sts were not permitted to make cotton,
woollen, or linen cloth, for fear of injury to the monopolists of the
Dutch manufactures. The province had no popular freedom, and no public
spirit. The poor were numerous, and the people were disinclined to
make proper provision for their own protection.

[Sidenote: Conquest of New Netherlands.]

But the colony of the New Netherlands was not destined to remain under
the government of the Dutch West India Company. It was conquered by
the English in 1664, and the conquerors promised security to the
customs, the religion, the institutions, and the possessions of the
Dutch; and this promise was observed. In 1673, the colony was
reconquered, but finally, in 1674, was ceded to the English, and the
brother of Charles II. resumed his possession and government of New
York, and delegated his power to Colonel Nichols, who ruled with
wisdom and humanity. But the old Dutch Governor Stuyvesant remained in
the city over which he had so honorably presided, and prolonged the
empire of Dutch manners, if not of Dutch arms. The banks of the Hudson
continued also to be peopled by the countrymen of the original
colonists, who long preserved the language, customs, and religion of
Holland. New York, nevertheless, was a royal province, and the
administration was frequently intrusted to rapacious, unprincipled,
and arbitrary governors.

Thus were the various states which border on the Atlantic Ocean
colonized, in which English laws, institutions, and language were
destined to be perpetuated. In 1688, the various colonies, of which
there were twelve, contained about two hundred thousand inhabitants;
and all of these were Protestants; all cherished the principles of
civil and religious liberty, and sought, by industry, frugality and
patience, to secure independence and prosperity. From that period to
this, no nation has grown more rapidly; no one has ever developed more
surprising energies; no one has ever enjoyed greater social,
political, and religious privileges.

But the shores of North America were not colonized merely by the
English. On the banks of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi another body
of colonists arrived, and introduced customs and institutions equally
foreign to those of the English and Spaniards. The French settlements
in Canada and Louisiana are now to be considered.

[Sidenote: Discovery of the St. Lawrence.]

Within seven years from the discovery of the continent, the fisheries