BY ISRAEL ACRELIUS[1]


After that the magnanimous Genoese Christopher Columbus, had, at the
expense of Ferdinand, King of Spain, in the year 1492, discovered the
Western hemisphere, and the illustrious Florentine, Americus
Vespucius, sent out by King Emanuel of Portugal, in the year 1502, to
make a further exploration of its coasts, had had the good fortune to
give the country his name, the European powers have, from time to
time, sought to promote their several interests there. Our Swedes and
Goths were the less backward in such expeditions, as they had always
been the first therein. They had already, in the year 996 after the
birth of Christ, visited America, had named it Vinland the Good, and
also Skrællings Land, and had called its inhabitants "the Skrællings
of Vinland." It is therefore evident that the Northmen had visited
some part of North America before the Spaniards and Portuguese went to
South America....

From that time until 1623, when the West India Company obtained its
charter, their trade with the Indians was conducted almost entirely on
shipboard, and they made no attempts to build any house or fortress
until 1629. Now, whether that was done with or without the permission
of England, the town of New Amsterdam was built and fortified, as also
the place Aurania, Orange, now called Albany, having since had three
general-governors, one after the other. But that was not yet enough.
They wished to extend their power to the river Delaware also, and
erected on its shores two or three small forts, which were, however,
soon after destroyed by the natives of the country.