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Advice on the proposals of the honorable lord director general Petrus Stuyvesant, on the 10th of November, submitted at the session at Fort Amsterdam and read aloud to the councilors.

Concerning the first point: after a general peace had been concluded with the natives in August of 1645, the peace and the articles of the treaty have been violated and broken as follows:

1.

First in the murdering of 14 Christians since August of 1645 (until 15 September of 1655) in various places and at diverse times, for which we have never been able receive justice much less satisfaction, although we requested it in accordance with the treaty, but on the contrary they have blinded us with lies and false reports, as is well known to the honorable director general, the council, and the inhabitants of this country, in addition to our neighbors.

2.

On the 15th of September, last past, the Indians violated and broke the peace treaty in this city in the following violent manner:

1. That they landed about 500 armed men on shore very early in the morning within this city’s walls with 69 canoes, without having given any previous warning; and that right after arriving, before hardly any burghers were at hand, they ran fully armed through the streets in large troops, breaking into the house of Mr. Allerton with force, busting the lock from the door; threatening and beating the people as they forcibly searched the house, claiming to be looking for Northern Indians,^[1] as they did in many houses within this city, until, upon complaints of the settlers to prevent a mishap, they were directed from the Heeren Straet to the bank of the North River where their canoes lay and where they had landed in the morning.

The chiefs or sachems of the Indians, coming from different nations, were amicably asked by the council to appear in the council chamber in the fort, which they did. There they were asked by the councilors then present, in the presence of the burgomasters, schepens, and burgher military officers, why they came here under arms, and without having given any prior warning; also, why they and their people committed such violence and insolence on the municipality, by breaking locks and doors, hitting and kicking people, searching houses, which no Dutchman is allowed to do without orders and authorization of the magistrates. Therefore, the councilors, in the presence of the aforesaid burgher officers, requested that the Indians, for their own greater safety and ours, and in order to prevent misfortune and disaster, to remove themselves before sunset from this island to Noten Eylant,^[2] which they promised to do. Whereupon they took their leave.

Instead of leaving, according to their promise, they were joined that evening by over 200 more armed Indians. After guard was mounted, they shot Hendrick van Dijck, the former fiscal, in the chest with an arrow, and threatened to kill Paulus Leendertsen, militia captain, with an arrow, as a result of these and other incidents the cry was raised, “Murder, murder, the Indians are killing the Dutch!” Whereupon, the militia standing under arms in the fort in order to keep good watch, were thrown into confusion (upon hearing the outcry), and without any orders ran out through the gates and over the walls, so that near the strand they exchanged shots with the Indians, who were ready [ for them ]; two Dutchmen were killed and three wounded. Three Indians were left dead on the strand, who were found. After this encounter took place, the Indians went across the river and elsewhere, where that night they burned many houses, murdered Christians and took captives, killed animals; and in the course of several days cleared Staten Island of people and houses. This too is contrary to the peace treaty, made in the year 1645, in which it was expressly stated that if reciprocally or on the one side or the other one or more persons were killed or murdered that no general war should begin at once because of it, but rather the injured party should make his complaint to the chiefs or superiors of those who committed the offense so that justice may be done on the culprits according to circumstances.

This point has been religiously maintained by the Netherlanders (although 14 Christians have been murdered before 15 September), notwithstanding that the treaty had been violated and broken in every respect by the Indians, in killing people, animals, and the stealing of goods, without ever being able to obtain justice.

Having taken all this conscientiously into consideration, the fiscal advises that it is and would be just and lawful to undertake war against the Indians because of the broken treaty and their abominable acts.

On the 2d:

It would be just and necessary (subject to correction) to punish and subject the Indians, by the grace of God, through force of arms, because we have examples among our neighbors living to the east and south of us that they would never be able to live securely before and until the Indian nation had been subjugated and forced into submission.

Now as to when to act against these Indians: it should be in the months of December, January, February, and March; however, it is my opinion unadvisable to take this step before and until we receive special orders concerning this matter from higher authorities. In the meantime we must dissemble, though it be disagreeable, and if possible to present a few small gifts, without engaging in an unqualified armistice with the Indians, and to redeem the captives.

On the 3d:

The war against the Indians, which is just according to the law of nations, and no less necessary for the preservation of the New Netherland, should be delayed in order, in the meantime, to place the villages in a defensive posture; also, to await the responses from Holland to the letters and petitions sent there, together with the requested assistance required for that purpose, without which, in my opinion, the just war cannot, humanely speaking, be brought to a favorable conclusion.

On the 4th:

Although the Company’s profit for this year has been very small, it is therefore advisable at this juncture of time not to discharge any of the militia, and it would be more necessary for the preservation of the common welfare to levy soldiers, and to [ defray ] the expenses from the commonalty in the most civil and humane manner possible.

On the 5th:

The means necessary for the maintenance of the militia: they can in part be found in the consumption of beer and wine, in that it is not a great burden on the commonalty, or otherwise on tonnage of some of the goods exported from here by the ships and yachts.

On the 6th:

The remaining Curasao horses that are still running in the woods: if they can be caught, it would subserve the profit of the honorable company to have them sold publicly as before for money or provisions.

On the 7th:

My advice on the last article was given in the 3d, to which I refer. Dated 14 November at Fort Amsterdam in New Netherland 1655. (Was signed:) Cornelis van Tienhoven; (below was written:) submitted the 29th of November 1655.

Notes

References

Translation: Gehring, C., trans./ed., New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch, Vol. 6, Council Minutes, 1655-1656 (Syracuse: 1995). A complete copy of this publication is available on the New Netherland Institute website.