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To Lucas Rodenburg vice-director on Curaçao.

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Honorable etc.

Our last general letter to your honor was sent last year on the 7th of July by way of Nieuw Nederlant, of which a copy accompanies this in order that we may refer to its contents.^[1] The goods and necessities, which we promised your honor, were dispatched afterwards from here to Nieuw Nederland (as can be seen on the accompanying list) aboard the ships De Gelderseblom and Groote Christoffel. ^[2] If they have not been unduly delayed, your honor shall have received everything from there.

About seven to eight weeks ago Jan Mortier, the former overseer of the Company’s livestock on Curaçao, arrived here by way of the Caribbean islands. The letters and documents which your honor gave to him for us he left on the aforesaid islands according to your honor’s instructions (so he says) in order to be delivered from there at the first opportunity by way of Hamburg. However, because we have as yet not received them, we fear that they may have been lost at sea; therefore, we once again for the most part remain uninformed about the conditions of those places and the manner in which business is being carried on in those quarters. Nevertheless, because we have generally understood for some time that large quantities of dyewood were ready there for shipment, we therefore instructed Director Stuyvesant some time ago to send us a ship from there by way of Curaçao with wood. Whether this has already happened or not we nevertheless do not doubt whether your honor shall still have a load of wood ready, considering the amount of time you have had for it. For this reason we also attempted earlier to freight another ship from here to your place, however, we could not come to a satisfactory agreement. We had to delay it until now when we finally came to an agreement with the owners of the ship coming over, as your honor shall be able to see by the accompanying charter party.^[3]

In order that loading of the same may be done as quickly as possible, we earnestly advise, even before the dyewood is loaded, that it shall be necessary, and your honor is also hereby ordered, to take on some pine, prepared and cut into pieces, for ballast on the aforesaid ship and in order to make it water tight, as we have orally imparted to Jan Mortier, the bearer hereof. However, if the aforesaid ship should be delayed after the preparation thereof, your honor is to load the same with some salt for ballast and then send it to us loaded with dyewood in order to avoid any unnecessary demurrage expenses.

And if it happens, which we find unlikely, that there is not a full cargo of dyewood ready there for the first ship from Nieuw Nederlandt, your honor is also instructed and authorized, while the remaining wood is cut and prepared, to send the aforesaid ship in the meantime to the islands of Aruba and Buenairo, and from there with horses and salt to Nieuw Nederlandt, regulating himself therein according to the time deemed necessary to prepare the aforesaid cargo. We strongly recommend this to your honor in order to strive therein for the maximum service and profit of the Company.

We have been informed here that there is also ready for shipment there a considerable quantity of wool or cotton, probably about 40,000 lbs., together with some tobacco, which we presume has been taken in trade for the Company there; therefore, we have decided to have it hauled away from there at the first opportunity hereafter by another ship.

With regard to this matter it comes to mind how we have been reliably informed now and then that many horses, dye wood and salt are traded and hauled away from there and the islands of Aruba and Buenairo, which we trusted was the result of a lack of necessities; however, when we removed these excuses and pretences by properly providing your honor with necessities, we also made known our earnest desire therein that in no way did we want any horses taken from there or any trading carried on in wood and salt, no matter what the pretext may be, without our express order and recommendation, which we hereby have decided to order your honor to observe once again so that he may regulate himself precisely thereby; because otherwise we would be constrained to take appropriate actions therein.

For the making and preparing of salt and other things we are sending over, among other things, some Norwegian planks in order to make the saltpans fit and efficient. And just as we instruct your honor always to offer the person of Hugo Claessen a helping hand as much as possible, we also instruct your honor in particular to breed the small animals, which [ breeding ] your honor decided could take place better on Buenairo than on Curaçao, thus we have confirmed it as we now confirm it, so that that island together with Aruba may be better supported and provided for. We have deemed it of service herewith to send your honor some provisions, munitions and some necessary equipment (as can be seen on the accompanying manifests and bills of lading) in order to be able to keep the yachts and vessels, which must be used between Curaçao and the islands, continually seaworthy.

Whereas we are uncertain whether the letters and papers sent by your honor by way of the Caribbean islands shall reach us, for reasons already stated, we have deemed it necessary hereby earnestly to instruct and order your honor to inform us by this ship of the situation and state of affairs there; and to send over at once (together with that which we asked for in our last letter) detailed lists of the number of horses and other livestock, which are to be found on the islands, together with the quantity of wood and salt still on hand, with the time when another shipload can be ready so that we can regulate ourselves accordingly, one way or another.

We have once again employed here the person of Jan Mortier at f 20 per month; he is coming over presently with his betrothed. Your honor can return him to his previous position there or employ him wherever he may be found most suitable.

Notes

References

Translation: Gehring, C., trans./ed., Curaçao Papers, 1640-1665 (New Netherland Research Center and the New Netherland Institute: 2011).A complete copy of this publication is available on the New Netherland Institute website.