted a bill of rights, in which they asserted that the sole power of taxation resided in the colo- nies. In the same year the " Sons'of Liberty " were organized to oppose the stamp act. In 1770 a meeting of 3,000 citizens was held, who resolved not to submit to oppression, and a slight collision with the troops occurred. In 1773 the vigilance committee agreed to resist the landing of tea, and in 1774 a ship thus laden was sent back to England, and 18 chests found in another vessel were thrown overboard. On April 3, 1775, the colonial assembly finally ad- journed ; on July 25 delegates were elected to the continental congress ; and on Aug. 23 con- gress ordered Capt. Lamb to remove the can- non from the city forts to the Highlands. Re- sistance was offered from the Asia man-of-war, but 21 pieces, all that were mounted, were se- cured. On Sept. 15, 1776, by the result of the battle, of Long Island, the city fell into the hands of the British, and so remained until the close of the war. On Sept. 21, 1776, an extensive fire occurred, all the west side of Broadway from Whitehall to Barclay street being laid in ashes. On Aug. 7, 1778, a fire destroyed 300 build- ings around Cruger's wharf, on the East river. The winter of 1780 was very cold ; ice covered the bay, and heavy teams and artillery crossed to Staten island. On Nov. 25, 1783, the Brit- ish finally evacuated the city, and Gen. Wash- ington marched in ; the day is still annually celebrated under the name of evacuation day. During the war tbe British had nearly de- stroyed all the churches except the Episcopal, making prisons, riding schools, and stables of them ; the college and schools had been closed. The city was the seat of the colonial govern- ment until the revolution. From 1784 to 1797 it was the state capital, though two sessions of the legislature were held at Poughkeepsie and three at Albany during the period. From 1785 to 1790 it was the seat of government of the United States. The adoption of the federal constitution was grandly celebrated in 1788 ; and the inauguration of President Washington took place at the city hall, April 30, 1789. In 1788 a serious riot occurred at the hospital, in consequence of the careless exposure of dis- sected bodies. The doctors were mobbed, and their houses invaded ; some of them fled from the city, and others took refuge in the jail. In 1791 yellow fever carried off 200 victims. The city, now just reaching the lower corner of the present City Hall park, began to extend along the Boston road (Bowery) and Broad- way. In 1795 732, and in 1798 2,086 persons died from yellow fever, which returned at inter- vals till 1805, but with diminishing virulence. On Sept. 20, 1803, the corner stone of the city hall was laid by Mayor Livingston ; the hall was finished in 1812, when the old one in Wall street was sold. In the winter of 1804, 40 stores in Wall, Front, and Water streets were burned. The free school society, the germ of the present board of education, was incorpo- rated in 1805. The streets were now extending across the Canal street marsh, while the collect or swamp where the city prison now stands was being filled up. The spread of population was stimulated by the yellow fever, which drove a third of the people from their dwellings be- low the park to the woods and fields north of the fresh water. In 1807 Robert Fulton navi- gated the first steamboat from near New York to Albany. A great fire in Chatham street in 1811 consumed nearly 100 houses. The war of 1812 with Great Britain temporarily checked the city's growth. In 1821 the survey and lay- ing out of the island north of Houston street was completed after 10 years' labor. In the winter of this year the bay was frozen over for the first time in 41 years. Yellow fever