Document: Letter from director and council to the vice-director at Fort Orange

[This goes as cover of an extract from a letter of the lords patroons, which will inform you of their intentions and orders concerning the collection of the tenths, now long due from the colony of Rensselaerswyck.[i] We desire and direct you to proceed immediately upon receipt of this order against the people of said colony for the collection thereof] in the following manner.

Upon the receipt hereof your honors shall summon lord Renselaer or go to his house [ and ] inform him of the enclosed extract of the letter from the honorable lords directors as well as of the tenor of this letter, and in the best manner induce him to obey higher order and authority. If he lets himself be persuaded, your honors are authorized to come to a reasonable agreement with him for this coming year. But if the said lord Renselaer behaves contrary and reluctantly as before, your honors shall publicly farm out the tenth to the highest bidder, with ample and full promise to the farmer that he shall be supported therein by us. And after the farming out you shall give notice to the colony’s farmers, or have them given notice, that on pain of one hundred guilders, [ neither ] they nor anybody shall try to remove any grain from the field before they have made an agreement with the farmer, or have allowed him to count out the tenth; [ you shall ] properly fine the offenders, and at the first opportunity notify us precisely of your honors’ experience. With which, after greetings and recommending your honors into the Lord’s protection, we will remain, honorable, beloved, faithful,

Done at Fort Amsterdam Your honor’s affectionate friends, In N: Netherland the director general and councilors

2 July 1658 of N: Netherland

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 Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 8.