CHAPTER XIII

THE NEGKO PLOTS

As early as the eighteenth century New York had
become a cosmopolitan town. Its population con-
tained not only Dutch and English in nearly equal
numbers, but also French, Swedes, Jews, Negroes,
and sailors, travelers from every land. The settled
portion of the city, according to a map of 1729,
extended as far north as Beekman Street on the
East Side and as far as Trinity Church on the West
Side. A few blocks beyond the church lay Old
Wind Mill Lane touching King's Farm, which was
still open country. Here Broadway shook off all
semblance to a town thoroughfare and became a
dusty country road, meeting the post-road to
Boston near the lower end of the rope walk. " The
cittie of New York is a pleasant, well-compacted
place," wrote Madam Knight, who journeyed on
horseback from Boston over this post-road and
who recorded her experiences in an entertaining

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