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 ret
urned 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
Cadwallader Colden Page 2
