178 : The Atlantic 



On the passage from America to England the aid of the Gulf 

 Stream and the North Atlantic Drift which the southern colonies 

 enjoyed was generally balanced by the steadiness and power of the 

 westerlies in latitude forty which aided the northern colonies. On 

 the passage from England westward, the ships of the northern colo- 

 nies had to battle prevailing westerly winds. This was partly offset 

 by the fact that the southern colonies' ships had to travel far south 

 to reach the trades or risk being becalmed in the Sargasso Sea if they 

 sought a shorter course. 



What mattered was that they learned to use different and divided 

 courses and methods of navigation. Coastwise travel between the col- 

 onies was frowned on by England and there were long periods of 

 history during which overland travel was incredibly slow from our 

 point of view. It was then easier and faster to reach England by ship 

 from either New York or Virginia than it was to reach either colony 

 from the other overland. It was a potent and surprising surge of feel- 

 ing of common interests that brought the colonies together for the 

 Revolution. Long after the United States came into being the south- 

 ern states sent their agricultural products to England by staying in 

 or south of the Gulf Stream, while the northern states sent their 

 products and manufactures to the mother-country by staying north 

 of it. How the invention of a new type of ocean service broke up the 

 old oceanic routes and diverted passengers and cargo to the north is 

 presented in the chapter on the packets. It is quite probable that the 

 resulting competition between northern and southern routes of trans- 

 atlantic communication added to a long-standing division of cultural 

 interests contributed its quota to the causes of the Civil War. 



After the English, the Spanish and the French, the Dutch settlers 

 exercised a most important influence on the development of Amer- 

 ica. Following up the voyage of Henry Hudson, the Dutch sent an 

 expedition to Manhattan Island in 1612. This expedition was financed 

 by Dutch merchants and its purpose was the establishment of trade. 

 Its leaders were Christiansen and Block. Captain Block not only 

 came to Manhattan but also explored the coast and discovered the 

 island that still bears his name. A post was established on Manhattan 

 Island in 1613 and in the succeeding year Fort Nassau (also later 

 referred to as Fort Orange) was established near Albany. 



In the next ten years numerous posts were established in New 

 York State and along the New England coast and an extensive fur 

 trade was developed. Peter Minuit became the director of the Dutch 

 West India Company in 1626 and purchased Manhattan Island from 



