The History of Massachusetts

Front matter

THE HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS. THE PROVINCIAL PERIOD. BY JOHN STETSON BARRY, MEMBER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND OP THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC-GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. BOSTON : PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, AND COMPANY. 185 6. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by JOHN S. BARRY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 8TEREOTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. TO THE HONORABLE ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP, LL.D. PRESIDENT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, THIS SECOND VOLUME OF THE HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS, RECORDING THE DEEDS OF A NOBLE ANCESTRY IN THEIR STRUGGLES FOR FREEDOM, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY HIS GRATEFUL AND OBLIGED FRIEND, THE AUTHOR.

Introduction

. The flattering reception with which the first volume of this work, covering the period of the Colonial History of Massa chusetts, was received, has encouraged the continuance of the author's labors ; and the present volume, the second of the series, covering the period of our Provincial History, is now offered to the public. The distinction between the Colonial and the Provincial history of Massachusetts is strikingly marked. During the former period, a large share of inde pendence was enjoyed by the people, who chose their own rulers, and managed their own affairs. Acknowledging their dependence on Great Britain for the charter they held and for the privileges it secured, they yet claimed exemption from the paramount authority of Parliament, and the right to enact their own laws and shape their own policy.

Hence the pros perity of the country rapidly increased ; commerce was en larged ; industry was fostered ; and the simplicity of manners which so generally prevailed threw such attractions around the country, and augured so well for its future advancement, that the jealousy of the statesmen of England was aroused ; and to check the spirit of freedom, which was abroad, was urged as the only means by which the people could be kept in subjection. Hence the old charter was overthrown ; a new charter was granted, and Massachusetts, from a colony, be came a province of England. Under the new charter the governor and a number of other officers were appointed by the king, and were removable at his pleasure ; a supervision was exercised over the legislation of the province, and the para mount authority of the crown was asserted. In accepting this charter, however, the people of Massachusetts did not relinquish their natural rights, nor did they yield, without opposi- VI

INTRODUCTION.

. tion, to innovations upon the customs which had long been established among them. Hence the position of the governors was exceedingly embarrassed ; and the contests between them and the statesmen of the province, so far from resulting in the subjection of the people, tended only to strengthen and develop their love of liberty. The provincial history of Massachusetts is a record of this development ; and these pages are designed to sketch the progress of that struggle, the seeds of which were early sown, and which, when matured, led to a rupture between the colonies and the crown. The prominent characters who figure in our annals were men of unwavering fidelity and courage ; and it was owing to their earnest and persevering efforts, that the tide of oppression was successfully stayed, and the liberties of the people were eventually secured.

All who are acquainted with the difficulties attending the preparation of a work like the present, will readily excuse any trifling inaccuracies, of style or of statement, which may be discovered in its perusal. Such inaccuracies can never be wholly avoided ; and the wide range of subjects brought under discussion, and the perplexities attending the adjustment of rival claims and discrepant authorities, preclude the hope that in all cases the conclusion to which the author has arrived will meet the entire concurrence of his readers. Candid crit icism, however, will never be deprecated ; and should mistakes be discovered, no one more cheerfully than the author will acknowledge his indebtedness to those who shall be the means of pointing them out. The thanks of the author are tendered to those gentlemen who have so kindly encouraged his labors, and to the societies which have afforded him access to their historical treasures.

To enumerate these gentlemen, and to specify these societies, would only be to repeat the names given in the first volume. In the hope that the present volume will meet with as favorable a reception as the former, and will prove as acceptable to the people of Massachusetts and to their descendants, it is sent forth on its mission with the diffidence and hesitancy which must ever be felt by one who assumes to write for the benefit of others, and who is conscious of the responsibility attaching to such a position. 9 N060 CONTENTS.

Chapter I. The Province Of The Massachusetts Bay

The Province of the Massachusetts Bay — Progress of Plymouth — Progress of Massachusetts — Trade and Manufactures — Slavery hi Massachusetts — Population and Commerce — Interests of Education — Character of the First Settlers — Spirit of Puritanism — Pohtical Progress — Charter of Charles I. — The Provincial Charter — Condition of Parties — Morahty of the People — Intellectual Culture — Habits of the People, pp. 1-24.

Chapter II. The

witchcraft delusion. Prevalence of the Belief in Witchcraft — "Witchcraft in the Dark Ages — Witchcraft in England — "Witchcraft in Massachusetts — Outbreak at Salem Village — Increase of the Bewitched — The responsible Parties — Progress of the Delusion — The Phenomena exhibited — Course of the Magistrates — Number of Victims — The Storm at its Height — Cotton Mather hesitates — The Spell broken — Remonstrance from Andover — Subsidence of the Excite ment — Evils of the Delusion, pp. 25-44.

Chapter III. The Government Of The Province

Acts rejected by the King — Acts approved by the King — Observance of the Sabbath — Educational Laws — Churches of the Province — Members of the new Government — Sir William Phips — His Administration — His Re call — Change in the House of Representatives — Administration of William Stoughton — Character of Stoughton — Character of Dudley — The Earl of Bellamont — His Administration — Board of Trade established — Lord Bel- CONTENTS. lamont in Massachusetts — His Death — Appointment of Joseph Dudley - His Administration — Attempt to supplant the Governor — Its Failure — Changes in the Ministry — Close of Dudley's Administration — His Death. pp. 45-73.

Chapter IV. Difficulties With The French

Rivalry of England and France — Commencement of Difficulties — Attack upon Port Royal — The Canada Expedition — Return of the Fleet — Depre dations of the Indians — Second Expedition to Canada — Proceedings of the French — Projected Invasion of New England — The Peace of Ryswick — At tack upon Deerfield — Attack upon Haverhill — New Expedition to Canada — Its Failure — Port Royal besieged — Projects of Nicholson — Arrival of Admiral Walker — Difficulties encountered — Failure of the Expedition, pp. 74-103.

Chapter V. Administrations Of Shute, Burnet, And Belcher

Arrival of Shute — Commerce of Massachusetts — Complaints against the Province — Dispute with Mr. Bridger — Restriction of Manufactures — Em barrassment of the Finances — Conduct of the Governor — The Small Pox in Boston — Contest with the Governor — Difficulties with the Indians — Depart ure of Governor Shute — Complaints against the Province — Lovewell's Fight — Decision of the Lords of Trade — Arrival of Governor Burnet — His Admin istration — Agents sent to England — Dispute with Burnet — Appointment of Belcher — His Arrival — Renewal of the Controversy — War with Spain — The Land Bank Company — Opposition to the Governor — His removal, pp. 104-134.

Chapter VI. Administration Of Shirley

THE GREAT AWAKENING. CAPTURE OF LOUISBURG. Appointment of Shirley — The Great Awakening — Character of the Con troversy — Advent of Whitefield — Difficulties with France — Expedition to Louisburg — Troops for the Siege — Their Departure — Scheme of Shirley — Description of Louisburg — Cape Breton — Landing of the Troops — Siege of Louisburg — Movements of Pepperrell — Progress of the Siege — Surren der of the Fortress — The Victory celebrated — Government of the Island Projected Invasion of Canada — Reverses of the French Fleet — Re-cession CONTENTS. IX of Louisburg — Impressment of Seamen — Disturbance occasioned by this Act — Its Settlement — Projected Estabhshment of Episcopacy — Progress of the Province, pp. 135-165.

Chapter VII. The French War

1753-1756. Encroachments of the French — Commissioners appointed — Settlement of Hahfax — Character of Shirley — Movements of the French — The French Col onies — The English Colonies — Commencement of Hostihties — Washington at Fort Necessity — A Congress called — It meets at Albany — Plan of Union — Correspondence between Shirley and Franklin — Expedition to the East ward — Projects for the War — Arrival of Braddock — Expedition of Brad dock — Shirley's Expedition — Expedition to Oswego — Expedition to Crown Point — Sir William Johnson — Preparations for this Expedition — Move ments of the Troops — Dieskau sent to America — Battle of Lake George — Defeat of Dieskau — Expedition to Nova Scotia — Movements of Winslow — Character of the Acadians — Removal of the Acadians. pp. 166-204.

Chapter VIII. The French War

1756-1763. Position of the Forces — Conference at New York — Plans of Shirley — Proceedings in Massachusetts — Proceedings of Parhament — Recall of Shir ley — Difficulties in the Army — Affairs at Oswego — Fall of Oswego — Change in the Ministry — Military Council in Boston — Pownall appointed Governor — Movements at the Westward — Fort William Henry attacked — The Louisburg Expedition — Capture of Fort William Henry — Situation of the Provinces — Accession of Pitt — Loudoun recalled — Army Reforms — Capture of Louisburg — Reduction of Fort Du Quesne — The Crown Point Expedition — Its Failure — Plans for the ensuing Campaign — Siege of Fort Niagara — Expedition to Crown Point — Attempt on Quebec — The Siege — Capture of Quebec — End of the War. pp. 205-239.

Chapter IX. Contests With The Crown

Contests with the Crown — Restriction of Commerce — The Board of Trade — Character of the Provincial Governors — Shirley supports the Prerogative — Bill for strengthening the Prerogative — Complaint of the West India Sugar CONTENTS. X Planters — Extent of the Rum Traffic — The Excise Laws — Restriction of Manufactures — A Stamp Tax proposed — Accession of Pitt — Massachu setts imposes a Stamp Tax — Bernard appointed Governor — The Work of Abuse — Character of Hutchinson— Character of Otis — Accession of George IH. — The News reaches Boston — Views of the People — Trial of the Revenue Officers — Speech of Thacher — Speech of Otis — Change in the Ministry — Opposition to the Governor — Otis's Speech at the Close of the War — Loyalty of the Colonists, pp. 240-270.

Chapter X. Beginning Of The Struggle

THE STAMP ACT. Statistics of the Province — Domestic Industry — Intellectual Progress — Faculties of Communication — Revival of the Project to tax America — Towns hend's Scheme — Change in the Ministry — Advice of the Lords of Trade — The Stamp Tax proposed — The Stamp Act passed — Action of the General Court — A new Agent chosen — Renewal of Grenville's Scheme — Policy of Grenville — Duties on Molasses and Sugar — The News reaches America — Action of the Court — Opposition of Bernard and Hutchinson — Address to the House of Commons — Action of Parhament — The fifty-five Resolutions — The Stamp Act passed — Mutiny Bill — Resistance to the Stamp Act — Oliver hung in Effigy — Proclamation of the Governor — Hutchinson's House attacked — Change in the Ministry — Message of Bernard — Views of John Adams — Congress at New York — Course of the Ministry — The first of No vember — Proceedings of the General Court — Repeal of the Stamp Act pro posed — Debates in Parhament — Speech of Pitt — Speech of Grenville — Reply of Pitt — Examination of Franklin — Debate on the Repeal — The Stamp Act repealed, pp. 271-319.

CHAPTER XL THE REVENUE ACT.

TROOPS IN BOSTON. Celebration of the Repeal of the Stamp Act — Annual Election — Rejection of Councillors — Changes in the Ministry — Pitt created Earl of Chatham — Views of the King — Bernard against the Charter — Requisitions of the Min istry — Laws of Trade — Changes in England — Course of Townshend — De feat of the Ministry — Course of Shelburne — Course of the French Minister — The Revenue Bill — Course of Hutchinson — Effects of the new Measures — Reception of the News in Boston — Course of the Merchants of Boston Last Change in the Ministry — A Pension settled on Hutchinson — Proceedings of the House — Complaints of the Commissioners — Disputes with the Gov ernor — The eighteenth of March — A new Parhament called — The Massa- CONTENTS. XI chusetts Circular denounced — Bernard corresponds with Hillsborough — Im pressment of Seamen — Seizure of the Liberty — A Town Meeting called — Address to the Governor — Course of the Citizens of Boston — Instructions from Hillsborough — Massachusetts refuses to rescind — Predictions of Pow nall — Complaint of Hallowell — Meeting of the Cabinet — Debates in Par hament — The Spirit of Freedom — A Town Meeting called — Their Proceed ings condemned by Royalists — A Convention called — Its Session — Its Dis solution — Arrival of Troops hi Boston — Gage visits Boston — The Troops quartered, pp. 320-372.

Chapter XII. Military Rule

THE BOSTON MASSACRE. The State Papers of Massachusetts — Speech of the King — Debates in Parhament — Position of Hillsborough — Disturbances in England — Debate in the Commons — Project of seizing Cushing and others — Proceedings against Otis and Samuel Adams — Despatches from England — A new Legislature convened — Debates in Parhament — Speech of Pownall — Opening of the Legislature — Rejection of Councillors — Controversy with the Governor — Position of the People — Close of Bernard's Administration — Thomas Hutch inson — Letter of Hillsborough — Non-importation Agreement — Celebration at Dorchester — Vindication of Boston — Proceedings against Loyalists — Meeting of Parhament — Speech of Pitt — Camden's Speech — The Legisla ture prorogued — Refractory Merchants — Murder of Snider — His Funeral — The Boston Massacre — Funeral of the Slain — Trial of the Soldiers — The responsible Parties, pp. 373—421.

Chapter XIII. Progress Of The Struggle

COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE. Debates in Parhament — Speech of Lord North — Speeches of Grenville and others — Controversy with Hutchinson — Debates in Parhament — A new General Court convened — Message of the House — A Garrison at the Castle — Controversy with the Governor — A new Agent chosen — Schemes of the Ministry — Spirit of the Women of Massachusetts — Hutchinson appointed Governor — Opening of his Administration — Anniversary of the Massacre — The Court at Cambridge — Controversy with the Governor — Tax Bill rejected — Course of the Patriots — Cushing urges Union — New Session of the Court — Changes in the Ministry — Petition for a Town Meeting — A Committee of Correspondence proposed — The Foundation of American Union — Report of the Committee — Rights of the Colonists — Letter to the Towns — Response of the Towns — The Legislature convened — Controversy with the Governor An American Congress urged — The Hutchinson Letters, pp. 422-463. CONTENTS.

Chapter XIV. The Boston Tea Party

THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. Views of Dartmouth — The Tea Tax retained — Action of the Province — Action of Pennsylvania — Meetings in Boston — The Agents refuse to resign — Action of the Towns — Meeting in the Old South — The sixteenth of De cember — Destruction of the Tea — Meeting of the General Court — Impeach ment of Oliver — The Affairs of America discussed in England — The Boston Port Bill — Other Measures of Parhament — Arrival of Gage — Excitement in Massachusetts — Arrival of Troops — Discussion in the General Court — Relief Meeting in Boston — Preparations for Defence — Position of Gage — County Conventions called — Movements of Gage — The Neck fortified — Proceedings of the Continental Congress — Condition of Boston — The Women of Massachusetts — The Provincial Congress — Proceedings of this Congress — Movements of the Loyalists — Opening of the New Year — Disturbance in Marshfield — Expedition to Salem — State of Feeling in England — Speech of Pitt — Further Debates — North's conciliatory Scheme — Preparations for Resistance — Arms secreted — Projected Attack on Concord — Preparations for the Expedition — Alarm at Lexington — March of the British Troops — The Battle of Lexington — The Battle of Concord — Retreat of the British. pp. 464-514. CHAP I 1692. HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Chapter I. The Province Of The Massachusetts Bay

The erection of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay introduced a new era in the history of New England. It was the second act of the great drama, whose third brought free dom to a wide-spread republic. Changes in both hemispheres had been preceded by a revolution in some respects analogous to that which resulted in the independence of America. The revolution of 1688, to England and her dependencies, was a vindication of the rights of the English people against the aggressions of arbitrary power. The revolution of 1776, to America, was a vindication of the rights of the American people against similar oppression. Principles were at stake in both cases — great and momentous principles. But difference of circumstances gave to the latter revolution far higher consequence than to the former. In reviewing the colonial history of Massachusetts, it will be perceived that the germs of our national greatness inhered in the first settlers ; and the whole of that history is a record of their development.

The mission of the Pilgrims, and that of the Puritans, was by no means an aimless mission. They came to these shores for a definite purpose, and shaped their course in accordance with that purpose. And it was the VOL. II. THE PROVINCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY. CHAP. 1 1692. noblest purpose which can sway human beings — the enjoy ment of religious, in connection with civil, freedom ; as large a share of both as was attainable, and a share which, if lim ited at first and tainted with errors, increased with the enlightenment of the people, and as they became better fitted to appreciate its blessings. The development of nations is by the law of progression. Neither political nor social theories spring into existence spontaneously ; nor can they be improvised in a moment, like the songs of Italian minstrels.

They are the fruit of perspic uous and profound meditation ; the result of the collision of mind with mind. Not only is the legislation of a community subject to this law, but it is discernible in more vital affairs, affecting man's spiritual interests. The world moves on, not blindly nor by chance, but in accordance with the plans of Infinite Wisdom. No " spiked gates and impassable barriers " can be reared to arrest its course. And though its whole fruitage is mingled and tempered with " Light and shade, and ill and good," alternating in striking but harmonious vicissitude, yet good grows indestructibly, and propagates itself in spite of, and even among, the entanglements of evil ; so that none need despair of the destinies of humanity. In looking back to the past, and comparing it with the present, the contrast is so great that the sciolist, in his self conceit, is apt to imagine there was nothing good in the olden times ; and the whole fabric of society, its forms of faith, its manners and customs, and every thing which gave to it a dis tinctive character, are to him of little moment.

He forgets that what is valued to-day may be lightly esteemed to-morrow and that the superior enlightenment of the nineteenth century may be but as a rushlight to the twentieth or the thirtieth century. It is as absurd to underrate the past as it is foolish to overrate the present. The past is the parent of the pres- PROGRESS OF PLYMOUTH. ent, as the present is of the future ; nor would the present be chap. what it is hod it not been for the past. Viewed in this light, L trivial incidents become important. Truth has been constantly 1692. working itself clearer, and depositing the evils resulting from ignorance. By the caviller, errors may be pointed out in the history of every nation ; nor is individual life exempt from their influence. The question is not, therefore, what were the errors of the past, but what were its aims.

It is by this test the reflecting mind metes out its judgments. The men who have preceded us in the race are worthy of credit for all they accomplished ; and if their achievements appear trifling in comparison with our own, or if they are mixed up with the evils incident to humanity, it is to be borne in mind that it is always a more difficult, as it is a more perilous task, to go on the forlorn hope of truth ; and it is comparatively easy, after the breach has been made, to enter the city and seize its possessions. But he who clears the way is entitled to at least as much honor as he who follows after. The pioneer must be a man of unfaltering courage. That much had been effected for the prosperity of Massa chusetts in the less than three fourths of a century which had elapsed from the settlement of its territory, will be evident from even a cursory glance at the condition of the colonies.

Plymouth, in the seventy-two years following the landing of the Pilgrims, had made good progress in wealth and pop- 1620-92. ulation. The colony was divided into three counties, — Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable, — and contained seventeen towns1 and a population of at least seven thousand souls.2 Industry, frugality, and an exemplary integrity were the char- 1 These were, Plymouth, Scituate, Duxbury, Barnstable, Sandwich, Yarmouth, Taunton, Marshfield, Rehoboth, Eastham, Bridgewater, Dartmouth, Swansey, Middleborough, Freetown, Rochester, and Falmouth. 2 I deduce this from minutes of the population of different towns, as Plym outh, Scituate, Duxbury, &c. No general census had been taken at this date. PROGRESS OF MASSACHUSETTS. CHAP, I. 1692. 1626-92. acteristics of her people ; and, however humble their circum stances or feeble their strength, the noble men who established this colony will never cease to be gratefully remembered as the fathers of New England and the founders of its glory.

Massachusetts, in the sixty-six years following the settlement of Salem, had advanced with rapid strides in the ca reer of improvement. The colony was divided into four counties, — Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex, and Hampshire,1 — and contained fifty-five towns 2 and a population of at least forty thousand souls.3 Boston was the capital ; and this town, the largest in New England, contained one thousand build ings and seven thousand persons.4 Roads radiated in every direction from the metropolis to the surrounding villages, forming the media of communication with their inhabitants. The more distant hamlets were buried in the depths of the pri meval forests, the only paths leading to them being indicated by marked trees ; and ragged rocks, piled in heaps, or scattered around in commingled confusion, often impeded the progress of the wayfarer in reaching those settlements.

Yet as many 1 Part of the towns formerly con stituting the county of Old Norfolk had been joined to New Hampshire ; the rest were comprised in the county of Essex. thousand souls." Randolph, in Hutch. Coll. 484, computes the population of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire at one hundred and fifty thousand, in 1676. Andros, in N. Y. Docts. hi. 262, speaks of ten thousand freemen in Massachusetts in 1678. From official reports, however, made to the Board of Trade in 1715, it ap pears that the population of Massa chusetts at that date was but ninety four thousand ; and as the population doubled once in twenty-five or thirty years, the estimate for 1692 could not have exceeded forty or fifty thousand. Compare N. Y. Docts. v. 397 ; Gra hame, h. 92 ; Williamson's Me. ii. 37 j Bancroft, h. 450. 4 Mather, Magnalia, b. I. Ran dolph computed the number of houses in Boston, in 1676, at two thousand.

Hutch. Coll. 487. For further par ticulars, see Neal's New England,588 ; Grahame, i. 292, &c. 5 These were, Salem, Charlestown, Boston, Medford, Roxbury, Dorches ter, Watertown, Cambridge, Ipswich, Hingham, Weymouth, Dedham, New bury, Concord, Springfield, Lynn, North Chelsea, Sudbury, Salisbury, Rowley, Braintree, Woburn, Glouces ter, Haverhill, Wenham, Hull, Man chester, Andover, Maiden, Marble head, Topsfield, Medfield, Lancaster, Billerica, Northampton, Marlborough, Milton, Hadley, Chelmsford, Groton, Mendon, Amesbury, Beverly, West field, Hatfield, Dunstable, Wrentham, Brookfield,Sherburne, Bradford.Deer field, Stow, Worcester, Boxford, and Newton. 3 Josselyn, Voy. p. 183, ed. 1675, extravagantly estimates the population of New England at "ten hundred TRADE AND MANUFACTURES. 5 CHAP. I 1680. a scene which, at a distance, looks desert and rockbound, un folds itself, when visited, into vales of the rarest beauty, so, nestled among the hills, were embryo villages, now densely populated, which, in the Arcadian simplicity of earlier times, presented points of attraction sufficient to allure thither the yeomanry of the land, whose diligent toil caused " the wilder ness and the solitary place to be glad for them, and the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose."

The principal trading towns of the colony were Boston, Charlestown, and Salem ; and there was " some little trade for country people at Ipswich and Newberry." l The buildings in the country — irregular in their shape, and of a rude style of architecture, varying in size and in the quality of their workmanship — were mostly of timber ; and many of them were fortified with strong palisades, as a security from the arrows and small shot of the Indians. In Boston, though most of the houses were of timber, there were several of brick, with " some few of stone, of competent strength and largeness sutable to the condition of the owners ; " and three churches or meeting houses, in different localities, sufficed for the reli gious accommodation of the people.2 Manufactures of linen and woollen cloth, shoes, hats, and a few other articles, were nowhere extensively conducted, but were principally confined to the family circle, and designed for home consumption.

The staple commodities were fish and peltry, with live stock, provisions, and lumber in its various forms. Timber for shipping could be had in abundance, with tar, and pitch, and a variety of naval stores. Iron was smelt ed in a few places, " though in noe great quantity ; " the man ufacture of gunpowder had been introduced ; 3 and hemp and flax grew well, though " labor was so deare that it could not bee made a commodity to send to other parts, but was only 1 Comp. Randolph, in Hutch. Coll. 484. sa * See Hutch. Col. 487, and Jossese lyn, in 3 M. H. ColL iii. 319. at 3 Randolph, in Hutch. Coll. 487, ys there were six forges in Massachu tts in 1676. The powder mill was Dorchester. SLAVERY IN MASSACHUSETTS. CHAP. I. 1680. 1678. improved by the country people for their own occasions."1 Articles imported from England were " of all sorts generally which that land affords," and amounted in value to forty or fifty thousand pounds per annum.2 The number of English merchants within the government, bred to the calling, was estimated, in 1680, at only twenty, though there were " near as many others that do trade and merchandise more or less."

Of foreign merchants, at the same date, it is affirmed there were none, though a few years later there were certainly several.3 There were some slaves in the colony, and had been for many years ; but " there hath been no company of blacks or slaves," it is added, " brought into the country since the beginning of this plantation, for the space of fifty yeares ; only one small vessell, about two yeares since, after twenty months' voyage to Madagasca, brought hither betwixt forty and fifty negros, most women and children, sold here for ten, fifteen, and twenty pounds apiece, which stood the merchants in neer forty pounds apiece, one with another. Now and then, two or three negros are brought hither from Barbados and other of his majesties plantations, and sold here for about twenty pounds apiece ; so that there may be within our gov ernment about one hundred, or one hundred and twenty ; and it may be as many Scots, brought hither and sold for servants in the time of the warr with Scotland, and most now married and living here ; and about halfe so many Irish, brought hither at severall times as servants."

Slavery in general, however, was so repugnant to the principles of the Puritans that it was viewed with abhorrence ; and, fortunately for New England, it never reached the dignity of a fixed " institution," to be cherished forever.4 1 See Randolph, in Huteh. Coll. 494, 495. 3 See Dunton's Journal, in 2 M. H Coll, ii. 98 et seq. 4 Randolph, in Hutch. Coll. 485 speaks of two hundred slaves in the colony in 1676. The earliest public 2 Such is Bradstreet's estimate ; that of Randolph is somewhat different. POPULATION AND COMMERCE. CHAP I. 1680. Of the English population the estimates vary. Four or five hundred whites are said to have been born yearly, taking one year with another ; and the number of marriages was estimated at from two to three hundred per annum. The number of births exceeded the number of deaths, except during the prevalence of wars and pestilences.1 The wealth of the peo ple was quite widely distributed.