Document: Letter of the convention to the director and council

Copy.To the highly Esteemed Lords, Petrus Stuyvesant, Director-General, and the High Council of New Netherland.We, the mayors and schepens of this city of New Amsterdam, together with the respective commissioners of the villages of Gravesant, Vlissinge, Middelburgh, Heemsteede, Amesfoort, Breuckelen and Midwout, having seen the reply of the honorable director-general and council to the remonstrance submitted yesterday by us to their honors, in which it is requested that, because of some unclear or badly translated passages in the remonstrance a copy thereof be given to each member of the council; the response of the aforesaid assembly is that the original has been submitted from which his honor the director-general can provide copies to the gentlemen of the council as he pleases. Therefore it is once again requested that the honorable director-general and high council be pleased to furnish a categorical answer to each point in the remonstrance or not, because the commissioners are here at great expense and wish to know how to conduct themselves. In expectation here of your honors' speedy reply- Done this 12 December 1653, New Amsterdam. Your honors' humble servants, Arent van Hattem, Marten Crigier, Gorge Bacxter, John Hickes. Below stood: The above have signed on behalf of the aforesaid assembly.

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 5.