Instructions [ ] from the honorable West India Company [ ] here in Amsterdam, by which the honorable and valiant Jacob Pietersz Tolck and his council, together with their secret instructions, are to regulate themselves.
The aforesaid director shall have supreme authority and command, and in all meetings and councils the prominent position and voice, both at sea in the ships and yachts under his command and direction as well as on land upon the aforesaid island of Curacao and the island of Buenairo, over the soldiers, sailors and all other persons, natives of the country and the Companys Blacks.
Whereas he shall propose all matters concerning civil administration, justice, trade and war, which are to be decided by majority vote, he shall have a double vote in case of tie.
In addition to him, the director, the council shall consist of the lieutenant in charge of the soldiers, who shall have second position, the commissary in charge of the merchandise, Petrus Stuifsandt, the third position, and then those skippers of ships and yachts, who are present, successively according to their time in service, and then such of them who shall newly arrive, provided that the council does not [ exceed ] the number of seven persons; furthermore, in purely military matters in this country and in the punishing of soldiers, the captain, the ensign-bearer and the oldest sergeant shall be admitted.
In these sessions Arnoult Verellen shall be employed as secretary, recording and registering, according to form, all cases, propositions, resolutions and detainments, with the reasons therefore also, all sentences judgments and decisions. In addition, he is to keep a good and perfect journal and daybook of everything which may occur on land and sea: what ships arrive there; what they unload, load and transact. He is also to record, confirm and register last wills and testaments of the people, and all other documents, contracts and assorted other instruments, public as well as private; and to send over to [ us ] with every ship copies of all resolutions, journals and other registers, signed by the aforesaid director and by himself.
And the aforesaid Petrus Stuifsandt, as commissary over the merchandise, shall likewise keep good books and registers of all the Companys business, trade, incoming items there, as well as of the sailors and soldiers, of those who die, accounts of the deceased, and inventories and sales of property they leave behind; also, to send over to us with every ship copies of testaments which the secretary shall entrust to him from time to time; and once a year copies of the account books of the soldiers salary as well as of the commercial activities.
With the capture and arrival of prizes, before any [ ] and unloading, the aforesaid commissary shall be summoned, if he is nearby either on land or at sea, and in his presence, to have the secretary together with two persons from the council, appointed thereto by the director and council, inventory and describe the same in a book kept expressly for this purpose, according to form. The commissary shall keep good and [ ] copybooks of these inventories and registers which are also to be sent over to us [ ]. The aforesaid director shall keep all the personnel and people, placed and to be placed under him, in good order and discipline, and to their tasks; and obey and observe the sworn regulations and all other orders, instructions and ordinances;
Together with his aforesaid council, punishing, to the best of his knowledge and ability, all civil and criminal offences, according to the aforesaid regulations, and, furthermore, according to the written laws, military regulations, ordinances and customs of this country.
If any voting disagreements arise among the councilors, the minority shall be obligated to follow the majority in all respects without contradiction; and outside the meeting, not to reveal in the least or indicate that they were of another opinion or point of view, except for being allowed to record or have recorded their opinion in the book of resolutions.
The prizes captured there or nearby during his residency, he shall send over with exact inventories, manifests and bills of lading, to the high chamber of Amsterdam, in addition to whatever may captured by other means, until further orders.
Taking care that, upon three citations, complaints and defaults with the council, after obtaining reliable information, signed declarations and confessions by the [ ], all captured ships and merchandise legally be declared good prizes under the charge of the auditor or provisional fiscal as plaintiff for the Company (who shall be obliged to do this for the Company out of his ordinary salary); and then after eradicating the original mark and [ ], to send [ ] under the Companys mark.
Concerning the saltpans, both here and upon Buenairo, he is to pay close attention that the seasons are observed and during the dry period that as much salt as possible is made, [ collected ] dried and preserved, so that all incoming ships, whether belonging to the Company or private, shall be so served thereby that they need not depart from there empty and seek their cargoes of salt elsewhere, to which (being a matter of [ ] concern to the Company) he is earnestly ordered to apply himself.
As a signal for all incoming ships, it is further ordered that a pole be erected, and whenever ships are spotted at sea near the harbor, to hoist a large basket up it which can then be observed by them.
He shall take care that the fortifications of both islands are kept in proper repair by the personnel and soldiers under his command, and maintained in such a state as is necessary for the protections of the islands and the security of the garrisons. And he is not to permit persons, who ordinarily reside in the fort, to remain outside during the night without his consent and order or that the same be frequented too much by foreigners.
The keys shall only be entrusted to the director who resides in the fortifications. He alone shall give the watchword and have all general and special authority, power and command. And the lieutenant shall depend completely on the directors orders and commands, and accordingly lead the soldiers on expeditions and to and from guard duty, and carry out everything which the director shall order him to do.
The director shall also have special power and authority to employ all ships officers and sailors, with the knowledge of his council, on expeditions and campaigns, and in other services on land, which he and his council shall deem appropriate.
No new offices shall be formed there except through amendments in compliance with the regulations, and all other amendments and wages for extraordinary services and labor are to be referred to us with a proper report and notification of their duties and wages.
However, all retiring political, military and maritime personnel appointed to office by us, shall be replaced by the director and council without exception, in conformity with the regulations stated previously.
He shall vigorously enforce and observe the ordinances previously proclaimed which state that no one shall cause any violence or fraud on the natives of the country or others with respect to their persons, women or possessions; and no one shall treat the Black and Indian women dishonestly, much less associate with them lasciviously, whether voluntarily or by force, on pain of forfeiting all their monthly wages and other [ ], and banishment from the place as a liability.
Black men and women belonging to the Company who run away, shall both do double labor and be fed bread and water, and the punishment increased or mitigated according to the circumstances of the offence.
Furthermore, he shall not permit any of our Christians to marry Indian or Black women before and until they have been baptized, following sufficient instruction, and incorporated into the community of Christ; just as Black servants, who are without the same preparation, may not marry one another, neither one nor the other, unless the proponent or comforter of the sick has the authority and charge to do so by the church council.
He shall place the Black servants under the supervision of someone appointed thereto or to be appointed, without [ ] or unchristian treatment, inducing them to such work from which the Company shall derive the maximum use and profit especially in cultivation and agriculture, both for provisions, [ as with ] fishing and otherwise, as well as for shipment to us.
He shall, until further orders, admit no other ships into the harbors than those of these United Netherlands and those showing patents of this Company which are valid for, their present voyage; consequently, no English, French or Orientals no matter what the guise or pretext may be. However, he is only to admit the same after giving notice that only a reasonable number (to be determined by him and his council) are to come ashore unarmed, and absolutely to deny them admittance to the forts, and for their money to provide them with some necessary and surplus refreshments, provided that a separate account be kept of it and paid to us without depriving himself of too much; however, always being careful that there is a surplus first for the Companys ships arriving there.
He shall always accommodate the Companys ships first and with dispatch, and not allow them to remain there longer than necessary, but to exhort them to carry out their orders and send them off.
And especially he shall not allow that the ships and yachts, which are entrusted to him and from time to time sent to him, waste their time unprofitably in the harbors, [ but ] keep them always at sea, cruising to the most advantageous places; and when the same return from a voyage or mission [ ] necessity, that he provide them as quickly as possible with all appropriate necessities and send them back to sea again as soon as possible, always taking care that whenever more than two ships or yachts shall [ ] with one another that they be [ ] with a capable commander, and that all prizes be delivered to him undamaged and unchanged, with their books, letters, manifests and bills of lading, and if he sends them to us as prescribed above, not to begrudge us what is worth noting in the margins or written between the lines.
And whereas we learn that the [ livestock ] has been greatly diminished and consumed, and does not yet warrant total extermination and destruction; therefore, he shall by all means and by consultation of previous ordinances and recent proclamations [ ], strictly forbid its unprofitable and needless consumption and destruction, and prevent and not permit that fresh meat be provided more than two times a week for all the people (except for his own table), unless an emergency and extreme scarcity of other foodstuffs demand otherwise; even then all proper moderation shall be maintained.
And in order to extend the foodstuffs as much as possible, he shall apply himself assiduously to drawing everything from the soil of the country through agriculture that will grow there and be able to serve for the support of our people.
Finally, whereas nothing is to be expected without the fear of God and His divine blessing over our undertakings; therefore, he shall promote with the highest respect, for him and those for whom he is responsible, Gods word with the means at hand, whether by sermons or, if there is no opportunity thereto, by lectures on Sunday before and after midday, and also on other days to lead everyone mornings and evenings in their daily prayers.
Extracted from the register of the instructions and commissions of the West India Company kept at the chamber of Amsterdam, being folio 112 and found to agree there with this 15 August 1640 in Amsterdam.[1]
[ Endorsed: ] Instructions for Curacao.
Jacob Hamel
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]
