Draft:The Legend Of Staten Island

The Legend of Staten Island


The Legend of Staten Island Describes the tale of when  Captain Christopher Billop(1650-1725) Circumnavigated Staten Island within 24 hours to retain Staten Island for The State of New York

In 1664, the Dutch colonies became English colonies, and all fell under the control of the Duke of York, who was the brother of King Charles II. By 1667, a territorial dispute raged over Staten Island between New York, namesake of the duke, and New Jersey, which had possession of Staten Island under Dutch rule. To settle the dispute, the duke came up with a novel solution: he declared that all islands in New York Harbor that could be circumnavigated in 24 hours would belong to New York, and if such a voyage took longer than that, they would belong to New Jersey. The legend describes Christopher Billopp's alleged role in securing Staten Island for New York. To settle a territorial dispute between New York and New Jersey, the Duke of York was said to have come up with a novel solution: he declared that all islands in New York Harbor that could be circumnavigated in 24 hours would belong to New York, and if such a voyage took longer than that, they would belong to New Jersey. Although there have been many descriptions of what happened during the period of before and after Billopp circumnavigated Staten Island, one, which is described in the following text, has been the most reiterated: "The task of sailing around Staten Island was assigned to Christopher Billopp, who, in his sloop, the Bentley, circumnavigated the Island in a few minutes less than 24 hours, and thus saved the Island for the Duke of York. Christopher Billopp was rewarded by a grant of about 1,163 acres of land at the extreme south end of the Island, and he there built a house which is still standing, and which is called the Bentl[e]y Manor, in honor of the ship owned by Billopp."

At this time, Billopp was just across the waterway from Staten Island at Perth Amboy, New Jersey aboard a small two-gun vessel called the Bentley. Billopp was selected for the duke's challenge. While struggling to figure out how to complete the more than 35 mi voyage within the duke's time frame of 24 hours, Billopp reasoned that if he packed the deck of his ship with empty barrels, the extra surface area could harness some more wind giving his ship a slight boost in speed. Thus equipped, Billopp completed the circumnavigation in just over 23 hours and secured Staten Island for New York. In recognition of his achievement, the duke awarded Billopp a total of 1163 acre of land located in what is now the Tottenville section of Staten Island. On this land, Billopp built his house, which he named the Manor of Bentley in honor of his ship.

While this anecdote has been widely repeated, including by Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, reliable historical documentation of the event is extremely sparse, and most historians conclude that it is entirely apocryphal. In 2007, The New York Times addressed the issue in a news article, which concluded that this event was heavily embellished over the years and almost certainly originated in local folklore. YouTuber CGP Grey provided a similar conclusion in a 2019 video addressing the story of the Staten Island race and its historical discrepancies.