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Anno 1664

Memorandum of the major occurrences on the Coast of Guinea after the arrival of the English there.^[1]

18 April, Friday morning, our people at Myna^[2] first received definite news of the arrival of the English ships before Axcim. They consisted of twelve vessels, including two captured ships and galiot; one of the ships, named De Goude Leeuw, belonged to our Company as well as the galiot, the other one was a private ship named De Bril destined for Cajanen.^[3]

• ditto, they received news that the English had seized the fort at Tackerary.^[4]
• ditto, the English ships came to anchor before the castle at Myna, however, beyond cannon range.
• ditto, the English ships set sail from before Myna to Cabo Cors.^[5] Three vessels stayed behind, without a doubt in order to keep our ships in.

30 ditto, the three ships which were left behind there also sailed on to Cabo Cors, and in the afternoon fired heavily on the fort. During the night the ship De Falck and the yacht De Eendracht departed for the fatherland; however, ‘t Wapen van Groeninghen, which also had orders to sail, stayed behind.

The first of May, Het Wapen van Groenighen also departed at night for the fatherland; however, it was pursued and taken the next day by the English.

13 ditto, the English forcibly took the fort at Cabo Cors with the assistance of the blacks and most of our disloyal troops, who no longer desired to offer resistance.

16 ditto, some ships departed from before Cabo Cors for Carmentijn, Adia and Anamabo.^[6]

14 June, they received news at Myna that the English had taken the fort at Adia with the assistance of the blacks. After it was in English hands only one hour the fire struck the English gunpowder, causing the collapse of the warehouse’s lead roof plates and killing many blacks under it. As a result the blacks cut the heads off most of the soldiers in the garrison in cold blood; one was even hacked off with a plundered seaman’s knife; all in the presence of the English general.^[7]

20 ditto, they received news that the English had also taken the fort at Annamabo with the assistance of the blacks. Our soldiers barely escaped with their lives. The chief commissary Tobias Pensede was wounded in the head and died thereof on the 21st of this month after having been taken to Carmenteyn. His body was sent to Myna.

In the month of July some English ships departed from the Coast of Guinea, leaving there two of the Royal Company’s ships outfitted for war and two traders in order, without a doubt, to cause them more trouble with the help of the blacks when the opportunity arises.

In the month of September the English ships sailed upon Chama^[8] in order, if possible, to deprive us cunningly of the same with the help of the blacks; however, that seige was broken on 14th of this month by my arrival. They made every attempt possible to keep me from the Mina or taking possession of it until the 20th of the month when, praise God, we arrived at the Mina after sailing right between two ships that they had hunting for me^[9]; but after missing me, they went back back toward Chama. However, they had done nothing by the 4th of October. What the outcome shall be only time will tell.

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.