claim of English supremacy over New Netherland. Director Minuit
returned an answer, remarkable for its courteous tone, but in which he
firmly maintained the right of the Dutch to trade with the
Narragansetts as they had done for years, adding "As the English claim
authority under the king of England, so we derive ours from the States
of Holland, and we shall defend it."

Governor Bradford sent this correspondence to England. In an
accompanying document he said,

"the Dutch, for strength of men and fortification, far
exceed us in all this land. They have used trading here for
six or seven and twenty years; but have begun to plant of
later time; and now have reduced their trade to some order,
and confined it only to their company, which, heretofore,
was spoiled by their seamen and interlopers, as ours is,
this year most notoriously. Besides spoiling our trade, the
Dutch continue to sell muskets, powder and shot to the
Indians, which will be the overthrow of all, if it be not
looked into."

Director Minuit must have possessed some very noble traits of
character. After waiting three months to receive a reply to his last
communication, he sent another letter, reiterating the most friendly
sentiments, and urging that an authorized agent should be sent from
Plymouth to New Amsterdam, to confer "by word of mouth, touching our
mutual commerce and trading." He stated, moreover, that if it were
inconvenient for Governor Bradford to send such an agent, they would
depute one to Plymouth themselves. In further token of kindness, he
sent to the Plymouth Governor, "a rundlet of sugar and two Holland