The stage on which Cadwallader Colden developed and augmented the recognition, respect, and notability that he enjoyed during his lifetime, was a relatively recent consequence of the efforts of European and English powers to expand their influence in the Western Hemisphere. At the time that Colden moved from Philadelphia to the Province of New York, where he would serve that colony for the remaining fifty-eight years of his life, New York had been a British possession for fifty-two years, less one brief interruption. New York was but one of a series of British acquisitions and developments, having been preceded by several royal colonies and proprietary grants and to be followed by others.
The English attempt at settlement on the North American continent was initiated in 1578 when Sir Humphrey Gilbert received from Queen Elizabeth I letters of patent to search for land in North America. In 1583, Gilbert set out across the Atlantic Ocean to establish the settlement but his ship sank in a storm. His royal grant was transferred to his half-brother, Walter Raleigh, who in 1584 sent Captain Philip Amadas and the gentleman Arthur Barlowe to search for an appropriate site for a colony in North America. They came upon an island known to the Native Americans as “Roanoke,” and, on their return to England, they issued reports encouraging colonization as a means of dealing with their surplus population.
Sir Walter Raleigh, who had been recently knighted, received the royal allowance to establish a permanent colony in the area. This was to serve as a base for further exploration and as a supply depot for ships to privateer against the Spanish fleet. Raleigh also received permission to name that colony “Virginia” honoring Elizabeth I, the “virgin queen.” With Raleigh's sponsorship, in 1585, Sir Richard Grenville led a flotilla of seven ships and explored the Carolina sounds. He left Ralph Lane at Roanoke with 108 colonists to settle the region. The colony failed as a result of internal dissension and hostility of the local natives. In 1586, the colonists returned to England with Sir Francis Drake, who had completed an expedition of plundering the West Indies. Later that year, Grenville returned to the area and, finding the colony deserted, left a group of fifteen men as a holding force. They all perished and came to be known as the “Lost Colony.” A year later, Raleigh dispatched 110 settlers under the leadership of John White to establish the “Cittie of Raleigh in Virginea,” with specific instructions to locate the shore of Chesapeake Bay. However, they formed the settlement at Roanoke and it was there that Virginia Dare became the first English child to be born in the Western Hemisphere. John White sailed to England for supplies and, on his return to Roanoke in 1690, he noted that nothing was left of the second “Lost Colony.”1
The first successful English settlement on the North American continent took place in the first decade of the seventeenth century after Queen Elizabeth had died and was succeeded by James I. A permanent settlement was established at Jamestown in 1607 and spread from that area with sufficient success to result in a large expanse of regional land to be designated the royal colony of Virginia in 1624.
After the colonization of Plymouth in 1620, the next royal charter, designated as the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was granted in 1629 by Charles I, and settlement of the region broadened. Later, when Charles II was brought to the throne in 1660 during the English Restoration, the governmental policy became more focused on extending the Crown's influence over the colonies. Persistent resistance on the part of the colonists eventually led to the revocation of Massachusetts's charter and the establishment of the Dominion of New England by James II in 1684. After James II was deposed in 1688, the Massachusetts Colony was returned to rule under its original charter. Four years later, in 1692, a new charter was established for the Province of Massachusetts that incorporated the Plymouth Colony, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard.
Continuing the chronologic sequence of English colonization of North America, Maryland can be traced to 1632 when Charles I granted land to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore. The first settlers arrived two years later. In 1681, William and Mary made it a crown colony, but it reverted to its proprietary status in 1721. Connecticut began, in 1636, with the Old Saybrook Colony at the mouth of the river, which took its name from the Native American designation. That same year, the three up-river towns of Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford joined to establish the Connecticut Colony. In 1639, the New Haven Colony was formed. In 1666, the three colonies, Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and New Haven united under the title of Connecticut, but New Haven maintained a separate government until after the American Revolution.
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was chartered as a Provincial entity in 1644. In 1686, it was added to the Dominion of New England. As was the case for Massachusetts, when the Dominion was disassembled, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations received its own royal charter in 1688. Carolina can trace its origin to the royal charter that eight Lords Proprietors received from Charles II in 1663. The encompassed land was given its name, the adjective for Charles, to honor the king. The area was divided into two distinct entities, North Carolina and South Carolina in 1712, but continued to be ruled by the Lords Proprietors until they became royal colonies in 1729.
Shortly after the Dutch surrendered New York to the English in 1664, Charles II assigned a large proprietary to his brother, the Duke of York. A portion of that land, which came to be known as New Jersey, was granted to Lord John Berkeley and George Carteret. There were initially two Jerseys, an East Jersey and a West Jersey. Both were annexed to the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1688. In 1702, the proprietors returned the land to King George II, and it became a royal province under the governance of New York's governor.
New Hampshire was an independent royal province from 1679 to 1698 when it was placed under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts and that colony's governor until 1741. At that time, it returned to its original status as an individual colony with its own magistrate.
In 1681, as repayment for a long standing loan, a large land grant was made to William Penn. It was the genesis of Pennsylvania and included the Three Lower Counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). The Three Lower Counties became the independent colony of Delaware in 1701, but, although there was a separate assembly, it was responsible to the governor of Pennsylvania. Georgia, the last of the original thirteen colonies to be settled, began in 1732 and became a crown colony in 1755.
Bringing into focus Cadwallader Colden's adopted colony of New York and a more expansive consideration of that colony with which he is indentified, there is a coincidental relation between the time of his birth in 1688 and the evolution of the colony. New York was unique among English colonies in the Western Hemisphere in that it had been settled initially by other than Englishmen, namely the Dutch. The final two years of the penultimate decade of the seventeenth century were transitional in the anglicization of the colony.
The English claim to possession of New York is evidenced in a March 1664 charter by which Charles II granted his brother James, Duke of York, proprietary rights to a broad expanse of land. Included were Manhattan, the Hudson River, all of the land from the west side of the Connecticut River to the east side of Delaware Bay, all of Long Island, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and parts of Maine. James, invoking his role as Lord High Admiral of England, immediately ordered a fleet under the command of Richard Nicolls to take possession of the granted lands. On September 8, 1664, the Dutch, led by Peter Stuyvesant, surrendered all the land within their settlement that they had named New Netherlands.
Although their power in the Western Hemisphere was in decline after the mid-point of the seventeenth century, the Dutch made an ultimate attempt to regain some control in 1673. The Dutch fleet laid siege to the defenseless island of Manhattan. On July 30, the English capitulated and the Dutch flag was raised. This was memorialized by a new issue of a classic map, showing a revised view of lower Manhattan. New Netherlands enjoyed a brief restoration that lasted until October 1674 when the region was relinquished to the English without a battle.
In 1667, the western half of Connecticut was returned to the eastern half, and the land along the western shore of the Delaware River was released to Lord Baltimore. Colonel Nicolls was assigned the responsibility for establishing laws and governing over the remaining land. Those laws initially applied only to the residents of Long Island and Westchester and had little influence on the Dutch settlers in Manhattan. Colonel Francis Lovelace succeeded Nicolls in 1668 and served in the capacity of governor for five years. During his tenure, Lovelace granted Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, other small islands, and several manors that had been included in the Duke of York's domain to the duke's favorites.
In 1685, James II succeeded Charles II as king of England and Scotland, and the proprietary of New York became a royal colony. As such, it was deemed inappropriate to grant New Yorkers rights that exceeded those that had been given to settlers within the previously established American colonies. Therefore the New York Assembly, which had been constituted in 1683, was dissolved. Albany was granted a charter as a municipality in 1686 following the format that had been used for the municipality of New York three years previously. In 1688, the year of Colden's birth, in keeping with the other northern colonies, New York (including New Jersey) was incorporated in the Dominion of New England. In 1689, James II was deposed and William and Mary ascended the throne. Two years later, the original New York charter was renewed and persisted until after the American Revolution.
George I became king of Great Britain in 1716 and would rule until 1727. It was during his reign that Cadwallader Colden moved to New York City. The 1723 census for the colony reported approximately 19,000 white adults and 4,000 black adults.2 New York City had about 7,000 white adults, most living south of current Wall Street. Colden, his wife, and son, Alexander, who was born in Philadelphia on August 13, 1716,3 moved to the city of New York in the latter half of 1718.
The earliest date that can be affixed to the Coldens' residence in New York is October 6, 1718, on which day Colden petitioned for a grant of two thousand acres of land in Ulster County. The patent for the specified acreage, the largest parcel permitted for an individual, was issued to him on April 9, 1719.4 Governor Hunter designated Colden Master of the Board of Chancery, a position in the judicial system of the colony of New York that had been established in 1701 and would persist as the court with jurisdiction on cases of equity until 1847. The most enticing aspect of Governor Hunter's recruitment of Colden was the prospect of becoming the surveyor general of New York. In the interim before that appointment could be finalized, Colden was appointed weigh-master of the Port of New York, ranger of Ulster and Orange Counties, in addition to master of the Board of Chancery.
In 1719, Hunter sailed for England on a leave of absence with the anticipation of returning, but the English leadership decided that he should exchange positions with William Burnet, who was comptroller of customs. During the period of Hunter's absence and awaiting the arrival of the newly appointed Governor Burnet, administration of the colony of New York was assumed by Colonel Peter Schuyler, who was the most senior member of the Council. Shortly thereafter, the surveyor general of New York, Augustine Graham, died, and Schuyler, who had been allied with individuals in opposition to Governor Hunter, appointed Captain Allane Jarratt to the position that had been promised to Cadwallader Colden. The unanticipated appointment was rapidly overturned by Colden's friends in court in London, and, in April 1720, Colden was formally designated surveyor general.5 Colden, ultimately, was relieved of his anxiety when he was informed of his status in a letter from London, written on February 18, 1720, prior to a new governor's arrival In New York.6
Cadwallader Colden's personality as a politician became manifest early in regard to his attitude toward those whom he considered to be antagonists. He would often insert the failings of his foes into his political arguments, and neither forgave nor forgot over the course of time. Early in his official status as surveyor general, Colden indicated that the administration of the Land Office while Peter Schuyler directed the government was characterized by cheating and preferential consideration of the claims of political allies. In a letter written to his son, Alexander, in 1760, recalling events forty years past, Colden declared that, in the absence of Governor Hunter, Schuyler retained all of the governor's salary rather than maintain half to be given to the governor on his return. Schuyler was characterized as “a weak man” in Colden's correspondence. The reason for Schuyler's removal from the Council, given by Colden, was “by proof of Col. Schuylers having committed the custody of the Kings seal to Mr. Philipse & of Mr. Philpse's having received it into his custody. This was highly criminal….”7
Colden would spend a pleasing first decade of service to the colony under the leadership of Governor Burnet, who was designated governor of New York and New Jersey and would move on to become governor of Massachusetts in 1728. Governor William Burnet arrived in New York in September 1720. He was the son of the Bishop of Salisbury and the godson of William, Prince of Orange, later William III of England. In the determination and execution of policy, Burnet relied mainly on Chief Justice Lewis Morris, Cadwallader Colden, and James Alexander. Colden enjoyed the status of a favorite son. In 1721, Colonel Peter Schuyler and his confidant Adolph Philipse, members of the opposition, were removed from the Board of Council and replaced by Colden and Alexander.8
The Council consisted of twelve members who were appointed by the governor and served in an advisory fashion at his will. Next to the governor its members enjoyed the highest social prestige. The office of the president of the Council was usually reserved for the eldest member, although exceptions occurred during Colden's tenure of over five decades.
During Burnet's tenure as governor of New York, Colden's first decade in the colony concentrated on his activities as surveyor general, on Indian affairs, and on his role in the upper echelon of Burnet's administration. He divorced himself from the practice of medicine, but maintained a lifelong interest in the field. In 1720, he authored “An Account of the Diseases and Climate of New York.”9 Colden's continued interest in medicine is evidenced by several subsequent publications and his continuous correspondence with medical colleagues. Shortly after his move to New York, Colden summarized his concern regarding the practice of colonial medicine to Governor Hunter: “I doubt if these Incumbrances which hinder the Improvement of Medicine can be remov'd without the Assistance of our Rulers and Governors who dispense Rewards and Punishments and this has encouraged me to this Subject to write your Excellency on it.”10 Colden went on to explain the low repute of medicine: “The Hopes of sordid Gain has made Men ignorant of all the Sciences of Obscure and of no education intrude themselves…. By whose means the Art is become in many places Contemptible and curious learned men have been deterr'd from inquiring into this Science looking upon it as a Jungle of Hard Words without certain Foundation.”11
Medicine was a common ground for many of the intellectual colonists with whom Colden related and established long-term correspondences. William Douglass, John Mitchell, and Alexander Garden shared their thoughts with Colden about medical subjects and, like Colden, maintained a profound interest in botany, physics, and philosophical thinking.
WILLIAM DOUGLASS
William Douglass, the first physician to be included in Colden's extensive correspondence, was known to Colden for the longest period of time. Douglass was about three years younger than Colden and was born in Gifford, Scotland, less than twenty miles from Colden's home. He studied at Edinburgh at the same time as Colden but received his MD from Utrecht in 1712. Douglass first arrived in Boston in 1716, and, after an interlude of two years in the West Indies, he returned to Boston, where he would spend the remainder of his life as the only physician in that city with a medical degree. The first letter from Douglass to Colden that appears in the Colden Papers is dated February 20, 1720/21a. After offering a profile of the practice of medicine in Boston in response to a letter from Colden, Douglass focused on an extensive history of the winds and weather in Boston for the previous year. Douglass mentioned his collection of over seven hundred plants within five miles of Boston—evidence of a broad interest in botany on the part of the colonial American intelligentsia.12
Subsequent letters from Douglass to Colden during that decade describe a smallpox epidemic in Boston in 1721,13 astronomical issues,14 their common interest in making a correct map of North America,15 the description of an earthquake that took place in New England in 1727,16 the political situation in Massachusetts,17 and Douglass's condemnation of the use of paper money.18 Douglass, like Colden, initially opposed Cotton Mather's enthusiasm for inoculation, but he later recanted and administered inoculations himself.19 Contained within Colden's letters to Douglass during that decade, in an undated letter probably written in 1728, Colden presented his proposal for the establishment of the first learned society in America.
I wish that a certain number of Men would enter into a Voluntary Society for the advancing of Knowledge & that for this purpose such in ye Neighbouring provinces as are most likely to be willing to promote this design be invited to enter it That the Society be confin'd to a certain Number in each Province And because the greatest number of proper persons are likely to be found in your Colony that the Members residing in or near Boston have the chief Direction That every member oblige himself to furnish a paper at least once in every six months on such subject as he shall best like for ye advancing our knowledge in any of the Arts or Sciences Which paper shall be transmitted to a Secretary to be chosen for that purpose who shall communicate it to the Members residing in or near Boston & they having examined it shall by ye Secretary signify to ye Author what objections they have to and part of it who thereupon may if he pleases correct what he thinks upon their observation deserves Correction & then the paper to be published for ye Benefit of the Absent Members & all others that shall desire to be inform'd in such matters It may be hoped that these papers by their Sale may be some recompence to the Secretary for his trouble & the necessary Expenses of the Society The Govr may find ways to lessen the Charge of Postage I can only give some general Hints which I hope you will improve & I shall think my self very lucky if you think them so well started that they deserve pursuing The Rules for this Society must be form'd at Boston & afterwards communicated to those you think fit to invite into it 20
In a letter dated February 17, 1735/36, Douglass informed Colden of the formation in Boston of the colonies' first medical society.21 In November 1739, Douglass wrote to Colden describing an epidemic characterized by a “malignant Fever that was probably Diphtheria.22 Douglass died on October 21, 1752. His book, which was published posthumously in 1755, entitled A Summary, Historical and Political of the First Planting, Progressive Improvements, and Present State of the British Settlements in North America, includes a map, Plan of British Dominions of New England. This very rare, seminal map was the basis for the popular “Map of the Most Inhabited Part of New England” published two years later in London by Thomas Jefferys.23
Colden's initial energies as a servant of the province of New York were consumed by his role as surveyor general. In the beginning of 1720, he found the affairs of the office that he had assumed to be in total confusion and disarray. This was inevitable because of the policies, which had been employed for granting land while New York was a proprietary of the Duke of York and throughout its slightly over a half century as a royal colony. From the onset in the proprietary, when the grants were generally in the range of two hundred acres or less, surveys were not performed and the boundaries were ill-defined. Similarly, the rents were imprecise and bore no relationship to the quantity or quality of the land.
After New York became a royal province and the governors were empowered to grant lands, although it was specified that the grants were to be surveyed by the public surveyor and recorded with the seal of New York, compliance was uncommon.24 From the time of the first royal governor, Thomas Dongan, when there were no true surveys but rather descriptions and estimates, lack of adherence to the stated rules persisted. Boundaries were frequently described as bounded by a certain Indian's land, disregarding the fact that the Indians were never truly landowners in an individual capacity.25
The governor of New York between 1701 and 1708, Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, who was characterized by historians as a “degenerate and pervert who is said to have spent half of his time dressed in women's clothes,”26 added to the problem of land ownership that was encountered by Colden. To one group, Lord Cornbury granted the Indian tract Wawayanda, in Orange County, with unnamed borders, and, to another group, the Great Minnisink patent in Delaware County. In that instance, the boundary was described as beginning at “the Indian hunting-house” when there were several hundred such houses in that vicinity.27
On taking office, Colden was urged by Chief Justice Lewis Morris to delay grants to members of the opposition until Governor Burnet arrives. Morris wrote:
[A]ll the power Either they or you have in the disposition of lands is deriv'd from the king who has been pleas'd to direct that your consent be had to any land granted which consent you will not give unless the land be first Set out by you in which allocation you will allwaies Endeavor to follow the kings royall Instructions in that behalf given; that you will at all times be very ready to returne any tract of land pursuant to the directions of that honble board or give A consent to Any Grant when you are well Assured the So doing will not be A breach of duty & the trust his majestie has been pleas'd to repose in you. As for Bud the case is a little ticklish he being of the assembly may be prejudiciall to you in your office and another difficulty is he being chose by the Interest of a party that won't breake their hearts should the governour not returne & the revenue being to Settle if he should be serv'd during this administration it will make him less dependent on the Governour than he should be, for the hopes of favours will make many in that house more tractable than the Strongest reasons offr'd wthout the case is the Same wth some others….28
Colden's first surveys were conducted in the sparsely settled Orange and Ulster Counties. In 1694, it was the area in which Captain John Evans had received a grant that was sealed by the Colonial Assembly of New York in 1698 and approved by Queen Anne in 1709.29 By the end of his first year in office, Colden had surveyed 18,960 acres of that patent and 14,516 acres in the adjacent region.30 From that original patent, shortly after arriving in New York, Colden obtained a grant of 3,000 acres (an initial patent for 2,000 acres followed by an additional grant of 1,000 adjacent acres), on which he later built his farm, which he named “Coldengham,” a variation of Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland, which was located five miles from the home of his youth. Coldengham subsequently became part of the town of Montgomery in Orange County.
During his first seven years as surveyor general, Colden spent much of his time in the Mohawk Valley; the Shawangunk Mountains reaching from the area around Newburgh, New York, to the New Jersey border; the Catskill Mountains; the region around Albany, Orange, and Ulster Counties; and the Westchester estates and the Connecticut border. As evidence of Colden's strict adherence to the letter of the law, Colden's office certified or issued no grants without a proper survey. In his capacity as surveyor general, in the spring of 1725, Colden was one of the three representatives of New York to meet with the commissioners and surveyor from Connecticut for the first time to define a contested boundary between the two colonies.
In the course of surveying the Mohawk Valley, Colden gained an appreciation of the Five Nations of Indians that made up the Iroquois. In September 1721, Colden accompanied Governor William Burnet to Albany for a conference with the Five Nations. Before the meeting, Burnet and Colden visited the small village of Schenectady and viewed the Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk River. The meeting took place at the Indians' Lodge house. About eighty sachems (Indian chieftains) were present and the governor expressed concern over the recently built French trading post at Niagara. The Indians were encouraged to trade with the British at Albany and avoid trading with the French. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Iroquois promised to cease further trading with the French and to provide free passage to all Indians trading with Albany. In his report, Colden commented on the appearance and social structure of the Five Nations and emphasized that “their Cruelty in my opinion sullys any good quality which they may have especially to their enemys which they over come.” He made reference to torture and cannibalism.31
Colden's association with the Five Nations formed the basis for two significant contributions, one to the cartography of North America and the other to colonial descriptive literature. In 1721, William Bradford, New York's first resident printer, published Cadwallader Colden's “A MAP of the Countrey of THE FIVE NATIONS belonging to the province of NEW-YORK and of the LAKES near which the Nations of FAR INDIANS live with part of CANADA taken from the Map of LOUISIANE done by MrDeLisle in 1718” (fig. 3). This rare map is considered to be the first map published in the province. The map was first published separately and subsequently appeared in 1724 in Colden's Papers Relating to an Act of New-York for Encouragement of the Indian Trade, which was also printed by William Bradford.32
It is a relatively crude map, which is almost a precise magnification of the map that appears as a frontispiece in Baron La Hontan's 1702 book.33 Colden's map, however, contains added details related to the Five Nations. It depicts an area extending from the southern portion of Canada to the middle of Maryland, from the Hudson River to the middle of Lake Michigan. It locates each of the Five Nations (Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas), and the lands to the west conquered by the Five Nations. It depicts several “carrying places” of portage. In an included script, it is noted that the Tuscaroras had joined the Iroquois as a sixth nation in 1723. The “Map of LOUISIANE,” from which Colden indicated that his map was taken, is a landmark in the cartography of North America. This large, expansive, and detailed map by Guillaume Delisle, the leading French mapmaker at the time of publication in 1718, is regarded as the main source for all later maps of the Mississippi River and the first large-scale map to accurately show the lower Mississippi and surrounding area. It is also the first map to contain the name Texas (Mission de Teijas).34
Figure 3. Cadwallader Colden, “A Map of the Countrey of the Five Nations belonging to the province of New York and of the Lakes near which the Nations of Far Indians live with part of Canada taken from the Map of the Louisiane done by Mr DeLisle in 1718.” Engraving 23 x 37 cm. Printed by William Bradford, New York. Published separately and also appeared in Colden's Papers Relating to an Act of New York for Encouragement of the Indian Trade (New York, 1724). Courtesy of Private Collector.
Colden's interest in cartography persisted. He was unsuccessful in an attempt to obtain funding from the government for a map of the colony of New York based on his surveys and involvement in intercolonial boundary commissions. He later wrote this to Peter Collinson: “We have but too much reason to be sensible in the great Defects of Geography of North America not withstanding that in many cases it must be useful and in some necessary to our Ministers to have a true Account of our Coasts & most considerable plans on it as well as our Merchants.”35
Colden's significant contribution to colonial America's literature, The History of the Five Indian Nations, was published by William Bradford in New York in 1727. The printing of five hundred copies quickly sold out to a colonial, English, and European audience.36 It was critically acclaimed by the contemporary readership. In 1755, John Huske wrote: “As to the Histories of the Indians…not one [is] worth reading but that of Colden.”37 In 1757, William Smith, Jr., an outspoken critic of Cadwallader Colden, in The History of the Province of New York, relied a great deal upon Colden's work. Smith “found some passages accurate, some inaccurate and others incorrect, and noted carefully where Colden and Charlevoix, the French Jesuit contradicted each other.”38
Colden's literary reputation was established by the publication of The History of the Five Indian Nations as evidenced by its immediate popularity and its subsequent expansion and publications. Lawrence C. Wroth, the librarian of the John Carter Brown Library and the Rosenbach Fellow in Bibliography, points out that the narrative is an important part of the corpus of colonial literature.39 Colden indicated in the preface:
THOUGH every one that in the least acquainted with the Affairs of North-America, knows of what Consequence the Indians, commonly known to the people of New-York by the Name of the Five Nations, are both in Peace and War, I know of no Accounts of them Published in English, but what are meer Translations of French Authors. This seems to throw some Reflection on the Inhabitants of this Province, As if we wanted Curiosity to enquire into our own Affairs, and that we were willing to rest satisfied with the Accounts the French give us of our own Indians, notwithstanding that the French in Canada are always in a different Interest, and sometimes in open Hostility with us. This Consideration, I hope will justify my attempting to write an History of the Five Nations at this time; and my endeavoring to remove the Blame with which we may be charged, perhaps will atone for many Faults which the want of Capacity may have occasioned.
Having had the Perusal of the Minutes of the Commissioners for Indian Affairs, I have been enabled to collect many Materials for this History, which are not to be found any where else; And this Collection will, at least be useful to any Persons of more Capacity, who shall afterwards undertake this task….40
Colden specifically credits the works of Mr. de Bacquevillle de la Potherie41 and Mr. Baron de Lahontan.42 The book is dedicated to Governor William Burnet and focuses on the favorable relationships between the Five Nations and the province of New York and other colonies and the attempts of the French in Canada to disrupt those relationships. Colden begins with a brief description of the government of the confederacy of the Five Nations, which the Tuscaroras had recently joined, and the structure of the Nations themselves. What follows are anecdotal descriptions of six segments of history that occurred in the seventeenth century and impacted on the Five Nations and their relationships with the English and French colonists. Despite Colden's extensive involvement with the Indians, however, the work incorporates none of his personal knowledge or any recent or contemporary issues.
Colden had a positive impression of the individual members of the Five Nations (Iroquois), and, despite an appreciation of their deficiencies and some patterns of behavior, he championed their cause. He wrote:
The Five Nations are a poor Barbarous People, under the darkest Ignorance, and yet a bright and noble Genius shines thro' these black Clouds. None of the greatest Roman Heros have discovered a greater Love to their Country, or a greater Contempt of Death than these Barbarians have done, when Life and Liberty came in Competition: Indeed, I think our Indians have out-done the Romans in this particular; for some of the greatest Romans have Murder'd themselves to avoid Shame of Torments, (a) Whereas our Indians have refused to Dye meanly with the least pain, when they thought their Country's Honour would be at stake, by it, but gave their Bodies willingly up to the most cruel Torments of their Enemies, to shew, that the Five Nations consisted of Men whose Courage and Resolution could not be Shaken. The sully, however, those noble Vertues by that cruel Passion Revenge, which they think not only lawful, but Honourable to exert without Mercy on their Country's Enemies, and for this only they deserve the Name of Barbarians.
But what have we Christians done to make them better? Alas! We have reason to be ashamed, that these Infidels, by our Conversation and Neighbourhood, are become worse than they were before they knew us. Instead of Vertues we have only taught them Vices, that they were entirely free of before that time. The narrow Views of private Interest have occasioned this, and will occasion greater, even Publick Mischiefs, if the Governors of the People do not, like true Patriots, exert themselves, and put a stop to these growing Evils, If these Practices be winked at, instead of faithful Friends that have Manfully fought our Battles for us, the Five Nations will becaome faithless Thieves and Bobbers, and joyn with every Enemy that can give them the hopes of Plunder,
If care were taken to plant in them, and cultivate that General Benevolence of Mankind, which is the true Principle of Vertue, it would effectually eradicate those horrid Vices occasioned by Unbound Revenge; and then the Five Nations would no longer deserve the name of Barbarians, but would become a People whose Friendship might add Honour to the British Nation tho' they be now too generally despised.43
Indicative of the confidence and esteem that the Indians held for Colden was his adoption by the Mohawks of Canajoharie.
During his first decade as a New Yorker, Cadwallader Colden's role of a colonial politician formally began with the arrival of Governor William Burnet in New York. In one of Burnet's first letters to Parliament, he suggested the appointment of Colden as Councilor and, at the same time, proposed James Alexander, a Scotsman and close friend of Colden, for a second position on the Council.44 These had been vacated by the removal of Peter Schuyler and Adolph Philipse. Colden took his seat on the Council for the first time on May 30, 1722.45
In 1723, Colden prepared a comprehensive memorandum for London officials that detailed the state of commerce in colonial New York.46 It is considered to be the most definitive description of the time. The memorandum emphasized the colony's dependence on foreign trade and the fact that wheat and flour were the major export commodities.47 The report was an attempt to convince Great Britain that restrictive measures related to the commerce with her colonies would be counterproductive.
In 1724, Colden became a communicant of Trinity Church and he remained a devout Christian. But, he believed that the pleasures of life and pursuit of enjoyment through intellectual interests did not lessen the devotion to God.48 “A Memorial concerning the Fur Trade of the Province of New York presented to His Excellency William Burnet, Esquire, Captain Generall & Governor &c By Cadwallader Colden, Surveyor General of said Province, November 10th, 1724” was printed for distribution. It was an expression of the governor's policy for trade with the Indians and a rebuttal of the criticisms of the merchants who opposed the policy. A small trading post had been built on the southern shore of Lake Ontario and the Indians were encouraged to use that post and also to trade with the English in Albany rather than the French in Canada. Direct trade between the English and French merchants was disallowed by the Import Act that was approved by the Board of Trade. Powerful merchants in New York and London, believing that their profits were being threatened, launched an attack on the governor's policy, and had the act repealed. In response, Colden's Memorial indicated that, in their argument to the Board of Trade, the merchants blatantly misrepresented the facts. They had erroneously stated that “Besides the Nations of Indians that are in the English Interest, there are very many Nations of Indians, who are at present in the Interest of the French, and who lie between New-York.”49
Colden's report was factual, but was nuanced by negative and polarized attacks on the New York merchants who had misrepresented the facts. Although specific names were not mentioned, Colden's expressed personal grievance against those in opposition was characteristic of his argumentative and unforgiving personality. Subsequently, Colden issued a scathing attack on George Clarke, a member of the Council and one of the largest land owners in the province and an influential politician. Clarke would become lieutenant governor of New York in 1737, at which time Colden and he reconciled their differences. Colden also incurred the lifelong antipathy of the influential Delancey family when he refused to qualify Stephen Delancey as a member of the Assembly because his citizenship was deemed doubtful. Colden, throughout his life, provoked critics—a factor that clouded his accomplishments and, in part, was responsible for an inappropriate lack of recognition of his contributions. Colden's report was a significant and influential factor, which led the Board of Trade to overturn the repeal and, thereby, approve the governor's policy related to the fur trade.
In the colony of New York during the 1720s conflicts over the relative merits of free trade, as contrasted with protective duties, were pervasive and dominated politics. In 1726, two pamphlets espousing the competing arguments were printed. The Interest of the Country in laying Duties: or, a Discourse, shewing how Duties on some Sorts of Merchandize may make the Province of New-York richer than it would be without them was written by Colden and printed as an anonymous document by John Peter Zenger. It was countered by another anonymous document, also printed by Zenger. The Interest of City and Country to Lay No Duties: or A Short Discourse shewing that Duties on Trade, tend to the Impoverishing City and Country. In response to the two disparate publications, Colden produced a pamphlet, also printed in 1726 by Zenger, The Two Interests reconciled; occasioned by two late Pamphlets, called The Interest of the Country and the Interest of City and Country. Disguised as an attempt at reconciliation, Colden's publication was a partisan expression that called for a direct tax upon land accumulators or usurers, a locally built and home-owned merchant marine, and a continuation of protective duties.50
In addition, there is a draft in Colden's handwriting, The Second Part of the Interest of the Country in Laying Duties, that is included in the publications of The Letters and Papers of Cadwallader Colden. He had an immutable suspicion and dislike of merchants and lawyers. In this document, Colden criticized the city merchants for their antagonism toward the payment of duties. He focused on the duties attached to the importation of liquor, indicating that if drinking would be reduced it would be advantageous for the country, “…& this further good may be expected that when strong Drink becomes dearer & a person more accustomed to work he may the sooner be reclaim'd & lose his ill habit.”51
Also in 1726, Colden recorded a draft of a report of a Committee of Council concerning government revenues. It was written in response to a vote by the Assembly that put a restraint on the powers given to the governor to issue all monies. The Assembly indicated that its members ought to determine their compensation and have oversight of disposition of all the funds that the governor receives from the Crown. Colden's report affirmed that the control of “his Majesties Revenue” resides with the governor and the Council rather than the Assembly.52
Toward the end of Colden's period of residence in New York City, two letters that he received were dated April 2 and April 9, 1728, and were ascribed to Peter Collinson, who would remain an important correspondent with Colden for almost four decades. Peter Collinson was born in London on January 28, 1694, into a Quaker family that was engaged in the cloth trade, which he maintained, dealing in fabrics and haberdashery of every kind, until his retirement in 1765. Collinson developed an interest in botany, and received his first plants from North American soil in 1723. His lifelong interest in American plants served as a basis of continued correspondence with colonial Americans with similar interests, such as James Logan, John Bartram, John Clayton, Alexander Garden, and Cadwallader Colden. Collinson served as an intermediary between the American botanists and the English and European scientific world, particularly the botanists, Carolus Linnaeus and Johannes Fredericus Gronovius.53
The end of Colden's first decade in New York coincided with his move from the city to the country. Governor Burnet was transferred to the governorship of Massachusetts on April 15, 1728, and was replaced by Governor John Montgomerie, who would serve until his death in 1731. In a letter written on January 31, 1760, to his son, Alexander, Cadwallader Colden reflected on the impact that Montgomerie had on his personal status.
As we were walking in formality to publish Colonel Montgomeries's commission, I overheard him say to Mr Clark that he would absolutely trust to his advice and he kept his promise to his death….
Colonel Montgomerie did not want natural abilities nor any part of the education proper for a gentleman, but he had given himself up to his pleasures, especially to his bottle and had an aversion to business. He was likewise the most diffident of himself of any man I ever knew. He was much in debt and wanted to recover his fortune by the profits of his government with as little trouble to himself as possible. Mr. Clark served him well for these purposes.
Mr. DeLancey was at the head of the party in the assembly which had been in opposition to Mr. Burnet and which had now the ascendant in that house. Mr. DeLancey was to be gratified in his resentment against Chief Justice Morris and the Governor was to use his interest to have the acts repealed which had been passed in Governor Burnet's Administration prohibiting the direct trade to Canada with Indian goods…. Mr. DeLancey had the advantages of his own private trade in view which were very considerable.54
Coldengham is the residence with which Cadwallader Colden is generally identified. Work actually began on the farm in 1724 at which time Colden initially conceived of it as a vacation home. Before Colden began the development, the land “was the habitation only of wolves & bears & other wild animals.”55 Initially, the management of the farm was carried out by an overseer named Gallesby, but he was negligent of the care of the livestock and, consequently, fired.56 Colden indicated in a letter to his aunt that he was building a small house and cellar under it. At the time, “My Design in this is that I may with some comfort be able three or four times a year to stay there a fortnight or three weeks & look after the Work that is done or what I may think proper.”57 According to the “Farm journal, 1727–1736, Coldengham, Orange County, N.Y.,” a manuscript compiled by Colden, concentrated work began on the property during the summer of 1727.
Colden's Farm Journal, the manuscript of which is housed in the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia, is the earliest extant New York farm journal for the Hudson Valley.58 The first entry bears the date April 15, 1727, and reads; “On the 15th of August we sow'd 41/16 Bushels Rye upon a summer fallow after Indian Corn. The ground was very mellow. Sow'd under furrow about 3 acres. At the same time sowed some spinage in the Garden.” The journal chronicles crop rotation; planting of both white and yellow Indian corn; and establishing orchards of a variety of apples, cherries, pears, peaches, and nectarines. It also includes records of cattle breeding and butchering and dairying. A kitchen garden satisfied the culinary and medicinal needs.59
Coldengham, a 3,000-acre estate, is shown on a 1760 map to be located just to the west of the current Colden Cemetery at the corner where Tin Brook turns from east to north on the site of the Pimm House on Maple Avenue in Montgomery.60 A deed dated September 7, 1771, by which Cadwallader Colden passed part of the property to his son, Cadwallader Colden, Jr., fixes the original Colden Mansion location as Maple Avenue just west of the cemetery in Montgomery.61
The move to Coldengham, where Colden would reside for the next three decades, was doubtless a consequence of his sensing a change in his potential for impact in the governing of New York. Colden maintained his role as councilor but moved with his family, which consisted of his wife and six young children (Alexander, born in Philadelphia August 13, 1716; Elizabeth, born in New York February 5, 1719; Cadwallader, born in New York May 26, 1722; Jane, born in New York March 27, 1724; Alice, born in New York September 27, 1725; and Sarah, born July 6, 1727). Mrs. Colden had also given birth to David between the births of Alexander and Elizabeth, but he died in infancy. The earliest specific date that can be ascribed to Colden's residence at Coldengham is November 19, 1728.62
The move was aimed at reducing his expenses, avoiding the frustrations generated by his political adversaries, and allowing leisure for philosophical study. In the letter that Colden had written to William Douglass in 1728, in which he suggested the formation of a “Voluntary Society for the advancing of Knowledge,” he stated:
I hope I am now settled for some months free from the troublesome broils which mens passions occasion in all publick affairs. This gives me hopes of being able to amuse myself with more innocent & more agreeable speculations than usually attend intrigues of State The speculations that gave you & me the greatest Pleasure in the pleasantest time of our Life while we were in the Garden of Eden before we knew good & Evil before we knew men. A Country life in many respects is very proper for these amusements while what is called nature in a strict sense is more open to our observation & while our thoughts are not drawn off by the unnatural pursuits of the busy part of mankind A man that has for sometime been tossed upon the Dunghill of mens Passions gratifies all his senses with the quiet & innocent pleasures that Nature freely offers in every step the he treds in the woods & fields….63