Document: Sentence of David Wessels, for selling brandy to Indians

At the session, the honorable director-general and high council (except for Mr. Cornelis van Werckhooven) together with P. Leendersz and Oloff Stevensz, schepens of this city of New Amsterdam, having seen and examined the charge and complaint of the fiscal instituted against Davidt Wessels born in Esens in East Friesland, citizen of this city of New Amsterdam, in which the fiscal, Cornelis van Thienhooven, by virtue of his office, shows and demonstrates that the aforesaid Davidt Wessels, totally contemptuous of the ordinance and order of the director-general and high council dated 1 July 1647,[1] has sold to the Indians some jugs of brandy, which the aforesaid Davidt Wessels has confessed to be true without torture or irons. After invoking the name of God, the director-general and high council condemned the aforesaid Davidt Wessels to be fined and penalized as prescribed in the aforesaid ordinance.[2] Done in New Amsterdam, 28 August 1654.