Document: Letter from the directors at Amsterdam to Stuyvesant and the council

[1] [ 10th of May 1652 ]

[ Honorable, Valiant, Pious, Dear, and Faithful ]

This serves as a cover for the enclosed copies from our resolutions, whereby your honors will be able to see what [ concessions ] we have made to several people, so that your honors will be able to govern yourselves accordingly. We are sending herewith a memorandum drafted by the bookkeepers of the monthly wages because further explanation of several points thereon were required; also, the documents concerning the case of David Provoost were given to the supracargo Vincent Pieckes. Your honors will do well to issue such orders thereon as shall be deemed necessary, and send us a report thereon by the ships returning to the fatherland, in order to keep the people, who have long solicited for relief, from complaining. We doubt that the documents sent over to us are being properly collated by the Company's servants because in the latest documents many major errors were found. This should be corrected in the future. We are also enclosing the list of departing Company servants who are, contrary to our intention and the previous communication to your honors, mostly soldiers. The reason for this is that, because of the extensive rearmament in the country, there are no sailors available. We hope that it will be better in the coming year.

Honorable, Valiant, Pious, Dear, Faithful, we commend your honors to God's protection and remain,

Amsterdam, this 10th of May 1652.

[ ADDRESSED: ] To the Director and Council in New Netherland.

Isaack van Beeck
F. Schulenborch

Rights: This translation is provided for education and research purposes, courtesy of the  New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections, Mutual Cultural Heritage Project. Rights may be reserved. Responsibility for securing permissions to distribute, publish, reproduce or other use rest with the user. For additional information see our Copyright and Use Statement Source:New York State Archives. New York (Colony). Council. Dutch colonial administrative correspondence, 1646-1664. Series A1810-78. Volume 11, document 69.