Document: Petition of Abraham de Lucena, Jacob Cohen Henricque, Salvador Dandrada, Joseph Dacosta, and David Frera, Jews, for the same rights in trade and real estate as other citizens

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To the Honorable Director General and Council of New Netherland.

The undersigned suppliants remonstrate with due reverence to your noble Honorable Lords that for themselves, as also in the name of the other Jews residing in this province, they on the 29th of November last past exhibited to your noble honorable lordships a certain directive of the honorable lords directors of the chartered West India Company, dated February 15, 1655, whereby permission and consent was given them, with other inhabitants, to travel, live and traffic here and to enjoy the same liberty, and following which they humbly requested that your noble honorable lordships should be pleased not to hinder them but to permit and consent that they, like other inhabitants of this province, may travel and trade to and upon the South River, Fort Orange and other places within the jurisdiction of this government of New Netherland. Regarding which your noble honorable worships were then pleased to recommend: For weighty reasons this request, made in such general terms, is declined; yet having been informed that the suppliants have already shipped some goods they are for the time being allowed to send one or two persons to the South River in order to dispose of the same, which being done they are to return hither. Also your noble honors were pleased, under date of December 23d following, to refuse the conveyance of a certain house and lot bid in by Salvador Dandrada at public auction, and as a consequence to forbid and annul the purchase, so that the said house was again offered for public sale anew on the 20th of January following, and sold to another. And whereas the honorable magistrates of this city have been pleased to demand, through their secretary and court messenger, of the undersigned suppliants, individually, the sum of one hundred guilders, towards the payment for the works of this city, amounting alone for the undersigned, your Worships’ suppliants, to the sum of f500, aside from what the others of their nation have been ordered to contribute. Therefore your suppliants once more humbly request hereby that your honors permit them if, like other burghers, they must and shall contribute, to enjoy the same liberty allowed to other burghers, as well in trading to all places within the jurisdiction of this Government as in the purchase of real estate, especially as this has already been consented to and permitted by the honorable lords directors, as can be seen by the aforesaid order shown to your honors on November 29th. Then they are willing and ready, with other burghers and inhabitants, to contribute according to their means. Which doing, etc. (Below was written:) Your honors’ obedient servants: Was signed: Abraham de Lucena, Jacob Cohen Henricque, Salvador Dandrada, Joseph Dacosta, David Frera.[1]