TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page, Chapter I. Of the Discovery of America, by Christo- pher Columbus, on the 12th of October, 1492. Chapter II. From the Discovery of America by Columbus, to the settlement of Fort Amsterdam, (now New-York,) by the Dutch, in the year, 1629. Chapter III. From the possession of the colony by the Dutch, to its surrender to the British, under the com- mand of Colonel Richard Nichols, in the year 1664. Chapter IV. From the surrender of the province to the English, in 1664, to the aceession of King William and Queen Mary to the throne, in 1688. Chapter V. From the accession of William and Mary, to the arrival of Govenor Burnet, in the year 1720. Chapter VI. From the arrival of Govenor Burnet, till, the Negro Plot, in the year, 1739. Chapter VIII. From the arrival of Sir Charles Har- dy, to the Declaration of Independence, 4th July, 1776. 65 Chapter IX. From the Declaration of Independence, Chapter X. From the evacuation of the City, till the first meeting of Congress, under the New Constitution, Chapter XI. From the organization of the New Con- stitution, to the procession in honour of the completion of the Grand Canal, 4th November, 1825. Chapter XII. A short account of the rise, progress, and completion of the Great Canal, and of the grand Chapter I. Situation, Extent, Boundaries, local ad- Chapter II. Abstract of the Census of the city and county of New-York, taken in the year 1825, by authori- THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF NEW-YORK. PART I. CHAPTER I. Of the Discovery of America, by Christopher Columbus, on the 12th of October, 1492. IT has been asserted, although as I believe, with very little reason, that America was known to the ancients. According to some traditions it had, at a very early period, been visited by the Greenlanders, the Norwegians and the Welsh. Of this, however, we have no evidence in history. But if it were really true, the knowledge, which they had obtained concerning the existence of what is now emphatically called "The New World" was of no benefit either to themselves or others. It was,in fact, like " a candle put under a bushel or in a secret place;" for it gave no light On the whole, it appears more than probable, that the Europeans neither knew, nor had even thought of the existence of the continent which we now inhabit, till the days of CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, of whose life as well as some of the particular circumstances, which induced him to conceive the possibility of this important discovery, I now proceed to give a brief account. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS OR COLON, as he has been sometimes called, was born in the republic of Genoa, in 1447. From a letter, which he addressed, A. D. 1501, to Ferdinand and Isabella, the king and queen of Spain, it appears, that he had then been engaged in a maritime life for nearly fourA DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF NEW-YORK; CONTAINING ITS POPULATION, INSTITUTIONS, COMMERCE, MANUFACTURES, TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH, IN THE YEAR 1629; AND OF THE MOST REMARKABLE EVENTS, WHICH HAVE OC CURRED IN ITS HISTORY, FROM THAT TO THE PRESENT PERIOD. BY JAMES HARDIE, A. M. New-York: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL MARKS, 63 VESEY-STREET. |