To the honorable director general and councilors of New Netherland
With due reverence Abraham de Lucena, Salvador Dandrada, and Jacob Cohen for themselves and on behalf of the remaining Jewish nation, living here in the city, show how that on 15 February 1655 the petitioners along with other inhabitants here were given permission and consent from the lords directors of the chartered West India Company, lords and patroons of this province, to sail, live, and trade, and to enjoy the same freedom, as appears by the document hereto appended; therefore, they humbly request that your honors will not prevent and hinder them therein, but be pleased to allow and consent that (pursuant to their obtained consent) they may be allowed, along with the other inhabitants of this province, to sail and trade there and in the South River of New Netherland, Fort Orange, and other places located within the district of this government of New Netherland. Which so doing etc. (Below was written:) We shall remain your honors’ humble servants (and was signed:) Abraham de Lucena, Salvador Dandrada, Jacob Coen.
The foregoing petition having been read at the session by the director general and councilors, it was decided that each of the lord councilors should give his advice concerning what recommendation to grant.
Advice of the honorable director general Petrus Stuyvesant:
To recommend that the petition be denied for important reasons.
Advice of lord Nicasius de Sille:
Advises that he would not like to go against the orders of the lords directors in this matter, but for the present time, as they have freighted goods for the South River, to wait for further orders in answer to the last letter sent to the lords directors.
Advice of the honorable La Montagne:
To recommend that the petition be denied for important reasons.
Advice of the honorable Cornelis van Tienhoven, made himself:
Cornelis van Tienhoven advises that to grant the petition of the Jewish nation for permission to go to the South River and Fort Orange (subject to correction), although the honorable lords burgomasters have granted the nation permission to live and trade in New Netherland, would nevertheless be very injurious to the commonalty and population of the aforesaid places, and therefore to deny this petition for this coming winter and in the meantime, and to make a full report of it to the lords directors, and that this time a young man of this nation be allowed to depart for the South River with some cargo without attaching too much significance to it.[1]
