Description:
1664 1st ed NEW YORK George Downing Discourse on DUTCH Settlements Indians 2vTwo exceedingly rare first editions of George Downing's defense of New York!
George Downing was an Irish preacher and political apologist known for his service under Oliver Cromwell in Scotland. In 1664 he wrote a short political letter describing the details of his arrangement of the acquisition of New York from the Dutch. 'A Discourse', as it is called, was written to clear his own name from any misconduct in the exchange. One of the most notable discussions in this work is a report on the miserable interactions of the Dutch settlers with local Indian tribes, as well as business and trade in New York. It should be noted that this work is considered one of the earliest works relating to New York in English! (Stevens).
A year after his first letter was written, he wrote his own reply – a work, which according to 'Rare Americana', was
"privately printed, and relates principally to the affairs of the English and Dutch West… Read More