In 1636,
Charles I of England, a
Stuart, rewarded Scottish
courtier, diplomat, and colonial governor
William Alexander's service to the Crown by creating him Lord Alexander of
Tullibody and
Viscount of Stirling. On April 22 of that year Charles told the
Plymouth Colony, which had laid claim to Long Island but had not settled it, to cede it to Alexander. When his agent James Farret arrived in
New Amsterdam in 1637 to present his claim of English sovereignty, he was arrested and imprisoned in
Holland, but later escaped from prison.
