A 'i'1 1f~ ('~~ cm~4 1r ,ow-,c:t . rtm~"" 1663. l1Register of the Resolutions com :-CBncing with the second ~irection of the Director-General, Joan Valckenburgh, on the 16th January 1663." (Extract from the Dutch Papers in the Kon. I nst. van Taal- Letter- & Volkenkunde voor Nederl. Indie. No. 68.) C Ck~~ If-"t ~,: ~ ""f...,lJ Thursday 1st February 1663. Being proposed at the Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. how, on his arrival, having found to his regret, that the Danish ships, "Frederick the Third" & "Prince of Denmark" had a lready passed, and of which it was reported in wha t a hostile manner they had dared to attack the Hon. Company's ships lying at anchor before CABO CaRS, and also even to summon &fdemand them, and that after the doing of this and such like things, they had dropped dawn from the Gold Coast to Arda, in orier to go fnrther to Sierraliona and to remove (lichten) their lodge there -not _kn ow- ing that thi s had already been done on behalf of the Company- and that they might easily attack, there before Arda, the ships at present destined thither for the slave trade or cause our people some damage at Sierraliona: therefore serious attention is given to all this, and after deliberation held &; good COD- sideration of affairs, it is unanimously decided & resolved -in order, if possible,to curb the Resolution to attack audacity of these preswnptuous men, Danish ships at Arda. and to make them feel that which they have caused to us, also to free our people in Sierra Liona from damage, and to provide safety in the trade for the ships now destined for the slave trade in default of which the Hon. Company would come to su~fer- to attack the said ships at Arda, or at the places whe r e they may be found. The Dir.-Gen. also represented that he had received letters from the Company advising that they had entered into contracts to deliver a large number of slaves to Curacao; -upon which resolution taken as to what should be lone for the delivery of of the same-. -Resolved to send ship with goods to supply the Lodge at Benyn. -A further resolution w.r.t. Cabo Lopes. Thus done & resolved in the Assembly of the Dir.-Gen. & Coun- cilliors on the North Coast of Africa at the Castle St George ' D'Elmina in Guinea. Datum ut supra. Sgd by Joan Valckenburgh~ Dirck Wilree, T. Pin~ide , A' Z. Cruijpenninghe, Aart Cosijns, & Jacob Jansen. 1. Friday 23rd February 1663. -Resolution about the ship "Cristina" and the yacht "Faam"-. Friday 23rd March 1663. ~n the proposition of the Dir.}rgen. whether, in order not to keep the Company's capital idle~ it woUld.be advisable to dispatch the ship "Goude Leeu" before the :eturn of the ships "Amsterdam" & "West Indische Huis", being ripely deliberated also that the oceupation of, or the exclusion of the foreign nations from before CABO CaRS & COiilANY at present) without xxxxxx&OCxdNX«~ force at sea, cannot possibly not be be continued unless we wisbed to lose the respect and a we among the natives, for thus long maintained with the expendi- ture of many means and to give the coast for the benefit of everybody, -it is therefQre resolved to keep the ship "Goude Leeuw" until the arrival of the "Amsterdam" & "W.I.Huis", but if they do not arrive before the 14th April, tben to send the "Goude Leeuw" home. Tnus done & resolved &c. Sgd by Valckenburgh, Wilre, Pinside, Cruijpenningh, Thieleman Wil!kens, Cosins, and Paulus Morgendaal. "Meeting of Council held by the Dir.-Gen. Jan Valcijenburgh, in the presence of Dirck Wilre, Huijbrecht van Gageldoncq & Thielman Wilkens Upper Factors; Aart Cosijns, Equippage Master; Frans Fransen Sluijter & Ger £'it Janssen van Dyck, ships skippers." Friday 27th Apr il 1663. Being read aloud at the Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. the Int e rrogatories & Replies taken from the skipper, factor, and pilot as also tbe common sailors sailing on the small barque "Cleyne Dolfin" about the ship "st. JanTl, eaptn Robbe r t Michael, captured on the 14th -15th of this month by a certain ship of the English Royal Company, name d "Rapport", Captn Francis Stuart, about AXEM and sent up to before Cormantijn, from whe r e -ac ,~ording to the let'ters from tbe Factors Tobias & Alexander Cruij penninck" it was to-day reported that they , th ~ Englisb, had released the said ship without damage, and had let it depart to Rio Calbary yesterday, •••••• -After discus s ion, it was resolved to take no civil or further pro- ceedings in the matter.- Thus done 1:'£ re solved &c. Sgd as above. 2. 1663. IlMeeting of Council held by the Dir .-Gen. Joan Valckenburgh in the presence of Dirck Wilre, Huijbracht van Gageldoncq & Thielman Wilkens, Upper Factor s ; Arent Cosyns, Equippage lIIlaster; & Paulus lviergendal, Vaandrig Comlltandant over the military. II Tuesday 8th May 1666. Is represented & communicated to the Assembly by the Di r. -Gen. How HR. had now, for some days , been in negotiation with the FUTUS over the voluntary "redemption II of the Fort at CABO CORS (taken from -afhandig gemaakt- the Cabo Cars Fort taken from pretended SWEDES on the 2nd i nstant) the Swedes by ther ,F..u. tus~~ having spent on the same the sum of on ?nd May. l~63,1 U!:e about 21 Marks of gold in order to ~ .'~"~"'flS;' come to that good end and to kee p the Fort out of the hands of the English; as he could not yet see how that object was to be attained without the expen diture of a considerably larger sum, because the ACCANISTS, acting as mediators between the two, besides the FUTU envoys had to-day again made a demand of 25 Marks of gold, andalthough they said they would keep themselves contented with that, yet it was to be expected that Jtheir maximun (maxime) which was oriinarily to be given afterwards for the conclusion (of the matter) would amOQDt to not a little, as the ACCANISTS themselves will not be put off with a trifle for the tr ouble they had taken: wherefore HH had found g ood to bring into deliberation what ought to be dis posed about this for th2 best service of the Company. To which, t hen, good attention baing given, and it being considered how very in - jurious it would be for the maintenance & preservation of the Company's affairs on this Coast to let the said Fort be possessed by others, and how v ery unlikely it is that we shall ever reach to that if this opportunity which now offered were passed by, for fear of the decision which might be made at home in the matter of this Fort, to the injury of the Company; as also the comtng of the English ships which~ aCGording to 'Narnings~ were to be ex- pected, and~ accordj.ng to their threats ~ it was to be expected that they could easily make our blocade fruitless if they wished, and even that they became masters of the said Fort, as they were uncommonly much aspiring thereto~ and even at the present t i me were resorting to all means with the FUTUS to that end , in wh i c h, if they mi ght succeed and they carne t o o ~t a in the s a id Fort, then there was no thought of ever getting them out of it again; wh i le a lso the FDTUS themselves, th r ough the power of the Engl i s h, would be powerles s to have thclll dislodged from there again; and as to the one or the other W3 had to expect not otherwise -if thei r force once came to balance with ours - but that we should fall i nto great inconvenience over the blocade, as the ~nglish , as being contrary to their advantage, will neither und erst and nor allow of any l awful reasons whlch we could g i1lJe them of our doings , and that therefore -like as against the Castle Frigate and t his RURert.". it did not a l ways stand well to suc ceed or f a llout; 3. about which, on any ill-success, the natives would very much rejoice clnd more and more rebel against the Company and bring its affairs into the utmost contempt: and to attack the Fort by force or to fall upon it unawares, as' it is a bad sea, was not to be thought of before the months of November oc December, because through the present rough and stormy sea it would scarcely be practicable to land in good order or otherwise but with great peril, and, being obtained in that manner, by thd probable sudden attack of the FUTUS, we should not be allowed the time to provide for it in order to be able to remain in . possession of it, and then the attack (offencie) would be so much greater that for the sum for which we can now obtain the said Fort voluntarily, we should not then know how to hold it; yes, if the matter continues on the present footing for six months, and th:: war being renwwed, more expenses would have to be made over it than now was demanded in money "onbereets" a much greater sum we're expended on the same, and wihtout expend- iture, will never be obtained; besides that, on the present Director General renewing the war, wf:bhout a remarkable change , the pos3ession of CABO CaRS will not be obtaine~ except with great difficulty during his Direction, because the FORtiS out of fear for revenge will be all the less to be persuaded, as their understanding goes no further than that which was done 6c carried out herein by the deceased Dir-Gen. Mr van Heussen and things XXMRX arose (voortgecomen) from his own x««XiRKkXmN motive and evil inclination towards KmrX their nation. Wherefore this ':ind all the aforesaid being considered 2'Xpi: ripely anJ with seriou d~liberation so is, after opinions asked, unanimously decided and found gooo -in order to bring such im- portant matters (ac cording to the situation of these Quarters) to a good end and the Company's affairs from an unce rtain into an as~ured position- to uay the demanded gold and what apper- tains thereto, considering the four-fold sum having already been wasted in war, as t ·hen we were not yet finally assured of reach- ing our aim for a less sum than at present, and for this, if the place had been thereby to be held or again to be recovered, more would have xExk2x~~~ been expended thereon. Thus done & resolved &c. Sgd by Vaickenburgh, Wilre, Wilkens~ Cosins, Mergendal, & Van Gageldoncq. 4 . 1663. "Meeting of Council held by t;he Dlr .-Gen. Joan Valc k - en burgh in the presence of Dirck Wilre, Huijbrecht van Gageldol1cq & Thielman Willkens, Upper Factors; Arent Cosins, Bquippage Master; Frans Franss Sluijter & Gerri t Jans sen v an Dijck, ships skippers; and l'1aulus Mergendal Vaandrig Commandant over the military." Thursday 17th May 1663. Is represent ed at the Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. that a s the Lord God (although not without expenditure of much money with contentment of the natives) had been pleased to restore the Han. Company in the possession of Cabo Cars Fort handed CABO CaRS, which had been desired over to the Dutch by the for so long, as all those who had Fut us -on 2nd i\llay 1663, kx±~xkE ever tried to cause in - vide ~uller, p.15. c onvenience to the said Company in its honourable trade,c ontinually kept their eyes on the aforesaid CABO CaRS, and it was still to be expected (as they had be en so l ong at home) that if no £fiB6rmation were given about the handing over of the said CABO CaRS, the SWEDES,n, DANES, or others would not sit still but proceed with their equippage to i t , whether therefore it would not be necessary, in order to report this oc ,;urrence t o t he Han. Company and to ca~se such highly injurious equippage t o to be checked and st opped , to dmspatch some advice as quickly as pos s ible and. t o send it home ; as also loJC what ship or yacht to employ for that purpose -if the same were judged advisa ble- and how to let the same proceed on its voyage, whether it would be advisable with a return cargo or otherwise and whether through the Channel or round behind it. WhereUpon, after ripe delibera - tion, it was unanimously res@lved -as this occurrence will not be known at home for so long, the prohibited equippage will in all probability by no means rest , and for that reason it would be wholly ina:ivisable to denude the Coast of the ships IIAmster- damfl & IIW.I.Huisfl with which t he said e oast must be made safe and ill disDOS ,~ d.enied entranc'3 (afg ewesen)6JKmil:-therefore the aforesaid ships, until further advice from home, shall be kept here, and the yacht"Eendracht" employed for the said voyage and as it is late in the year, and(.as it is very much eaten with worm and is too weak, not to entrust it with any cargo, to dispatchit,without return cargo, through the 5hannel (? -binnen door) with advice letters and in passing t o let it victual the I s land Annabon. ' Thus d~ne & resolved &e. Sgd by Valckenburgh, Wilre, Willkens, Cosins, Sluijter, Mergendal, Van Gageldoncq , van Dijck. 5. II Meeting of Council held by the Dir .-Gen. Jan Valckenburgh in the presence of Dirck Wilre, Tobias Pinside, Huijbrecht van Gageldonc~ & Thielman Wilkens, Upper Factors; Arent Cesins, Equippage ~a st er; Frans i"ranss ':luijter, Ships skipper; & Paulus Mergendal , Vaandrig Commandant • over the mil.itary. II t ~ 'fM'" IIIfIIIkt Sunday 17th June 1663 . 14 f.e "11 ~~ '''1 Is at t he Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. reading done of a c ertai~ letter a ddressed to HE by the Hon. Company at Amsterdam, per the ship "Ze elandia":1 in so far as the same compri s es a definite warning which the said Chamber bas been pleased to give about two ships named "Marmaduke" and "Speedward" (speedwort) which at about t he departure of the aforesaid ship "Zeela :1dia 11 hit herwar ds were being equipped in England by the Royal Company there, whi ch would a lso be followed by three more Royal Frigates; and further he a lso communic ates a let ter fr em the l:"a<..:t or in charge (ter rechergie) dated the 11th instant at AXEM, that the aforesaid shi ps, extraord"inarily mount-ed and manned, had corne to anchor befiore the fort there, but, according to the report of the Blacks, were now at present lying under Cabo Tres Puntas at a place called PRAIJA D'ORO, in order to provide thems elves with water and Vlood there, without further r eferring to t heir designs or intentions; but only that to-day report had been made by the Upper Factors Tobias Pinside & Huijbrecht van Gageldoncq that they had been informed by one Joas Nunes, native inhabitant at CABO CORS, in whose house the English lodge there, that the aforementioned English give out that they would hostile ly attack us, like as previously they have by no means obscurely given t o understand; and although such is not to be regarded seriously nor also entirely cast to the wind, but the more is to be feared that they will endeavour to cause us all damage and injury wit h- out open hostilities in the same manner as ~ve have now long acted towards them and other nations , and against which we shall chiefly have to be on our guard. Therefore is again, oonxequ8nt- ly given into considera tion how we sUall best act t owards the~ aforesaid ships -conSidering their strength, and that moreover they have a ship & yacht l ying before COru~NT IJN ,and on our side ~XKXR~~:1 against them , we are only provi~ ed with t he ships "Amsteraam" & "Vi .LHuis" together with the mast les s "Cristina"- in ord er to prev ent them in their designs whi ch they may intend to the injury of the Hon. Company and also "buiten feijte te blijven", chiefly if they should try to erect any Lodges at COMANY, ADSIANG, or CRAA, or seek to establish them- selves at CABO CORS next to the Hon. Company. to which, to all appearances it will be chiefly aimed ; and es pecially, if, anchoring before the aforesaid CABO CORS, they at tempt ed t o sail on shore, how in that case the same shall be averted, as indeed t hey are as strong or stronger in men & small ves sels as we are oursleves, and therefore, to all a =_pearances , wit 1 not let them- selves be r efused admittance with any words, but will have t o be ------------------------~-"----------------------------------- 1663. opposed in their actions by force; and on using force, with- out greater strength, it is to be feared that they will take that as'a pretext to cause the ~ompany great damage, or indeed to attack the ships. About which, if we already came to com- mit hostilities, it has to_be considered whether their boats and small vessels can belPrevented~eb~, ans also -if they ~ are not to be kept1rom the shore and endeavour ing to land there under the Fort- whether something shall not be done about it, and if anything be done against them by turn ing them back with the cannon from the Fort- whether' one has to fear any disturbances with the FiliUS, seeing that the Fort stjll lies open on one side. And moreover, although the ships 11 Arnst erdam 11 & nw. I. Hui s TI can be st out ly manned and mount ad against those ships -provided the Forts are denuded of men- it ought to be well deliberated whether it will be advisable to hazard everything upon one occasion (reijse) as the issue in such things is uncertain; and whether, on coming to fmre too short (te cort te schieten) in this action, most of the forts and places would not run into danger,notwithstanding (onaangezien) that we have to do with a nation who would stir to accomplish their advantage upon us in such cases (die haar vocrdeel in soodanige gevalle op ons weI soude woelen te betrachten). Besides which it has to be considered t hat 1f we met with the worst misfortune with the English, and some Swedes or Danes should make their appearance, in what manner , then, w~ shall be able to oppose their injurious intentions for t he injury of the Company, as all the said difficultles .are threatening us; and, on the other hand, the consideration wh~ther, in order to avoid disturbances against the English in order to be on our guard against Swedes and Danes, we shall allow the English to take away the Hon. Company's places under our noses, with which they would themselves mock at us ; altho ugh also, over our contrary proceedings and on our attacking them if they did not wish to do the same first, we then run into the danger of all the other disasters, and also that t hey, putting the blame for everything upon us as the a ggressors, will/under that pretext,cause no little injury to the Company 's affairs. Upon all which serious attention bei.ng given and deliber a - ted, it is found good & resolved , by a majority of vot es, t ha t x±ix~~x at all places where the English should seek to force their way in, to the prejudice of the Company 's right s - in so far as it can in any way be done with the natives wi thout dis- service to the Company- we shall seek to hinder them and keep them out according to our power and in the most civil manner Cop het civilste); it being determined especially w::.th regard to CABO CaRS, if they come to anchor before i.t, to bring our ships' force together, and if they should attempt t o land, it shall now again, a s formerly, be f orbidden, and endeavour made to prev'-.'Ilt them - at least with words, if our force should be 7. too weak for any other manner; and that therefore, instead of doing the same with t he ships" such landing shall be xu resist ed and hindered with cannon from the shore and cut of the Fort, on the pretext" which is the trlith , that we cannot tolerate any armed men landing in such a manner against out will under our fortress, whose intentions we rightly have to hold as suspect, considering their own threats and that such doings are repugnant to friendly usage and that they are not to act in such manner there -await!lmg how everything then will go further: and in case of opposit~ion and displeasure of the FUTUS, giving them as the reason of our actions that it is ex well known to them themselves that the English have long given out that it was their int ~tion to fight us, and Kg that we, taking that into consideration, cannot now see them coming to occupy our roadstead and wishing to land under our Fort against our will" and therefor e it is n ot f01-=.':8 to suffer it; the more so as we do not prevent them v utusi coming there with canoes from CO~~NTIJN for the provis!oning of their people; but that we are resolved to preserve and maintain the roadstead for ourselve: in the hopes that t hey will, with that , keep themsalves quiet and observe neutrality. as is most highly to be desired at the present time for t he service of the Company. Thus done & resolved &c. Sgd by Va lckenburgh, Wilre, Pinside, Van Gageldoncii, Wilkens , Cosins, Sluijter, Van Dijck, & Mergendal. 8 . 1663. "Meeting of Council held by the Dir.-Gen. Jan Valckenburgh in the presence of Dirck Wilre ~ Tobias Pinside, Huijbrecht van Gageldonck & Thielman Wi lkens, Upper Factors; Arent Cosins , Equippage Master ; Fran s Fransen Sluijter, Gerrit Jansen van Dijck~ shi~s skippers; and Paulus Merg endal Vaandrig Commandant over the military." Wednesday 27th June 1663. Is represented at the Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. in what manner HH. had been quite "enorm" and injuriously treated in his quite seemly protest (Q.V. dd. 7/6) by the English Agent with many fictitious f alsehoods, by a writing more resembling a lampoon than a protest (Q.V.dd.13/6); and moreover exhibited a letter from the Captain-Admiral of these last-arrived English ships, named John Stoakes (Q.V. dd.13/6) to the effect that we should have to restore to him (as he calls it) the Fort at CABO CORS, and further -as is to be seen from the contents of the said letter read at the Assembly- in case of refusal making prot est and threat. Upon which having also examined the papers of t ha t which had previously happened about Cabo Ve rde & Rio Gamba, also the complaints made about it by their lligh mightinesses to his Majesty of England, t ogether with His Ma jesty's reply XR~X~ thereto in which he fully disapproves such preposterous proceedings, and consequently having now entered i nto a new and closer alliance with that nation, as we were not at t hat time; also t hat we ought not now to fear such like thing s as they are nov; spreading about , except our Lords & Masters' wa rning to be on our guard against them, in order not to experience (experimenteeren) the effects of that which Major Rob bert HOLMES, previously at Ca bo Verde, a nd from out of Sierra Liona, by letter , al so even EEXR has dared t o notify her e, like as the present proce edings have t he appearanc e of being a consequence (gevolg) t hereof' , against whi ch we shall necessarily have to place ourselves in a posture; so, ther efore , the Resolution taken on the 17th instant, upon being read, is unanimously held to be approved. With which is also represent- ed by the Dir.-Gen., up to what number of men the ships shall be reinforced in case the :&lglish came to carry their threat s int o deeds, as the ship "Amsterdam" is manned with 72 sailors, the "W.I.Huisn with 73 and the neristina l1 with 36,. and a ll the gar- risons denuded, and at the principal places such as thi s Castle and Fort Nas sou, in the one of which ther e are only 50 men, bot h soldiers ~ train persons, in garrison~ and in the other 27 man , from which the increase of the manning of the ships would have t o be done, as it is considered that CAlBO CORS, with 54 men, is suffi~iently garrisoned, which now at this time we are holding with a fresh and healthy garrison; adding that about this serious attention ought to be given as to how the Forts, on the further manning of the ships, will be denuded at no small danger and r isk, and that, in the meantime, upon anything befalling the one pl ace 9. or the other not the least succour can be given but everything will have to be left to take its course; about which, on a bad result, many strange things might be said even if one had been careful, and whether it were not imprudence if it were neglect- to hazard the utmost in order to guard against such a place NmtxEBiMgxK~kHN as CABO CORS not being taken away from under our noses. Upon which attention being given and everything being ripely considered, after Reliberation held and good consideration of matters, it is unanimously decided! found good & resolved that, CABO CORS baing more than sufficiently provided with men, the ships "Amsterdam" & "Cristina" shall be kepy before this Castle ready to sail, and the "Cristina", alone, be reinforced 'Nith ten more men out of this garrison -whether they are distrjbute.i on other ships and sailors given to the "Cristina" in their place or that the same shall be ordered in a better manner- leaving on one side the weakening of the garrison, and EMNXE~X consequently the risk that the Company's Forts and places wil l thereby come to run, as the same is true and public, for the present evil in hopes for the better; and by means of those men to resist the English and to protect CABO CORS aforesaid: wi th regard to which English, it is decided that if they come to pay us a visit before CABO CORS for the purpose like as they spread about, and they should first attack our ships~which we, on our side, will await,., in case t hey should be compelled to ret ire through the resistance, then, by no means,to pUllsue them beyond the Company's roadstead, in order to cause their wrongful act to appear to all the world, and that, from our side, nothing else was done than that which every man is at liberty tmbl do for the protection of his own, in the expectation that the Lord God will be m0rcifully pleased to maintain the Company and us, here in this country, in our good and lawful affairs against such evil and unlawful proeeedings. Is represented at the same Assembly by the afornamed Dir.- Gen. that as the matter between us and the King & Caboceros of COMANY has now come so far that the ACCANISTS have departed to GREAT COMENDO this evening in order to fetch the hostages for our security; and as, then , again, we shall be able to build & trade at COMANY and TERFM. PECQUENINA, both which places they promised- according to the cession (opdragt)_to concede to us; and as we are entirely denuded of everything that is required for the carrying out of such building, and chiefly of slaves -of which there are none ht re nor can they be withdrawn froIn m:kJoRK other places as they are also denuded, and most of them are ruinous (oneer de voet leg gen) and must themselves be built up (opgemaakt), & especially this cannot nor may be neglected at CABO CORS as by its bad shape (gestalte) the "questagie tt would fall unbearably and the expenditure too grievously for the Company~ and without slaves who could cut the necessary wood in the bush and bring the same to hand, burn lime, break stone and do other such-like things, such work is not to be done profitably and to waIit to do the same without means is but vanity; therefore must be deliberated ~hat would be practic- able & to let that be done for the advancement of the general affairs-:' 10. 1663. Whereupon~ opinions being asked how best to dispose in this inconvenience for the best service of the Company, ~nd whether one should build & trade at both S~~LL COMANY and T8RRA PECQOENINE, otherwise AMPENY , and what sort of building t o place there, or how shall be arranged about everyth1ng, therefore is attention given to the same, and after deliberation and rj pe consideration of affairs~ it is unanimously decided, found good & resolv:ed, firstly to erect a Lodge , like the former one , at COMANY; but at TERRA PECQUENINA only to keep a house wit h a flag staff and flag together w:i.th one person to keep i t flying, so that on the arrival of any foreigners, the Com pany's poss- ession there c~n appear~ like as was practised by the deceased General Van Heussen: and thi s provisionally, and until a better op rortunity when other disposit ions can be made which later should be judged to be required; as for any more res- pectable building there are neither time nor the E~g~XXM~~ least means avai lable. Thus done & resolved &c. Sgd by Valcl{enburgh , Wilre, Van Gageldoncq, Cosins, and Mergendal. 11. "Meeting of Council h3ld by the Dir.}Gen. Joan Valckenburgh in the presence of Dirck Wilre, Tobias Pinside, Huijbracht van Gageldoncq, Thielman l'iilkens, Uppe r Factors; Aren t Cosins Equippage Master ; with Paulus l\lergendal, Vaandrig Commandant over the military." Thursday 26th July 1963. Is represented at the Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. how the annoyances & vexations of the English becoming daily greater & more perilous, therefore further provision is required to be made for the serv Jce of the Hon. Company against such ag gressions in such manner that the Company is not prejudiced in its rights and privileges, nor any of fence given to another nation and ally whereby the Hon. Company might also fall into disturbances & injuries; the more so as,from a letter recei ved l ast evening from the U ~per Factor Wilre, he judges that the p Loposal made to him by the English about reestablishing their Lodge at CABO CORS is so important that a good deliberation ought to be made about it, in order to practise every- thing well. Whereupon, then, the Re solutions taken on the 17th & 27th ult imo being first read, and being found that all the dif L'i - culties which are now arising and the English threat s of war at that time more than ever f ear .ed, were sufficiently deliberated upon; and, moreover, afterwards all menbers of Council by writing under the i r hands, have also judg ed that it was no more than just to resist t he reestablishment (!:§.stablieeren) of the Eng lish Lodge a t CABO CORS, as on the contrary it would be ruinous for the Company and inexcus - able for us, having so much force to prevent the same, that we should suf Ter it. Whe reupon i s a lso examined that which is cOlTI.:nanded by our secret Instruction about this work of CABO CORS~ as also how the Hon. Chamber of Amsterdam, by their letter of 30t h January last, (n.o.r.?) order us to be on our guar d against these English ships; and in wh~ manner they ha ve noVi thus long ti:! threatened us and still continue in it; yes, also l ately betook chemselves,with all the force they have been able to bring to- gether, before the Company's fortification. Therefore is again given into consideration whether furhter deliberation here is required, and each dne is enjoined to qualify hi~gelf to revea1 7 f or the ~ervice of the Company, that of their t alen t which might still be concealed among them, as th~ir good council was more than ever needed. After which herebefore made proposition, arrived here, and is received with due cere~H~y and in - Interview with Carteret troduced into the AssemblyJ Vice- at ~lmina Castle. Admiral of the English, named Phili p Carteret ac companied by t wo witnes ses, first handing over t o us a letter from their Admiral John Stoakes 7 and further requesting to serve (insinueren) a ~ertain Protest (Q.V. dd. 16 July) which> not being able to refuse i t , we have a llowed & found it to be shor t ly to t he following effect, namely:- 12. l663t. That he 7 Admira l John Stoakes, had expected an answer to h i s l etter of t he 14t h pa s s ato , and its request to confer v e rbally wit h u s , f or the removal of the differen ce s wh i c h are da i l y occurring o n these Coa st s bet ween our l!ep~ect­ ive nat ions. But receivei ng no reiny, he had betaken him- self before CABO CORS in ord er to d o his Ma s - ters' bus l nes s there; but on his arrival he had foun d himself h inde red therein by our pe ople , having receive d warning f rom t he m not to pr oceed on shore. Therefore 7 for the Emoval of all mi sunder- standings , by virtue of h is aut hority, he was requesting to come into a conference wi th us or our representative s . To this end , in oredr to show his sincerity & inclination to friendshi p , h e was willing al so to set on one side the questions an d dispute s raised in the Protest from the Agent Se lwyn, and to let them be r eferred to our re spect i ve Principals. Requesting us, therefore, to order our shi ps bef ore CABO CORS to a llow them to re s t ore (he r- stellen) the Lodg e which the y had f ormerly poss- essed there; c..nd to be a llowed to take furthe r possession of those places of which they had formerly had possession; a nd to give t h e as sur- ance that the English nation should experi ence no harm from the Hon. Company 's people , l ike a s, on the other hand , they would d o to us i n t he same manner. Lastly ~ that u pon refusal , and t hat 'N e would not suffer them to build at CABO CORS, he would conseq uently be compelled to ~sort t o me ans t o carry out h is order s; prot e st i ng a ga inst t he di s asters whi c h mig ht arise a nd befall f rom suc h . Whereupon was said to Vice-Admiral Ca rteret & c ompany t hat we would consult about the reply to b e g iven to all this; but in order to do so with some foundation , we would lik e to hear whet h- er he was charged to prop~e anything further. Upon h~s replying No, nothing further than was communicated in t hat wr i t- ing, re ply was then ma de whether, if necessary, furt her eluc ida- tions would be made of that which was thoug ht by u s t o be obs c ur e in the Protest and in a certain letter written by Admir al Stoakes to the Upper Factor ~ Wilre namely, that he should allow Mr Stoakes to build at CABO CORS that which he shall judg e t o be required for the service of the Royal Company , a nd a l so t o suff er him again to take posseSSion of and to occu py all t he places which the English na tion has ever previous l y posse s s ed : 13 . which two points are very far-r eaching and in the which, by the one, we might understand the rebuilding of a Fort far surpassing the one which our Company possesses at CABO CaRS, whereby such would become, from being the greater as now, then the lesser: and by the other, to s peak so generally of letting them take possession of the places which their nation had previously possessed, if they desired ~o have a final anwwer they would have to declare what they me ant by that, for our Company was not in possession of any of their places. fmxwEizn To which the Vice-Admiral declared that they were not charged to reply; but tbat if we would come into conference with the Admiral, for this , and everything, to be disclosed, we would be friendly treated and dealt with; and also, in order to have no further disputes afterwards, a formal agreement should be put into writing and signed on either side. To this, was declared to them that we did not requi r e that , as the alliance between the two nations was the Eule of con- duct in what manner we tiere bound to treat each other; and therefore we had all the less expected that the Admiral, armed with White and Black, besiees also a fireshiptwhich even in the bitterest wari are held to be extreme measures, would have come to occupy (bezetten) our Fort and ships, and, mmxRE~K moreover, corrupt K»e men out of our Company's service, like as a certain soldier was sailing on board his shi p, by whom, besides also an Englishman who was kept at CABO CaRS express- ly for such, they had tries to set fire to the powder and to blow up the Fort, which was no friendship but were such tokens of enmity tbat we could not trust them. Which they exc used and aid were rumours of the negroes, "die haar van ons diergelijcks me de we l had len in't hoofd gesteeken, daarop hun tegemoet wierde gevoert 'thaare was blijckende bij de -daad, maar 'tonse, zonder voorgegeven reden, nooit en zouden thoonen in ons gedachte te zijn." And therewith going over to the men of the English nation out of K~ our Company's service whom we were demanding, they declared that they did not know of any such and if any were discovered they would send them away in order to give contentment, and t he Company had nElEN also been wTit~en to about it not to employ any more of them hereafter. And afterwards coming to their flag , we protested on our side that we should never be in default about the duty whi ch we bad to fulfil that which was commanded us about i t , yes, indeed, we would not in t he least wish to dispute with them about it at other places or on the high seas; but on a coast where we lay under our Fort and in our own roadsteads where they came to occupy by force of arms and wanted to fight and dispute about the supremacy (opperhoofdigheid) (like as they gave out, we gave it into their con s ideration whether it was fit for us to strike the flag. 14. 1663. To which they replied that as we declared that we were liable to do this in their harbours, whether then we were Dot bound to do the same at CABO CaRS where th~y had a factory and so, con- sequently, were coming in to their own haebour. To this V>Je replied to them that they had no factory there , but even granted (va3tgesteld) that they already p~sesped one, whether we, who possessed a Fort there, ~ould~com~into a for- eign harbour; and consequently we could PPEX~EXXE a1ready per- ceive that as by virtue of a pretended factory they were claiming the ownership of the roadstead, if the same were allow- ed them, they would also claim it on shore and o~er the Fort ; the contrary of which we, on our side, weee bound to maintain, which then would cause continual confusion, and therefore it would be better to prevent it. To which they rejoined that we could well come to an under- standing about it in a conference; but they would be glad to know if we could prove that order had been given by them for the setting fire to our powder at CABO CaRS. To this was replied JX yes, "en XE~ sond haast ~ als soude weten te verificeeren een Engelsman, die Dooit en hadden gesien of immer van gehoort door last van onze zijde tot CORMANTIJN was IEKmm vermoort off omgebracht, ons seer gereet soude vinden 'tselve gestant te doem!! To which they replied that they would say nothing about flag , people, and everything and repu~liie th3 same in order to live in friendship with us, if we co but come to an understandi ng with each other at a conference, out the work of CABO CORS, which they very heartily de sired; and that such conference could be held by each in his o~n boat or vessel midway bet ween our respective ships. To this we requested that they would please r eply to us whether in the English language they would not call it higb treason that a [general, Gov@rno.r, or Director should volun- tarily go out of his Fort in order to treat with the Ministers of another State over the handing over of the Forts & fortifi- cations, or any right whiGh his Principals possessed, and whether they thought it was in our power to dispute about them or to dispose (dispenseeren) about anything. Which they so far agreed with us would be high treason; but their request did not extend so far, but they only desired possession of that which they had formerly possessed. After which discussion, w@ finally told them that we should have to consult about a reply to be given to them, and requested that they would absent themselves, for so long , at the place where they were E» properly provided for. 15. , And thereupon zf;~-ag.9:iI}-=;'a~Il§st~';;lt~tiOIlA.taken in hand (btisoigneert) regarding that whlcl1 was given into considerat ion this morning, and also attention ripely given to what had been notified both in writing and verbally by Admiral St;oakes and his representatives, comprising an entirely different manner of speaking to that which was previously employed; apparently be- cause they would now like to obtain by artifice that which they have not been able to effect by force. Wherefore the Dir. -Gen. has once more represented and highly recommended to each -seeing that he had co mnrumicated everything he had with him that in any concerns these matters- that each one should earnestly express his views for the good of the Han. Company, and especially give attention to the following points, namely: Whether, on consenting from our side t o the English coming to CABO CORS, we shall not thereby make the possession obtained fruitless and change our present quiet into unrest & disturbances. Whether also to grant (dragen) such consent when one is not yet constrained to it by extreme force, xx is in the power of a Director-General or General or anyone of such quality, who thought of (? geheught is) the same without need, is not a treacherous man wantonly giving away and making fruitless the rights of the State. Whether moreover -even if consenting, and hav ing first heard the threats of the Bnglish abd now seeLng their force at hand to aerry out the same, although they now well discover that they wil l not succeed in everything in the manner that they had indeed imagined and therefore they speak better words- we shall be able to trust them: and whet he r , having set foot on shore in that manner, one has to expect anything further from them than that they will carry cut their hostile intention and try t o put it into effect Under one pretext or another. Further, even if this did not come to pass, W»RK» whether it is not to be feared that, instead of that, ~ they might alter their Lodge,which they have formerly possessed, into an entire Fort (surpassing the Company's Fort) as from the indefinite request of Admiral Stoakes is to be seen that he desires that one allow him that which he shall judge to be required for t he Royal Company. 16 . I( 1663. /III, Whether, if t ht~y afterwards come to under,( such a thing, the same shall be suffered; and if not, in what manner, then , bejng mixed up amon~ the natives (onder nature- lIen vermengd) such will be prevented; and therefore whether it will not be better to do now, for the preservation of the whole , that which will afterwards have to be done for the conservation of a part. Whether we shall the sooner (eer) yield before the English in this, a s the inhabi- tants are not in the least troublesome to us about it, nor, for the present, say the least thing about the restoration of the English Lodge. Also, if we should allow them to come there to CABO CORS, whether we shall not immediately have to expect them at COMANY and elsewhere, like as they threaten , and is indeed to be ~EN~~~ expressly con- cluded from the letter from Admiral Stoakes 7 that, without mentioning anything by name, he desires also all other places which the English nation has previously possessed; from which we cannot judge wi t h certainty what they might mean thereby. And further ,-if we come to exclude them entirely from CABO CORS , and also succeed with the Aing of SABOU in causing t h~t they do not obtain any place at CONG, but cannot prevent the same at MANFROO where the Danes are at present, and thus that they would have to be suffered at one of these t hree places- at which of the three is then to be decided that they could remain wi th the least hindranc e & damag eta t he Company. Also, whether tlhet niet verre en sal zien tI that we. shall have to refuse admittance to the English to a place where they have for so long years possessed a togge, first with cannon; and also,on the other hand, whether it is answerable to receive and allow arri- val to anyone with an armed force, to one's own injury, under the Fort entrusted to one, whereby such Fort and its appurtenances are placed in danger. And also, as it is threatened by the English that if ~hey should be fired upon out of the Fort in landing, they will revenge the same on the Company's ships, whether in human judgment that is not held to be sufficient to recompense (recompenseeren) such ; and whether it is credible that in case of such firing out or the Fort, they , the English, will at once BXKX«k hostilely attack our ships over it , seeing that thereby they can- not advance (vorderen) , but will entirely ma ke fruitless and lose their hopes of ever coming to CABO CaRS. And lastLY~ even if we found ourselves in inconvenien~Jand in so evil a state that we could not wit~stand the English in their un- lawful desires, whether it would not be better to hazard the extreme and to a wait the violence, t-han to consent to anything to the injury of our Lords and Masters, so that they may not have to complain about our duty (devo:i r) and will also be able to maintain their act i on against the ~nglish, which in another manner , by our consenting, they might easily come to lose. To all which,attention being given, and namely, that the Han. Company having obtained CABO CaRS without finding a Lodge of the English there,y o r that the natives made any reservation tb4t we should have to tolerate the rebuilding of it later on -which they have never desired or requested from us- ; and moreover, that they, the English , are not to be trusted, a s it is certain that one of them, staying in an inhabitant's house there, on retiring f rom the afor e sa id place, has also carried off a person from the Company's service as a prisoner or ~XKXtEx deserter , who is at present still on board Admiral's Stoakes's ship, whish -besides hi s armed arrival before the Company's places with the utt eranc e of many fearful threats of war to deprive us of maxxnx:lqooex our Fort and ships- are no tokens of friendship but rat her the contrary, and that now he is only trying to o btain~ wit h fair words, and under the semblance of friendshi p, that whic h he sees, contrary to what he had imagined, is not to be effected by violence; and even if they can hardly be turned out of CONG & MANFRO if the natives only desire (them there ? ) and if they must be suffered at one of those places, CABO CaRS would indeed be the least prejudicial (sic -minst prejudicabel -meaning presumably less prejudicial to the Coy to defen d & keep them out of?). But our duty being to defend and pro- tect the Company's rights in ~1 every respect , ther efore we shall endeavour to prevent their possession also at the obe or the other places ; and that which we cannot avert, to l eave t o 18. 1663. the J:<.:nglish to take from us by violence, so that t he Company may reasonably complain to them over their actions about i t , seeing that its orders do not permit us to go further ; whi c h also, is based upon right and justice, a s to allow the poss - ession at CABO CORS to another nation is not only to destroy the usefulness of the acquired fortific a tion there , but also to ruin this Fortress St George da Mina and to place it in danger, yes, to make it tributary to CABO CORS & FUTU. Whe ~efore, considering that the Company's present fmrce is not yet so unequal to that of the English, and therefore by firing much upon our ships -which we shall be able to trea t them in the same manner- they would advance lit t Ie ; and as they could by no means carry out their j.ntent ion t han by means of the natives (they behaving in another manner) better ways for our injury are indeed openJxxmzxxx&®; so (sett ing aside their malevolence) such a rash deed is hardly to be presumed from them. THEREFORE, after deliberation & good consideration of affairs, it is FOUND GOOD , as yet t o per- sist in the RKS61utions taken on t he 17th & 27t h of last month; and is further decided that the instruction s given shall be promptly observed by those to whom the execution therof has been commended ; and that re pl y be given in writing to the English Admiral, and verbally to his de put i es (who are thereupon again duly introduced into t he Assembly) of that which is stated to them there by the Dir.-Gen. namely: That we know of no En glish Factory at CABO CORS; and muc h less do we know how to dis pose or say anything upon their indefinite proposals other than t hat we shall maLDta in and endeavour to conserve and protect ~ with b lood and trea sure , the places which the State and the Company possess here in this country & subjected to th eir Direction, against all & ev er y man who should wish to disturb them in thexx possession thereof, without treacherously to negotiate or treat with any one about t he handing over thereof; and we shall hope and also d 0 not doubt that Admiral Stoakes will be fu11y satisfied with that re ply, both reasona ble and just; like a s we begged and earnestly requested him not to act , nor to l et be done ,against it, but to await the judgment,over what he sustained, from Europe; and that, in def ault of which & if he should undert ake anything hostile, we prot ested our guiltlessnes s • .T o Which the Vice-Admiral replied that thi s was t he first ad dr ess which had been made to the Dir.-Gen. & it would a l so be t he last. To whi ch reply was given him that such wa s I1rigonousl! ,seeing that all civil matters were allowed to be debated. With whi~h, in t hat manner and in others , they took thei r leave & departure . Thus done & resolved &c. Sgd by Valck enbur gh, Wilre, Van Gage ldoncq, Cosins , & Mergendal. 19. "Meeting of Council held by the Dir.-Gen. Joan Valck'd.nburgh in the presence of Mr Pieter Baute, Fiscal; Dirck Wilre, Tobyas Pinsade, Huijbrecht van Gageldoncq, Upper Factors; Arent Cosins, Equippage Master; and Paulus Mergendal, Vaandrig Commandant over the military." Thursday 16th August 1663. Is represented at the Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. how the English have now for a considerable time occupied (bezett ge- houden) the place ( sic, meaning the roadstead?) of CABO CORS and many times threatened to attack it, to which, as no pre- text can fail them through the increase of th~ir force as is regretfully to be seen daily, they could very easily be en - couraged; also how we have continually and regretfully to ex- perience their improper practices of negotiattng with the t FUTUS for that purpose -to the prejudice of the Hon. Company and its highest inconvenience and intolerable burden; so that we clearly see that through the considerableness of the Eng - lish force, if we cannot succeed in balancing ±tXNIk»x~X~ ours with theirs, we shall lose the respect of the natives and ere long cause them (seeing th8ir opportunity) to break out again into their accustomed atxi:m infidelity so as to make the Company stumble (struijckelen) in the old circum- stances with regard to CABO CORS: against which and in or der to prevent the same -as being the most impo:btant matter that could at any time arise or be dealt with her~- no means, or- dinary or extraordinary, ought to be spared or withheld even if, for the present, scarcely anything could be contributed towards it except the detention of the ship "Juffr Catharina" which the XIX have earnestly recommended should be dispatched on the slave trade as quickly as possible. Therefore before disposing of the matter I~therwise, HR. de sired to deliberate upon it, with the F)comme ndation that each one should take into sBrious consideration whether , by the detention of that ship (contrary to the orders of our Principals) we should be able to do anything good against the English, as, firstly, the Ship is very soberly manned and is denuded of everything so that nothing can be done with it be- fore first providing it with everything here - which could not possibly be done out of the stock still within this Castle without placing the Castle in the utmost danger; and secondly; as this ship "Caterina" (sic) is only provisioned fDD 35 men for t we Iv e months JEElhoi:DxxlrlJrrUxD1l!JJllirUxkaotGDtXiz:ea:;Q:XIlfXJ!!XKRDIJj besides the victuals for th·~ slaves -of which three montbs have already expired, on iti being detained XExxEI!lg for l ong not only is its voyage prolonged & the escape (verloop) & deat h of the slaves already obtained increased, but also, by consumption of the victuals, if the hoped for relief of the men came t o fail,the means of revictualling the ship could quite easily be 20. 7 1663. lacldng & consequently must be kept at hand, like as the ships "Amsterdam" & "W .I.Huis", through the denuding of the warehouses, run into danger of it: which could be regarded as a great error especially if its detention were to be found in vain & the English went to Arda before us ~ as theY Jare shortly about to do, and came to carry off the slaves most ready , in front 06 our faces, whereby the said ship , in that case , would have to lie there still longer to the considerable pre- judice of our Principals, who are express !y obliged, by con- tract, to deliver the slaves at a certain stipulated time or forfeit such breach as ha s been mut ually agreed up crn by the said contract. To which attention being given and all reasons on e ither side being taken into consideration, so is, after deliberation decided, and by a majority of votes found good & resolved to pOsPpone the dispatch of the said ship "Catarina" for the period of one month, seeing that, on the one hand, the Eng- lish, through lack of one thing and another, could not stay long at CABO CaRS, hut will be constrained to put what their intentions are into execution at once (ten eersten); and on the other hand, cur people being encouraged by the said ships -as on the contrary the English will be very dis~our­ aged- without a mcnth's detention making much dIilfference to the victuals , or that the Bnglish> from outside : will be able to see how it i s constituted inside the shi p; and it being also found that the ship "Catarlna's hold-s :pace (ruijme) could transport 400 slaves but is provided with water casks for only 212, of which water cakks we have none here; so opinions were ~ aSked by the Dir.-Gen. how to dis pose about that for the bast service of the Company, so that the full ship's lading could be transported over-sea without lack of water; to which is replied and declared by each one unani- mously that here in this country at present there are no means of providing for that, but that everything would have to be done that was pOSSible , and for the K~X rest patience must be exercised. Thus done & resolved &c. Sgd by Valckenburgh, Baute, Wilre, Van Gageldoncq, Cosins, & Mergendal. 21. "Meeting of Council held by 1Jhe Dir.-Gen. Joan Valckenburgh i n the presence of Mr Pieter Baute~ Fiscal; Dirck Wilre, Tobias Pinside, Huijbrecht Van Gageldoncq, Upper Facbors; Arent Cosins~ Equip ,age Master; Frans Fransen Sluijter, Ship's Skipper; and Paulus Mergendal, Vaandrig Commandant over the military. n Friday 24th August 1663. -The Commissions granted by the XIX to the Fiscal Pieter Baute and to Pieter van Dulcken as "Comijs ter Recherche" were read.- Is~ also represented by the Dir.-Gen. that as at present we find ourselves with six ships & yachts~ how would it be most advisable to di spose about them (in order to drarw the most use & profit for the Company from them); and especially if we must proceed to the employment of those ships and yachts -if not all, at least some- whether also the dispatCh of them shall be proceeded with, or not, before there is in- telligence of the departure of the English force at CORMAN- TIJN; and further, as -if it is decided to await such de- parture, or not to delay for that- attention must now be ~~i~ given and resolution taken for what purpose to employ those vessels in order to prepare them me anwhile. Consequently each one is recom;rended to take into good consideration the following points, namely:- That by letter of the 13th July last is reported by the Vaandrig Commandant, Pieter Tegdner, on the Island Annabon, that the yacht tl15endrachttl -destined to provision t hat I s - land & further proceed on the voy~ge home- had missed that Island, and thereby the men, through lack of the necessary provisions , med~cines, clothing and other necessaries, had fallen into such a ca.lamitous state, as that letter clearly reports ••• On the other hand also comes into consideration the lack of soldiers, so that all places , on this Coast except CABO CORS, are lying almost without garrisons , and they are no more to be defended against the forces of the natives in case of at tack, as is daily t a be ex -~ected here and t here, and lat t erly has befallen about TACQUBRARY. Yes, we are still living in that fear by the rebellion of t he inhabi - tants about AXEM, and therefore those places will have to be at once provided with ~ soldiers, provisions and ammuni- tion. On the other hand, if the Island ANNABON is·to be con- tinued to be garrisoned by the Company, part of the men (some being doubly time-expired) will have to be relieved, which cannot be remedied from here at present. Therefore ought to be deliberated either to let the Is- l and ANNABON, or any pl aces on this Coast, go fDr lost, or means pr omptly found to have them provisioned. 22. 1663. Secondly, on the arrival of th a yacht "Fortuijn" froID Rio Ben~n ~», throu~h a letter from Factor Cornelis Lichthart there, as al s o the repoet made by the Factor Josias Ketelaar here, it has come to knmwx~ the knowledge of the Dir.-Gen. that the factory there ••• is quite denuded of merchandise. It was therefore represents ed whether it were not for the service of the Company to send the necessary merchandise there. Thirdly, as, through the occupation of Annabon Island and also the great mortailty & famine here on the Coast, the slaves serv- ing at the Forts have mostly died , run away (verloopen) , been sent away (vorsonden) ruined (gerulneert), whereby, even if those tif Annabon were brought back and were not further troubled or molested by the English in carrying out their daily work, yet we stand to remain as powerless as before, to say nothing of taking in hand the rebuilding of so many Forts & places lying in ruins (onder de voet) because of the heavy labour required for collecting & bUrning shells & cutting & hauling beams & planks Therefore the Dir. - Gen. gave it into consideration how best to act for the service of the Company herei~. Whereupon, after deliberation, is resolved: On the first point, to shandon ANNABON I sland, as no soldiers are expected from home, and in order to be the better armed ag - ainst the Eng l ish on land here, and material and provisions can- not be spared for there. The Christina" to proceed thither to take off the soldiers from ANNABON I sland & bring them here. On the second point, to provide for the Benyn Lodge by the yacht "Fortuijn". On the third point, to send the yacht "Faam" to fetch 100 slaves from Arda ••••••••• Thus done & resolved &c. Sgd.by Valckenburgh, Baute, Wilre, Van Gageldoncq, Cosins & Mergendal. 2£ 23. "Me ~ting of Council held by the Dir.-Gen. Joan Valckenburgh " Friday 31st August 1663 . The Dir.-Gen. put before the Council whether the Resolu- tion of the 24th instant about sending the shill- "Christina" to ANNABON Island &c &c should be carried out before the departure of the English ships or at least some of them. And about that was reported from ADIA that the Bnglishmen did not intend to depart at present~ but would await other ships & return again to us a second time; which is a very mncertain matter and about which the dispatch of the xkipx Company's ships can scarcely be delayed~ seeing th ~ great embarrassment here and the high need on ANNAB ON Island j and further that it was reported for certain that the English were en- gaged in a gain establishing a Lodge at ANCHIANG where they have formerly possessed one and out of which th(~":A~li.l:j dr.lveIl, in the year 1653 by the SABOU & FANTIJN waB •• •! s,tY. .r- J/t.l; and further, upon what basis (fondement) anything could be under- taken for the hindrance of what the ~ng lish are doing at and about ANCHIANGj a lso in .vhat manner, even if we had any basis, the Com a ny's rights could best be maintained or protected and . defended against the English, na:rnely J whether such should be carried out by force, money or Protest (N.B. Vide Protest dd. 13 Sept '63), and the difficulties 'l'Ihich might arise out of t ne one thing or the other: about which was communicated by t he said Dir.-Gen. the written advices given a bout it by the Factor s Pinside, Van Gag eldoncq & Cruijpenninck. Whereu pon, being ripely deliberated, i t was unanimously resolved: On the first, to proceed with the dispatch of the ships "Christina" and "Caterina"; the former, in the hopes t hat the English ships which are expected, will be delayed so that we may be reinforced with the force from ANNABON, and the l atter . in order to maintain the Company's credit in the contract s it has made. And on the second~conc erning ANCHIANGH, as there is no basis on which much could be done against the English,notwithstanding if we had any basis,still there will be little to carry out , ex - cept that itmi ght be hindered with money; yet in v a in , as the natives will take money from both of us & nevertheless seek to s eek to ma intain the English at that work; ag a inst which ~ pro- ceed with violence,even if we had sufficient force, would,. only place our Lodg e s at ADIA & ANAMABO in open peril, as W2 have ex- perienced at COr~Y; but a lso ~ g~\:~;irelY a t v a riance with the English. Wherefore is d ec ided . -as the English cause us more good than ill therewith , seeing they are burdening themselves with expenses without improvement of trade 7 and occupy a place which otherwise still l a y open for a third nation- ]lotions dragen als ontleten i e tl ,the more so as the basis on which (we?) should build a ppears so entirely weak & sober. Thlhs done &c. Sgd. Valck:~ Wilre , Cosins, & Mergendal. 24 . 1663. "Meeting of Council held by the Dir.-Gen. Joan Valckenbur9h in t he presence of Pieter Baute,Fiscal ; Dttck Wilre, Tobias Pinside, Huijbrecht Van Gagel- doncq, Upper Factors; Ar ent Cosins, Equippage wlaster; Frans Fransz Sluijter , Ship's Skipper; and Paulus Mer- gendal, Vac.Ildrig Commandant OVdr the military." Tuesday 11th September 1663. Is represented at the Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. that i t was known to each one in what manner the COMANIES , being our good friends & neighbours ~ contrary to faithful pDDmise s (for the love xakE of K~ FUTU) becoming our disguised enemies and killing more men than indeed had ever been done by the FUTUS,without any lawful cause of offence J had not only plundered and burnt down the Company's Lodge at SMALL COMANY in their own country but , violating the law of hospitality (which is so cherished by them- selves) murderously and barbaroursly killed the Factor and Assistant besides many slaves and~the peopl&of the Hon. Com- pany and of this place, DA MINA - ~his all oc ,;urred some time ago~ being such an execrable deed that even those in whose service it wa s done ought not to have neglected to execrate and condemn it as abominable: about which, although attacked in re- tribution and brought to such oppression that they had begged for peace almost on bended knee, as was granted t o t hem - in order to facilitate the matter of CABO CORS and~in pur suan ce of promises made to the FOTUS (with the surrenaer of many actions and claims which we cOllld justly have sustained and especially the excuse of K~ such cruel murders perpetnated on our people)- and money also given to them in order t o be speedily restored again in the Company's old possessions at COMANY & AMPENIE: as a lso having to consult therein with t he King of AGUAFFO and the Tiamy AFFERRE TAQU~and others who belong to A~UAFFO, they renewed that which the written Cessions (Opdrachten) of those places,-which are preserved here, provided for, and also promised irrevocably to maintain the Company ±~~ therein and moreover delivered their hostages for t he fur t her assurance thereof. Upon which we not only took possession of those places but, a considerable time ago, male a beginning with the building of a Lodge at COMANY -but with slow progre ss -. Meanwhile the AGUAFFOS -not withstanding all we had exper i enced from them- from time to time got their a rms from us; alODBEj{ ID'mxXKDi~ for their tranquillJty, but nevertheless obst inately persistedt in their disloyal intention designedly & cont inually to delay the co ,Dplet ion of the Lodge & t he br inging of the required wood - according to Che conditions made with t hem- with the mocking pestering to have now this and t h8n t hat and during that time drawL~g more wi ne money (wiijB gelt) than what the principal sum amounted to: until , finally, extending their disloyalty still further and taking the mask from the ir faces, it was learnt from ~efinite report and indeed pl ainly seen that they, the AGUAFFOS, in order to allow t he English there at COMANY had not only delivered hostages t o t hem at 25. Cormantin but, contrary to all reason &, promises, had already secretly brought the English into COMANYj through which intolerable temerity &, infidelity -as being a matter of ¥iery injurious consequemces for the service of the Com- pa~y'iby the English coming there where they could not all- ege ~ossession at aay time, would then be caused to the Com-~I pany, on the West -at the factories of Elmina & Chama- the '.t~ ~ same thing as that which has now for a long time been pain- I( fully suffered and borne on the East -at this factory and "iM at il10ure . ere ore,. attention being given 0 is & opin- ions being asked how best to dispose of it for the best ser - vice [if the Company, and all the foregoing being considered, and thatthe Hon. Company's pos 8ssion of the Lodge at COMANY does not ~quire an increase of its charges in order to culti- vate the trade there but in orear not to suffer any hindrance or damage in its trade,from other nations, and therefore if the ~glish should be toleaated KERXK at that place the Company's possession there would be of no use, but rather of very injuti- ous consequences as through the possession of the said Lodge, in order not to meet with any damage or misfortune about it, we would have to be sufficiently as subject,i to the COMANIES and to bear their unrestrained wantonBess w!bthout contradietion; whe _'eas, on the contrary, if that Lodge were "excused", ghey having no other resort in the -.vorld to sell t heir goods -as has appeared by expereenceT thsy would r..ave to bend at the ~omyaoy' s feet & regulate themselves according to that which will be ad- visable to prescribe for them. All which being deliberated it is unanimously resolved, as bhe English are already there, to cause our people to retire in the most unexpected manner,and by such means as circumstances shall occasion, to constrain the Comanies to the departure of the English, seeing hhat as we have compelled the FUTUS to do without the Englisij at CABO CORS, altho' they had stipulated to keep them ther~l they would have good reasons for being displeased with us ~ we let this pass with indifference, as Comany, in their regard, is not in the least to be compared with ours; and wherefore, as they have never pre- viously allowed the English on their beaches, but have always maintained them for the Company, it is also deCided to pass by the English in this matter, as though not known of, and simplY :1 wihhout protesting, to act against the inhabitants and to bring them to reason in manner aforesaid, if possible, or to show our M'§ AAt. ~JL.,." • Thus ~o~e & resolved &c. Sgd by, Valckenburgh, Baute, Wilre, Van Gageldoncq, Cosins, Mergendal. 26. 1663. "Meeting of Council held by the Dir.-Gen. Joan Valckenbur~h in the presence of Pieter Baute ,Fiscal ; Dirck Wilre, Tobias Pinside, Huijbrecht van Gagel- doncq, Upper Factors; Arent Cosins, Equippage Master; Brans Fransz Sluijter, Gerrit Jansen van Djjck , ships' Skippers; and Paulus Mergendal, Vaandrig Commandant over the military." Thursday 29th November 1663. Is represented at the Assembly by the Dir.-Gen. how it is not unknown to everyone here in this country with what excessive expenditure and trouble the place CABO CaRS was obtained and the possession of it brought to the Han. Company, not by favour, but by inducements of money; as is to be judged by the treatment at that time experienced by the deputies going to take possess - ion on their arrival at FUTU, by exporting from them a promise that neither Danes nor English should experience any evil from our side -nevertheless with this reservation, so long as they did not first let it happen to us- although at the negotiations about CABO CaRS that matter had been passed over in silence on either side. Also that, the possession of CABO CORS being obtained with such wrangling, with regard to the English, it did not immediately come into consideration to dislodge them, and the affairs of the "suborned ll Danes being regarded in such manner that they would not be able to exist but would ere long have to consume themselves (consumeeren in haar); lj ke as is still continually to be hoped. Therefore for that reason, and also because at first the natives bej.ng very displeased. & most maliciously prepossessed against us,it was then t hought most advisable to feign (simuleeren) for some time , since for the most part -through lack of men and hope of relief which has not yet ar'rived- nothing else or better could be done. Thereupon immediately followed the blockade,andthe armed arrival of the English in order to make themselves masters of the places of which they had first entirely abandoned their possession; out of which possession -as then after their af fairs bad most badly succeeded K they would wish again to take possession- they were kept back on our side (although against the will of the inhabi- tants); and, for the better checking of the English, it was found good to leave t J.Je Danes in peace there for so long UIltil our forces came to increase; and in that way to frustrate the English -who were endeavouring after their possessiDn- therefrom in order~ for one evil, not to incur a worse one. So i t had I been found good lon the arrival of the ship TlCatrina TI without any soldiers and without hope that any would follow by the next coming ship -besides the lack of victuals) to aban don the Is- land ANNAB ON in order to use the men there; and thereupon the ship "Christina Tl was dispatched for that purpose -and to this hour is very anxiously expe cted- in order to take the matter up properly,not only by means of the men b~t also of the much more servicable materials and slaves which are e~pected ; as also to employ the said ship, which is not a little requi red . And further, although the .Danes , by such delays, think they are forgobten and, in breach of the promises made, had not neglected to give much offence daily, so, meantime, also so much was obtained from the FUTUS that, without vDolating our word, we were empowered to effect (betracht- en) our advantage about th8ir persons & goods, and having entirely released us from those promises made at th~ir request, in order to dislodge the said "simulated" Danes & hand (them) over to us. But as, notwithstanding the aforesaid, it cannot be unknowm to those acquainted with the character (landaart) of the natives what reliance is to be placed on their promises and fidelity and that we shall not oppose the Danes wihtout a considerable force, genoechsaam ten opsicht van de FUTUS, whether also we must expect the i r hostile attacks; and although impotent forcibly to attack forts or places of defence, yet we must "imagine" the certain blockade of CABO CORS on land and, as has appeared formerly, also at sea. Out of whlch, without any profit , the same inconveniences could befall whtch sad experience has taught at other times; se eing that there are now more pressing difficulties than ther e were at thati time when the affairs of the Hon. Company here in this country were in full vigour and the Coast was sufficiently provided with soldiers, vic- tuals and other necessaries; whereas now, on the other hand, it is nothing but an exhausted body with a general s carc i ty of everything. Also the Fort at CABO CORS, with regard to fortif i cat ion, is not only less defens jb1 0, but is also inconvenienced by that hill MANFRO which co~~nds it and from which, at the good pleasurG of those who would like to do it, it could conveniently be bombarded. Therefore, in case of such blockade, both ships ought KE necessarily to be kept b;]fore CABO CORS, and consequently victuals would have to be drawn upon, and if drawn upon without supplies from home, this will involve the following difficulties:- Firstly, it is uncertain whether they would last long enough to bring the Company's affairs with the FUTUS to a good ending; it being notorious that the time for it has, contrary to expectation, expired. Secondly, that without the arrival of fresh victuals and we have to re sort to the supply which is in the Fort at CABO CORS, it win be impossible (to the great injury of the Hon. Company) to dispatch the ships "Amsterdam" ~ or "VY .I.Huis". Also, if both ships are employed befD~e CABO CORS and the work does not quickly come to an end, we should have to let the one thing or the other stick halfway (ten halve steeken); and if no others arrive, the ships ought to be afterwards detained, and with onettten besten geven" the ~N~ COMANY matter "voor" the English. 28. 1663. Besides which through this lack of victuals,not only all the before-mentioned difficulties might arj_se but ~ moreover ! the ships woul d be rendered incapable against Swedes, Danes or others who might heYeafter appear here, in order to resort t o the proper and necessary measures against them ; for which pur- pose it would Ell!XNHJU{X:D::Q: also at present be in vain to t hinlc of assisting them with any men from t he shore. both Da Mina and Moure being entirely denuded of their garrisons, as, for t he last six months now, not only the military but also, for most of the time, those of the pen have had to keep the day and night watches; which persons of the pen and all the soldiers , both sick and well, only amounted to 36 in number within the Castle D'EII Mina, with whom no assistance could be given if anything came to befall any place, mush less on the ships, as four times that number is Bquired for the protection of a place like De Mina which would then lie with its enemies all roun~ it. Besides which, if we are not able to maintain a free appreech tot he Fort at CABO CaRS , t he lack of wat er is great ly to be feared as we are entering upon the dry season when no rain is to be expect ed. In addition to this , comes t he shortage of powder which is such that if the lea st amount is con sumed a bout CABO CaRS , and if the ships shall remain provided wit h the necessary powder for their defence on t he homeward voyage, we shall not be able pr o- perly to treat any Swedes, Danes, or other "unfree" merchant- men, and the Castle Da Mina would then , moreover> have to remain lying without powder. Also, besides all this , it was a well- known thing t hat about the attacking of enemies or being attacked by them , to become good m~sters and to be provided wi th the necessary medicines, was a matter which could produce much good or ill effests, acc - ording to En circumstances, about the courage and pat ience of the men, it is easy to guess now wi lling the men woul d be (even if we did not lack them) t~J attack anyone, to say nothing of defending shut-in places, of which CABO CaRS could serve as an example in the past; without thinking of many other mat erials and thi ngs which were lacking , and the l ack of which would fir st be felt if and when the need came to press 7 and a blockade t o follow. And even if the before mentioned dif Licult ies , except that of the men, were not all apparent in time of peace , it was a matter worthy of good deliberation with what force one could dislodge and drive away the Danes against the will of t he FUTUS, without running into dange r of a bad encounter , to our derision and scoffing by these barbarians; and through t he the weakening of the Company's present small force from ot her places, as De Mina and Moure , bo support or succour of men could be done. Yes , with rega rd to those places , except kXNRgE through an increase of men, nothing is ~o be commen ced wi t h- out difficulty, considering the faithlessness of the nation with whom we l ive and associate; ende hoedanig die van DA MI NA de overcomen onlust en haar g estadig om onzent wille met de 29. FUTUSE, te r oorzake van het vervolg aan vreemde natie gR gedaan, hadde gedruckt ,g enougsaam sijnde bekent. And also it was not unprova ble in 'flhat manner, at the time of t he seizure of the ship "Cri stjna" , so long as JOAN CLAAS.li:N left them unmolested, they favoured his affairs, s o t hat a t t hat time no suspicions had been lacking that t hey might indeed cut off the way to st Jago and let the same fall into Joan CLAASBN'S hands , so that therefore we should have painfully tasted the bitt e r fruit s of so diffi.cult a wa r or siege without having given any rea son for it , fle nde aIleen am onsen It wi lle, in dese onse sobere ong elegentheit , soo maar a~x~RkRxs aansoekers ende presteerden, het vri j Slhjn bedencl{en hadde of 'tselve meer om onsent wi lle soude begeeren te dulden of ~er­ dragen"; in whic h case not on l y woul d st J ago then be diff i cult to preserve but also even a ~astle like Da Mina, being denuded of evrything, we should have difficulty enoug h to defend - t o say nothing of act ing on the offensive by forc e of arms~ and,without hope of success, to incur a thousand inconveniences. On t he contrary to all which dbfficulties, if on e can do better, one ought also not to be insensible t o all that which the Danes are causing us daily, t a the injury of the Company, by t heir fai th- less and evil incitement s among the natives; but it was rea son - able to accomplish their ruin by all ways and means, and t o pro- eeed wi t h the same, if possible, before the ~a:rtIu2x departur e of the ships "Amst er 1am" and TlW.I.Huis", which cannot be longer detained, a s it is ~~certain whethe r any others are about to appear, :k~x:kShip ' s Skipper; Paulus llllergendal, Vaandrig COID;:"andant over the military." Saturday 1st December 1663. Is proposed at the AS 3em~ly by the Dir.-Gen. how that since the Resolution taken on 29th November. the long expected ship "6ristina" at last arrived heee yesterday with the soldiers,otheY men & s l aves who have ~~£n in garrison at ANNABON ISland , & be- sides the men & slaveS, 1irought old material suitable t o help for want of others;and ~y that J:1.esolution it being decided - with regard to CABO CaRS and the driving away of the suborned Danes , who are maintained there th¥bugh the faithlessness of t he FUTUS, contr a ry to their given word and promises made}n prejudice of the Company's dearly purchased right~~ to commit all v iolences &; disda i nful actions which their malevolence prompts them- before g~ng openly against the same, to await a further force and especially this suc cour from ANNEBON in order by means of the same to take everything in hand with more c ertainty. So it is put to the ~estion by the Dir.-Gen. (if not to be further postponed) what will be the more servicabla at the present time; whether im lEdiately to co®nit hostilities against the suborned Danes &; their protectors, and with what force and in what manner to carry them out; or whether,before proceeding to that, the Fort shall be cl osed in, to the West., with a ce .rtian barricade ordered for it, for which no long time is required. Whereupon ••• is unanimously decided and resolvedrbefore entering upon hostilities against the Danes & or those who might wish un - }< justly to maintain them~n order to secure the egress and ingress, and to advance -~e compl etion of it as much as possible and then, without delay, to attack the aforesaid suborned Danes; unless, by the building up of JAN CLAASEN 'S house, any reason to the contrary ( of which otherwise we have sufficient) were given us beforehand. Thus done & resolved &c. Sgd by Valckenburgh, Baute J Wilre, Pins ide, Van Gageldoncq, Cosins, Sluijter, Tegdner. ------------------ 33 . , "' B fk-~~. S~-- rCMCIf.~. , l j [s~'h~]~ , ;- ,I c /,-+~------------------------------~ S.f lC . ~ ( II. .n l ,~. S-.~ ., . G.--~='., ) ( rr ) - 1) -Pre. J"-"" '0 J.c-.a."., .k. Cht~ t;, g/~, ffM, . 11P4~" .-. ~.L?) .. yclld 9tt4 'nf' CD Pf ~ . &-&' 10 I. ~ ~ St".lU, I?"""d ~ ~.3. FY.,/6, ~. C(~;"" r, SIAl-, r negocium hoc Afr i canum 19. concernente. a ditum potentem a rimi.ttatjs et audiatis eamque declarat ionem quanta ~ !lileoriali ipsius redJat is, quo delictum perpetrare ausi et aggressi, lesis ~xmmxg±Nt~iN2 pro magnitudine cri:ninis omnibus modis satisfac'~"t . a" I d est quod ab ~aJ.uanimitate vostra pro antiqua statuum nostrorum conjunctione amice expectamus. Qui quod reliquum est Divinae Vos protectione com _endamus. Ded1!mus in Arce Nostra Holmensi die 7th November 1660. (Signed by tiedwig Eleonora (Que c:n Mothdr) and other Regents.) ================ ======== ======= 20. 11 166 3 . "~~~~ ~~ Nov 1663." HIGH and II1I GHTY SIRS , We have rec e ived Your High Migh t inesses' let t er of the 300h October,with the annexures thereto be- longing, by wh ich i t has pleased Your li igh Might- inesses to direct u s to o ransmit~as soon as poss- ibl e ,a report regarding wha t Mr .KesidentJieyns was advising about the re c overy (recup cratie ) of the Fort CAB O CORCO. In complIance wIth which ins- tructions we wi ll, wi th all submission,inform Your High ~igh t inesses how that t he a f oresaid place - be Ing wIthheld from the Company for some years long ' on a S\VEDI SH Commi s s ion,and SWEDEN "being again deprived of it "by one Hendrick Ca rloff with a DANI SH Conwission, at t he time of the war "b e t wee n those two Crowns - wa s first aga in restored t o the comfany in the year 1659. But with so lit t le resul t vruchts) that,after a nossession of 8 eeks., i was agajn wrested fr om the Comnadnv "by Yhe ~at I~es 01 the countr~ under lne lea e~sh~p Beleijt} of on e ,JAN CLAEi:)SEN~"bearing the title of DAHIJ . or General (Vel theer) of the ~ingdom FUTU : on t he p romi se to restore the same a~ter the dead,whom h e hadgot over it ~daar voor} R2.Q should "be buried. The Company,then, awaiting tha t time and o"bserving from ~ ime to time that i t was "being deceived "by the aforesaid JAN CLAESS~N,had "been o"bliged forthwith to "blockade with its ships "by sea, the aforesaid Fort - which has only one small place at which to come out into the sea - and to keep it "beleagered for a neriod of 4 year s; during which time its ships were~continually---­ fired upon. The Com~any's Lodge,situate at COMANIJ was se t on fire "by the people of that f,lace; the Cormnis and the r est of ~he people 'altemaal" slain; and their heads "brought to CABO CORCO. These h ostilities woul d possiQly have lasted a very l ong t(m.e yet,1mt that (ten ware) JAN CLAESSI~N came to diy on the lath Aua-ust 1662 ; and with that (met hem) all the dlstur~ances between thos e of the Fingdom FUTU and the Nether- l ands Na tion had "begun to di minish. Af te r h is death, t he King of TIJTU, no t ha.ving the knowledge in order to ma lnLaln ~hat place,was "brought so f~r "by the su"born ed DANES ana. especia lly ENGLI SH/wi t h g if ts and presents , that he reso l v eH , ev en wi oh2ut our knowledge~to have dislodged from there ~he p Ersonl of ~ ~~UNI 0 ADR I~NSE vas - an inhab itant of this fSiet a.ntea d- W1I(/ti th 1thme, Undewr-ecroem mis and Assistant wh8m h h ~o s ~aYIng at c~u COMB on on a J VffiDISH Commission wi th the connivance of JAN CI.J\.l;SS:.:oN. 'T o tha t end, _ the afsd vas and h i s Ass is- tant having ~on e out shootin~ on the 2nd L.ay l ast, - he has had t ne Under-commis "bij den cop vanen" and caused the o~hers to depart ; who all came over to our people in ord er t ~ "be deliver ed fr om the fury of t he Blacks,who had been StieeFHea incited by the suborned banes & English. After this, the Dan~s & Engli~h each thinKing to enjQY the poss- eSSIon of CAB C RCO,q,I,1d th~ fruIts 01 t h e f1.re WD ICD they ha kIndled) agaIn boldly nlayed with gifts and presents ; and the Kin~ of FUTU - being In doubt as to whom to turn - haa already e~tiH be- gun to move (bewegen), end s~o od ~o ue come master \"ende meester stonden te werden") : but that (ten waere) the sons ~~!I'\!), .l\) of JAN hENNE; Q,UA - before this ,King of FUTU.~nd brother of JAN CLAESSEN - a nd tne sons ~ of JAN CLAESoEN even, who had always abhorred the aforesaid improprie- ties, knowin a t hat the CQmnany had a right to ~Re ~laee th~t place, and that - restoration being even uromised by JAl~ CLAbSSEN at its surrender ( " met. h e t overleveren") - we had been unjustly and by force deprived of it so long ; wishing to pursue justic e ra t her than gifts, OPp-09ing t he int entions of the aforesaid pretendea \gepretend- eerde) Danes and :h:ng lish,had persuaded the King to restore the Fort to the Company, on the 12tIi ~. All of ~hich we .have notified Mr Resident HEYNS,for HH 's Informat lon,on the 6th Oc tober. Trusting that we have complied with Your High Mi gh tinesses' orders, we will, HIGH and Ii:IGHTY SIRS, pray GOD that he will bless YclUR HIGH lli. I GHT INESSES~' g overnment with al l prosperi ty,and remain YOUR HI GH k I GW INESSES ' humble servants AMST:r-':RDAM this TlIE DIR_CTORS 5th November ,1663. of t he Chartered W.I.C. a t 1b.he Chamber at Amsterdam . (sq) J. Rijckaerts. (") J. Bintevants.(?) (Translat ed from the original,in St.Gen. Liassen. W.I. 5782.) Hi63. "Le c i um 7 (s i c ) Decr. 1663. " High and L i gh t y Lords, As the under s i g ned depu ~ y of h is Roya l ~aj es ty of SVlEDEN, ha s r e c e ived some f ur the r or ders,abou t t he a l f a ir s of Gu i nea , h e the r e f or e respe c tful ly re qu e st s t hat y ou r H.M. may be p leased t o g rant h i m a c onf e r ence , in or de r that he may d i s c lose ("ov e r t u r e d~ e n ") them to the ge n t l eme n deput ed t here to by you r H. M. Meantime the u nd e r s i g n ed d epu ty des ir e s p r operly t o hand ove r ,herewi th , the l etter g r a ci ou s l y sent to h i m by h i s sa i d Roya l JV'.a j e sty . HAGHE . the 8 ( s i c) Dec r.1 663 . Johan ,P . Si lve r c r o on . (~ rp n s lat e d from the orig i nal i n : - st .Gen. Liass en . WI. 5782. ) - , r,.. .f...t...' ~!: "r"i :.. i N' ~ J lIP t'·r ~ r."r~· J' I, j U\.Li f~~ !! J ~t N .. t~J:: f £",. .J .f,,,~ ~i?f~JJ ~ ~~ ~ ~'t-4' t )J ~'r. ir'.: i .'~~r*; - !:~~s~l' t ~ J l r ... g .. J ,. f p.~- t\ r p J: ~ s.: k r ~ ~ i';,_~" ,_ -t,:!'\ ~ i'fQ"7 rt 1 J. ~ ,fl,!.! 11. ~ 1- ~ i ad. n ~f !r ,.. it ~f'\ ~ i.: , ~ ~ i 1',~~ i: Q i . !~ g d,.- $ .' ;-ft t f~ p' ~tl ~ r.11 IJ J " -:.~' of to- rl .F~'''~''~ f~Q.: ~ ~ ,): ~ ~-t ! .~.~ 'I'\ ~ ~ j ~ S 'r .. .. t"_ r-... J.:, 'I- j+ # ,. t f &.A ~ i ~~ " s " $.. .. ~ 1- ~ .~t-.r., :\,!.,~' ~.r.. ~! ~ ~1'" 9 \~~, :t.$:tlJf~~s ~~lll°-~, .i,')~ . , !.~ ~t t ~J'; t1:"- .. ~r~J ~ ~~"l l.'., dt-V~· r' l~ :fJtf!F ~ ~ ij\.i r f:,lli ff"i~' rin Elf:-Ilt"i-" r:~~ f~· f: :it~l n~ j~ r~~' ~t 1 J~ .f f~~~ 't't1'il.$~~"t, ~ ~;. 1~·tJ" ;1', tH t[:... C" .. '¥ • " ~ • & .. ), t- ! tT'~~'i I[~ tH~,~' ~.. l! .. .)t, • I", 'ft-i- ,,!.:t II' 9.fl' · k. ~ ~ '- -- • 1650. (Annexure A.to le t t e r from Johan,P. Silvercroon,to States General. Dated, 's Gra venhage,2'7th December,1663.) [~o ..;. ~~ ~J( 1li! " Translaet" Transpurt du village de CAB O Cors,et de SG S dep e ndances ~ant par terre que p a r mer fa lc t pa r Ie Roy de ~TU a Sa Maj t e de Suede. Nous BREDEJlA Roy de FETU,des terres en dependentes, et HE NNE Q,UA Heri tier presumptif de ce Roy aume 18_, c on~_e ausi ACORISANUS Gr a nd Constable du d i ct ROY9 Ce rtifions et f a isons scavoir par c e s presentes, c o~me quoy nous avons donne et transporte au Sieur Henry Carloff Directeur General pour Sa Majte e t l a Compie Africaine d. e Suede, 1e villa ge de CABO CORS avec toutes les t erre s et r a d e s y a l-'pa r'cena ntes en la manier e et form:' qui s' ensui t. Premierement nous luy a vons do nn e et trans p or t e la dit e p l a ce de CABO CORS, et c e qu i en releve pour l'incorp erer av e c les autreses t ats e t doma ines d e Sa di t e Maj t e . e t y f a ire des f or tes, mai s ons et loges, te lles qu'i l Jug era e s tre ies p lus propres p our l a scuri t e e t defense de s bi ens, p ersones et Rade s d e ceux ~ui y ~raf i queron t • En a p r e s avons nous a usi ce d e e t transp or ~ e a Sa di t e Mte de Suede t ou t e s l es juri s dictions r E: g E, l e s e t droi ts du dic t CAB O CORS , ~ our e4i!"e par l edic t Sieu r Di~ e cteur Carl of es t re d e fen dus e t ma intenus de Sa di t e Majte a usi l oing que les limi t es de l a r a de se p ourran t estendre, sans qu e c ontre le vouloir ny contre s on conseq t ement du d t Si eur Carlof aucun na vire ou na vir e s e s trangers pui s sent avo ir tdroict de venir ancrer devant la rade, beaucoup moins faire d e s loge s et d e s ma isons de commerce sur terre ; reservant s eul ement pour nous le ~±age peag e ou tr ibut que nous aEons ac c ou c tume d e lever'k~e chaqu,e navire (~ui arrive; l e qu e l sera paye a 1!Hfoe(..4~ p~ager ou a - c e lui qui en aura la commission conformement les convenus pre cedents. Comme aus i qu e 18_ l oge des Anglois y battie de- meurara libre et entierre pa r l'espa ce de s i x mois le quels expires e les Ang lois n'estant P 2S a c corde s avec Ie dt Sr Carl of de la c ontinua tion d e leur demeure aux d (si c ) castes de CABO CORS , la pla ce sera consignee entre les ma ins de s Suedois,et les Anglois obliges de chf rcher leur retra itte a il1eurs. Tout e s lcsquelles choses acco~dees,nous promettons par nre (notre?) parole et integ ri te royale Lant par nuus que par nos successeurs vouloir garder et faire garder s a intes et inviolab1es en tout temps, et le s ma intenir en tout evenmment de nre puissance et autorite,et les defendre contre touts (sic) et un chaqu'un qui voudra attacquer 1a dte place,infester son rivage,ou traverser par d'outres voyes son Lrafic q et ses commerces. • En foy de quoy nous avons signe c es presentes en n r e residence de FETU Ie 28,iiay 1650. BREDAVjA . HAIDlEQ,UA. ACORISANUS. 0 Fiict aFPetep a rrester en presence de nous s~bsignees Conseillers de Sa Majte. A.Maccon. l~nsen. A. Wi tz. Nous SHS soubsh;nes Certifions et attestons par ces p resentes a u l ieu (?) de serment, que nous nous obligeon s d'en faire toutes les fois et quantes qu'il sera besoing, et que l'on nou s en requerra, que B~DSWA et s e s in t imes favoris ont apres une long ue et meure de libe ration en nre presence transport~qabsolument au Sr Henri Carlof Directeur Gen pour Sj]"a j te de Suede et la Compie Africaine par e lle octroyee, la place marchande de CABO CORS a vec se s r a des, jurisdictions, privileges, et despendances, e n 1a maniere et forme , COmITle il est exprimel dans l'acte pass e ladessus,en fois de ~uoy Rvons nous signe ce c y de nos p ropres mains a CABO CORS 29 ,Juin 1650. Samue l Smit. G.P. Mentzing. Ac c orde avec l'origenal. D.Pleen. (St Gen : Lias sen. W.I.5782 . ) 1651. (Annexure ]2. to lett e r from J.P.Silvercroon to Stat:Gen: dd. ~g{~~~-Nevy -~S~t. 27. DEC. 1 66-3 - [~o .. ' ~~ ~~ ,6S'1 P ,'t it). Ex t rac t fr om a le ~ t e r written by Mr J.Valckenburg,on the sh i p "Gra ef Enno", the 25( 9?j Nov. 1 651, to the Chief Offic e r of the Swedish yacht " Slot Stockholm tl • n The ir High Mightiness e s the States General of the Un i t ed Nether l ands,together with the General Chartered West India Company,our Sove reign Lords,an d l~asters,have ordered us to ma im$amn all good comrnun i cation (correspondent i e), peace and concord with the Va s sals of He r Magesty of Sweden, i n these quart e rs,for t h e conservation of the long endur~rlg al liance betwe e n the mutual nations." 1656. (AnnexureC to letter from J.P.Silvercroon to St.Gen. dd. ~ecember 27 1~63. J (~o .. 'if'U'- fA4 ~, ,!if' f (t . Extract from thll! Journal of the Corr.ma ndant Crus enstern,formerly "Hofmees t e r " of the late HE Rycx Cance llie r Oxenstirn. Coming on t h e Coast in Ja nua ry 16 56, is den H, General RUYGHAVEs' ,hem wegen (wesen?) begr oe t en en verwillecomcnlop s'lands at Cabo Corsj a nd a:Uit er having stayed there one day and night, Mr Ruyghaver invited t he Commandant to Fort Nassau; and having been there together,returnedto Cabo Cors,and Mr Ruyghaver again stayed the night t here, and after breakfast ,Mr Ruyghaver left for deUtlina on t he 9th dito, aft er he had promised al l neighbourly friend- ship to the Swedish Commandant, who reciprocally promis ed the same. On the 16th dito, Hans Neuman,Cramer,and Sr (?) rSt,IGi smond (J.iF),F i s cal journeyed to TAC Q,UERlL'RI, and \. in pas s ing,spoke to Mr Ruyghaver, wh o was indispos ed. On the 18th got news at Cabo Cors, of the death of Lr Ruygha v er. The 19th, the Commandant Crusenstmrn s ent the Chief Factor Heinse l to del Mina,to offer con- dolences, and t o attend the funer a l,which t ook place on the 20t h. On the 24th, h r Crus ens tern sent the Commis Jan Chr i st i aens to del M~na, to congratulate the new General VALCKE1~URG in his office ; and on the same day,in the afternoon,came 3 coromisen from del Mina,and t hanked the Commandant for the con- gratulations,and assured Mr Crusenstern that he will live with him in all neighbourly friendship and cmmmunication (corresp :,ndentie). ~f.- ' .. ~.,(~ ~,f~. 28 ~1"t. 1611. C~ Je .. ~ CAIJI11 a"I"~ t4 . vck. 'tjaA ~ .uJtd.. ( H. ; t4~" l4H"eCAC L J. - 1663. S.A.C. (Annex. ~ to Letter from Silvercroon to St. Gen. dd. 27th December 1663.) (st. Gen. -Liassen, W.1.- 5782.) "Extract from the letter from the Director ~:eH1!XXi: Valckenburg to the Westind. Compe." (fhe date of occurrence was April 1663. Vide Dahlgren.) After the Blacks had plundered the SWEDES in the Fort CABa CaRS, they have sold me ditto Fort for a good sum of gold. THEUN1S DE vas, who lay there as Chief (ap perhoofd), we have gevangen becoomen. Ditto vas (I) have let stand here under the gallows with a rmpe (strop) r ound his neck, and banished for six years bij the King of (siC) landwaert inne nae ARCAN1EN. "From another letterlt. I hav e nothing fnrther except that the English, after the plundering of the Blacks, have tried to buy CABO CaRS from the Blacks, but was so well belegt by Mr van Va lckenburg, that the English General Selwyn nets op en dede, the Castle, on the thi rd day after the plundering, on WiXE~ Whitsun eve being ingeruymt to our men by the Blacks. THEUNIS DE vas has stood under the Gallows with a strop round his neCB and has been banished for si:x.\years into the interior to ARCANIEN, where he, tot spot of i ....... the Blacks will have to dance and sing ~ voor them. oft======== .. ~ 1'~ A~: cr,.i """' r. /'''CAII .L:i..l~ ..... H_ _ la., l8 ~ .. "e"M. ,."..~ '.-.; 't L;, ~ok". ...... " c.. lie... L..t~ c&.. ,~, I'.!.! 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" .. n·t;·!r .f ,.J"< >It.. ~ <> r l.'; t k \. ! j ~ ~ ~rf. ~ ~~ J::"' o.H ~n t £ t l- i ~"'~r~r: ~ J.h! . )-ll~ J r :: t If' ~ 1\ "·. . i tItS!r~Jf ~l!:'il ~f r;:j.·~: {~f:! i'ttf~ ,[,1Z ~l £ll!~~Jt. , t"~;f~,.t ~I tt J~J). fl fi t ~Ir.r~·· Ftf.j\l ,,. -:. V' • ~ Ai·,.. ;'1' r~. J' ~ ~ t :n ~ ~ ~1": J ~ rlt.r sl ~-it ! ~ J. f f~e' ~ p.pJ -l &~~.p-l t·.,. .llfo. "~fJ ~ s,;.- ri. § L r I ~ of-[. kk . F',. "'" l .1""f h,' -& ~t h~ t ~., ff: .£ ti·?~t i 't- -; I l31T ~Jt!~. ,. · • .. k t J'" [ \.. f Sot i it ; ~t E·l·t FE f I- ,. lI~c tJ'1 C. ..:...4 '6 . J_ ,- 'it,,,, A~ tJ~ ~ fw".'_ "'"-. ftNI, J~ ,Ih. 1&ia.rCM J d~~1 ~ ... ~~. r <-. - ( 5,~ f. 9h~_ D~~, ,., s~ 7tm".J. 7d¥ 911f4.bdll< 6J f' 68 . O,~.18 R¥1. stJ;. fCIMvJ~ Ii. 'D,.J',"~~ " .. 1"<1" 1663. Register Book Verspreyde W.I. Stukken, 1162. We Johan Valckenburgh Director-General over the North Coast of Africa and the Island st Thome, together with those of the Council at this place, make known to all whom it concerns, certifying it to be true at the re- quest of Fiscal Gilbert Baty (Baute), that the follow- ing is a true and authentie copy of a certain Protest by the English Captain Mr Franeis Ste~ward commanding the ship Rupe rt made on the 20th April, stilo Angliae; together with the Contra-Protest and ve L'ba l reply there- to,of the 1st & 2nd May,stilo novo, fol~oing, being word for word as follows:- (In English) To all people whom these ~resents may concern. Whereas ye ship Rupert of London belonging to his Hj.ghness ye Duke of York and Royal Company of Adventurers unto Africa, Francis St-eward comm'3.nder , arriving near CAPE COAST t his ye 20th of April 1663 and cerne to anchor within one mile of t he said Castle--rm~~diately two Flemish ships attending or moving (sic) ye nWest India Housel! and one other frigate, who would not suffer either our owo boat to go ashore or suffer any canoe to come on board us. Likewise their Admiral, ye nAmsterdam ll weighed immediately from ye MYNE, advancing to- wards us with ye Commander of ye nW. I.House ll , sent to me to know what I did there. My answer was that 1 came here to land goods to our own factory and take off slaves and lIconteTi?) which hath bought ashore for ye use of ye Royal Company. Whose answer was 1 should not have anything to do here,neither should 1 send any boats ashore nor have any canoes to come aboard me. I therefore,in ye behalf of my masters ye Royal Company of England Aqventurers for this Coa st of Africa, make thi s my Protest against ye said ship lIAmsterdam ll and Com.Lander of ye lI V;' .1.House ll and Commander of the Frigate and against all tho se who are concerned in ye said ships by whose power ye act. I therefore protest against ye said ships and Commanders afore- said for all damages,losses & ca3ualties that may accrue upon ye 1IRupert 11 on her said voyage in Guinea by reason of their injurious proceedings in not suffering me either to trade or land goods to the Royal Company's Factory here at CABO COAST. I therefDDe~ protest in ye behalf of my masters ye Royal Coy in ten thousand pounds action for all damages that may ac- \ crue whatsoever on ye ship 1IRupert 11 or to her belonging .,which I copy I have sent to each ship and under my hand. This 20th April 1663. (sgd ) P Francis Steward. To ye Captain of 1IAmsterdam 1l • (pp. 493-495. 1. J (translate d. from the Dutd!h) Johan Valc kenburgh Director- Gene ral over the North Coast of Africa ~on behalf of t heir High Mighty Lords the States Uenecal of the United Provinees,together wit h t hei r Chartered. W.I.C. to Francis Steward Captain on the ship IIRupert" in the roads before CABO CORS~as w::.l l as t o all those of high or low degree in the service of the Royal Company trafficing on t he Gold Coa st of Guinea. As we on our side had in every re spect more right and reason justly to complain about the unfriendly and high handed treatment caused to us by YH since the direction of your Royal Company on this Coa~t, so i t comes to us t he more unexpected l y from YH than fr om anyone e1 se previously ; for seeing the al- liance which is observ ed between our re pective sovereigns the same (deselve) have quite to the con rary dared to under - take hostilely to attack the f r i ends and a llies of our State under the fortification at AXEM and to carry them off together with ship and cargo. Also, moreover, not I, only to stay be - fore TACORARY -a place which from time immemorial has been the property of and subject to the possessors of DA MI NA,and t o our State by t he right of lawful war - but also t hose who of your nation 7 by usur pation by means of unlawful gift s and iD - ci~ement un der promisas of assistance, make the natives of those l ands into rebels, cont inuing t o harden them bot h wit h men and goods in their unlawful intention, notwithstandi ng the wa rnings about it made by lawful Protest to your nation on the 24th May 1662 (Q.V.). And now~ at present, still fur - ther, quit e contrary to the usage of friends, are lying before CABO CORS - which has been kept blockaded by us for so long mow and about which so many and manifold warnings have been given t o yo..;r nation,an l a lso if possrole to bring t he same into effect - a matter which we could not iJ1tagine on the part of YH who, having already misconducted (misgaan ) yourself far enough over t h ,,:: previous matters, ought indeed to have left us undisturbed in this one. 1<'01' about the aforesaid CABO CORS it is so situated that ,the sameJ belonging to our Hon. Company, the natives of that same place, encouraged (opge- maakt) by Swedes and Danes,but inde~d most l y from YH's side, have on various occasions , hardened by YH's nation, rebel~i­ ously taken up a rms against us,not without the shedding of much blood, and likewi se still daily more and more do so through evil promptings of YH's aforesaid nation who a re living there under the subjection of the rebels; like as exper i ence has shown formerly and still l earns at present. Because of which, in order to r ecover again that which has been fa ithless ly taken from us, we have therefore kept this pl ace bloc~aded a l ready for more than two year s in order to bring our said States ' and Hon . Company's rebels again into subjection; in the which not doing otherwise than what we 2. 1663. are empowered to do accordIng to law, nature, and the law of nations. For even if we had no special ownership at CABO CORS -the contrary of which is true and proveable- ev,;;ry nation is at libarty to cause all inj.ll'Y to its enemies with whom it is in public war, and is empowered to cut off all supplies with which they are hardened and nourished in their evil designs, to anyone's :prejudice; without that from our side further is gone in this to anyone's injury. Therefore we cannot see how YH can complain, contrary to justice , that access to his l"actory en shore shoull. be prevented, as no one whether English, Dane .• or Swede, has any authority at CABO CORS, but all are living under the subjection of the re belli- ous vassals of our State . and therefore are subject to all that which might befall thosa rebels so long as they continue to stay amon§-st them; the more soi as,instead of evacuating the place» they much rather engage themselves in arms along with those rebels agaiBBt us, if not publicly at least covertly, And encountering such who are under the authority and in the territory of our rebels and enemies, and who are at their s '~rvice, we have no reason to consider them as friends, or , be - cause of the pres~~ption of ~uch disaffected friends as YH shows himself, to excuse our enemies , whom~ for no reason in the wor l d, shall we neglect to pursue, much less tolerate any supplies to them, t (. our own injury. Like as YH , then , contrary to frienlly usage and manifold warning;:; given to your nation from our s1.de, undertaking, is it such that - because of of what happened around AXEM, and the violent taking possession of TACCORARY and the supplies made there, as also that by our friendly admonitions you cannot be brought t~ leave us undis - turbed in our blockade of CABO CORS- we her ~by protest to YH's Roya l Company, their agents, YH~ and a ll their servants he r e in this country, against the violence and for the j amage caused us by your nation by the taking posseSSion of the afore - said TACCORARY, as also by the hindrance already suf ier ed in the blockade b afore CABO CORsi by the ships 1ICoronatioD 11 ~ 1IJames" ~ "Charles,. and which is still being suffered by YH's longer ~\y and remaining bGfore CABO CORS; and that your Factors retire from there and from TACCBRARY. And that we we shall haLl ourselves guiltless of the evil that might a r ise tp.erefrom,. both at sea and on shore. Done at the Castle St George d' el Mina in Guinea t hj. s 1st May 1663. (sgd) J. Valckenburgh. Certificate,signed by Upper - Factor of Fort NASSOUW ,Tobias Penside, & two witnesses, of the delIvery by him of the above Protest to Captain Steward " on the ship !1Rupcrt 11, lying in the Roads of CABO CORS, on the 2nd May 1663. 3. Report of what took place in reply to the above Protest when delivered to Captain Steward on board the 11 Rupert 11 • (Fro:!! the i)ut ch) After it had been read~ he refused to accept the Protest since he could not understand it. To this we replied that we also coulJ not understand his unfounded Protest ,on account of what it had been sent to the Dirl::ctor - General,which was followed by the Protest now handed ov e r. He stated KERN several times that then t:i.1*i'_ ~ould arouse a bloody war. We replied that we must ~ur Lord~' an d Masters' orders anj it was for them to answer for. He said he woulJ remaan here in the roads awaiting other arriving ships and he would then do his business by force» even though he had to wait and re- .nain lying here for two months or more and they would then see who would prevent them such. Whereupon wa s re plied that time woul d show everything; that we presumed that as the ships which he s a id were expected be longed to the Duke of York, he w&s a ~riDce of more knowl edge than to act against good allies as t h e High Mighty Lords States General of the United Neth::!r - lands in our lawful proceddings. Afterwards he began to try to corrJlpt us with present s t c allow him to c ome on shore. This was polit e ly refused as being contrary to our orders. and that )l if he wished to send his boat or other ve s.:;el on shore we $would endeavour to get psssession of it and would not release it before he pI'om~sed to depart from the place and not return to it. He re plied very loudly "Come and take the ship away, you will make a better voyage lt • Vie r eplied that that was not our order, and contrary to what they did we would treat them as good allies with all friendship. Although we l eft the ~otest there he wanted to give i t baCk to us on our departure; but this we refus ed as before, and we lill't the English ship ltRupert ·1 with the appearance of good friendship • ••• Thus done on the ship flAmsterdam fl lying in the roads be - fore CABO CORS the 2nd May 1663. I n m;y presence, (sgd) T. Penside. (sgd) J.van Eschwiler Anthony Fo pp':O!ntijn. We have seen th~ aforesaid, and after collation they are found to accord with the original papers, and we, Director- General and tho ~;~ of the Council have signed these in wit- nes;; thereof, at our meating at the Castle St Geor~e d ' el Mina in Guinea this 27ng May 1663 . (copied II J1iiarch). (sgd) J. Valckenburgh. (sgd) Dirck Wilree H.van Gageldonck V.R.Cri.s tien Tielman VI·ill ekens Aert Cosins Frans Fransen Sluij t er. ( pp. 495 - 504) 4. 1663. Extracts of Letters from Cormantin an d other places in Africa. (Original Paper,in P.R.O. C.O. 1/17. No.60) 27th June 1663. The Dutch give daily great present s t o t he ~ing of FUTTON and his Capeshier s co ex - clude thei r tionours (~_; from the trade,and to the ~ing of FANTYN and his Ca peshier's' to make war on the ililglish Cast le of Cormantin , saying if they could but g et that place, never Englishman more should have trading upon t ha t coast. 26th June 1663. Such is ye insolency that had not Ca pt a in Stokes arrived as he did, its much to be feared the Flemish flag ha d be en on Cormantin , as it is now on th .. ; castle at Cape Corso , for we have now per- fectly learnt their whole treachery. They prevailed on the King of Aguina treacherously to lay hold on John Ca bessa .. who It was a great defence to Cormantin, xEKxEExXERX~~ having forme l'ly protected it from a neighbour enemy, set on by them t o take it; and on the 28th May to plunder the house at Wiamba. Out of .uatter of 18 September from Captain Stoakes, a t ANNASHAN We got a treaty with them of Futton in spite of the Dutch .. and four host ag es or pawns that we should build a Castle there where ye other house stood, (at Cabo Cars?) but notwithstand - ing all this the Dutch wculd not suf f er us to land. From Captn Stewart at Ardra. From the Council of Factors at Cormantin, 8th ueptember. .,t. The Dutch have given b r ibes to the King of Cabessa land' (meaning Cabes Terr~), who seized some goods going from hence and killed the negroes that had bought them on design to spoil ye trade. COAuoonda hath been form ~rly inhabited by ye Engl:E:i;h where we have set LIed t wo ~nglisrilllen t o ke .:;p :pos sess i on. The Aing having, in lieu of them , sent t wo hostages, one, his own son. 31st August. ~~ From Mr Brett Factor a t Cr am Commenda. We came to this place on the 2 1s t . August. All night ye n ext morning ye man of war belonglng to ye Dutch war ped between us and the shore and told u s we must mot go ashore. Yet that day and t wo d.ays more they di d not hinder the n eg roes from tradeing with us, until another great Ship called ye "Amst e r dam " came from Castle de Mine and then they sent two men on board u s to see if we be longed to the Royal Company of England, they pretend- ing i f we ha d been Int erlopers they had powe r to t ake us j .*.. ~,-"" t~ ~ (~-((Me. =: C)t,4M~u... " 1. but we let them know that we were your servants and treated them with al l civility. But the next morning, they manned out three long boats, 22 men armed in one, 12 in another, and 10 in another, and so l ay on both sides our ship and on head of us and so continued firing at all canoes that came near or would have traded with us. And not only so, but those canoes that were tradeing with us and w~re made fast by ropes to our ship, they came and cut from our ships side; which one of ye seamen endeavouring to prevent by going down ye ships side, one of the Dutch cut him in the leg. Now seeing ye affront is so great, and not being in a position to do our masters' right, and finding them more insulting, we weighted anchor, and then the long boats men insulted most of all, giving such ixx~ base language as was not to be endured. --------------- 2. :be €i 0;0. ~. ~~. ((4 f ~J. /MI1At~). The following docwnents)which (except whe re otherwise not ed) are in Engl:Lsh, and have been copied (spelling modernised) from those in: St.Gen. Loket ~s! Engeland. 81.2. 13th February 1663, juxta &c. Upon which day appeared Wi lliam Crpwford, Commander of the ship called the Charles Frigate,b ~longing to the Company of Royal Adventurers of ~ngland trading into Africa, and J ohn Wise, the >lllate of the said ship, and by virtue of t heir Corporal oaths taken before the Right Wonshipful J ohn Exton) Dr of Laws ~nd Judge of the High Court of the Admiralty of England, did depose, That upon or about the 28th of October 1662 they did arrive with their ship the Charles/in the company of the ship called the James Frigate, of which John Merritt was Commander, at or near COMENDA upon ye Coast of Guiney and there ca~e to an anchor with an intent to trade there with the Negroes; but there did then ride a great Holland man of war with 30 pieces of Ordinance orxR thereabouts and very full of men which, as they understood was called ye Golden Lyon. ~~d the said Golden Lyon's Company would not permi t any Negroes to trade with t~e Company of the said shins t he Charles or ye James L no • ( . of Charles and James "to tr ade with them; but had constantly t wo sloops and men of wa r canoes coasting along the shore day and night, to hinder any trading . And a little to ye 'Yestward there lay t wo great Hol1ands lJen of Viar more~ at or near a place called SHOMAH, awl t hereupon the said Captain Merritt and one Mr Robert Bartlett, who ,vas Super Cargoe of the said ship the Charle s W0D t :eDom COt.1lENDA to the Castle de Mine to demand a reason cf the Governor there why they would not suffer the said ~nglish ships the Charles and James to trade, and answer was returned (as bbese deponents heard) that he, the said Governor, had order from his .ilasters in Holland 'not to suffer the English to trade ~less they came with so great a force that t hey could not hinder them, .110 And he, the said William Crowford d id depose that he did hear the Commander of the Golden Lyon declare himself to ye same purpose. And they do depose that all t he the time aforesaid the Hollanders had no Fort or Fact ory at COMENDA, but they did hinder ye English from trading purely by the force uf their shipping. And they do farther depose that about t he 30th of October, the said ship the Charles set sail fof the said Castle de Mine and the said Captain Merritt in the James weighed and went t o the windward and~ye said ship the Golden LYGdl folloNed him and,not permitting him to trade, the said ship the James came 1. also to the Charles to the Castle de ~ine. And about the 5th November tbe said ships the Charles aod James weighed frQ~ thence and sailed for CAPE CORSO and there anchored and the said ship the Golden Lyon came and anchored between them,and another ship called the Christina, being the Vice Admiral with about 24 pieces of Ordlnance,did ride close unto them and about the 6th of the said month of Novemmer the said ship the Charles sent out her skiffe with goods to buy slaves at CAPE CaRSEy and some of ye Company of the said Dutch ships seized on the said skiffe and the Goods and men and towed them on board the said ship the Golden ~ and t here detained them as prisoners for several days; and then the said ship the Charles w~ighed her anchor and went to Cor;nantyne and ther~ at Cormantyne Castle a protest was drawne up against the Governor of the said Castle del illine, the Captain of ye said ship the Golden Lyon and others the VYest Inliia Comyany, which Agent Pauluston and several ot beri Merchants at Corman- tyne Castle did subscribe. And about the 8th of November the said Protest was sent on board th,~ said ship the Golden Lyon. by Abraham Holditch the Mat e of the J-ames and John Lumbly cne of the ll!Iates of the Charles; soon after which the Dutch forced those English whom they had taken as prisoners into their skiffe again which they had seized with the goods and tow.-ed them near unto the said ship the James and there left them, and, as some of them declared to the said deponents, the Dutch threatened them that if they E:U'.e:JllINxargad:N '. offered to go on shore the ~overnor of the said Castle de M~ne had ordered that tbey should be sent Prisoners to the said Castle. All which they declare to bei~ally true in manner as they have caused the same to be set down. (sgd) William Crofford. John Wise. Jurat coram me die supEascripto. (sgd) Jh. Exton. Decimo Sexto die Octobris Ao 1663. Thomas Bartlett de Stepney in ComHatu lYI{ddx Nauta j aetatis 32 anl'Jiorum aut eo circlter~ Abraham Holdjtcb de eadem Villa ~auta,aetatis 24 annorum aut cjrciter. Henricus Walckeden de eadem ?arochis Chirurgus.aetat is 26 annorum aut eo circiter, respective jurati coram venerabili viro Johanne Exton Legum Doctore Supremae Curiae Admiralitatis Angliae Locum tenente sive Judice 7 desponit ut sequitur~ vizti- That they were respectively of the Company of the ship the James of London,whereof Captain Peter Marett was and is COill- mander in the service of the Company of the Royal Adventurer s of England trading to Africa, name ly the said Thomas Bartlett 2. 1662/3. Masters .llUate, Abraham Holditch also Masters Mate and Henry Walkeden Chirurgeon of the said ship and that in those qualities they sailed in her late voyage in the service of the said Company for the Coast of Guiney. And they respectively depose that, arriving at COMENDA on the said Coast on or about the 20th October in the year 1662, they there found ~±M±N riding a Ship of War of the Dutch or Netherlands West India Company ,c ommanded b~ one Captn Cornelius Yoll which (as they were there informed) arrived there the day before such arrival of the James:J and came pur posely to meet and hinder her trade. And they depose that as soon as they were c orne with the James to an anchor the boat of the said Dutch shi p came aboard them with a mes s enger who told the~ said Peter Marett their Commander J in their hearing .. that he was sent by the said Capt Yoll to tell him that he should not trade there with his said ship; and that if he the said Capt Marett endeav oured to trade there the said Capt Yoll would hinder him and not suffer his Boat to go ashora nor any Canoes to come off from shore to him. A..'1d f»:D:ui:1l.1i ac cordingly,they say,that there were forthwith several sloops boats and canoes with armed men set and employed by the said Yoll to lie between the ~ and the shore,to prevent the boats of the James from g oing ashore or any canoes from coming from the shore to her. And when , the next day,several canoes endeavoured to come from EkE shore aboard the James, the said ship~ of the s a id Capt Yoll (which had the Golden Lyon on her stern) fired at them and so d i d the sloops and canoes which we re in the Dutch service, and gave chase to the s a id canoes that were coming aboard the James an d so forced them away and would not suf f er them to come unto or trade with the James. Whereupon -gheir s a id Com,runder Capt Marrett, seeing himself so prevented of Trade by the Dutch in such a violent manner, determine d to go, and did go, in a canoe for Castle Delmina to demand a reason ~s he declared he would do) of the Dutch General there wherefore he was not suffered to trade there, coming in the said Company's service. And at his de parture he gave order to these Deponents and the rest of his Company to weigh and ply to windward u pon the Coast, having be en i n- formed. by the Blacks that they would come off from shore to his ship and trade with her for slaves and gold in case s he were removed from COM~[F..NDA where the Dutch ship lay ,and where the Dutch pretended to have wars with the Natives. And they depose~OCKmE~~ that'~accDrdingly,they we i ghing and plying to windard, the ~E saia. Dutch ship also weighed and followe l them,/" and when the J ames anchored the Dutch shi p anchored by her, and weig~ still as the James weighed and ke pt still in her compan~ rriJd f r om time to time and from place to place~ether sailing or at anchor,the c anoes and s lo ops of the Dutch waited upon and watched them and lay betwe en the James and the shore to prevent her having any comjlerce with shore. Howbeit, one canoe coming from shore aboard by stealth the Negro that was in her told them that there were many 3. slaves ashore and that in case they could find a way to send their goods ashore, he for his part alone would undertake ~ha that they should have seven slaves every day ready to be sent aboard; but by reason of the said Dutch ship and boats so attending to hinder them, they coul:l. not find any op ~_ ortunity either to send goods ashore or r~ceive any slaves thence. In which illanner they being d cprived of all trade there were forced (as they say) to return to leeward to seek trade that way, and in such their course of proceeding the said Dutch ship sailed in their company~ and when they came to Castle Delmina (where they foun 4. the said ship Charles and their said Captain) they came to an anchor and so did the said .l.iutch ship. And having taken -gheir said Commander Ca l t Marrett mKaboard, she departed in company of the said Charles (of which Robert Bartlett was Super Cargo) for CAPE CORSO, the said Dutch ship commanded by the said Capt Yoll still following them, and arriving at CAPE CORSO on or about the 5th of Nov- ember 1662 they came there to an anchor and so did the said Capt Yoll with his ship; another Dutch ship of war being there at that time riding Which also belonged to the Dutch or Nether- land West India Company. And there the Dutch (as they say) kept them stricter watched and waited upon with boats to pre - vent Tr ade there before lt laying many boats so near them that they of the boats and those of the English ships could hear each other talK and ther e he saith (sic) the t wo Dutch shi ps X~XEaM forbad any Trade to the said ~nglish ships, and sent word aboard that they should not have any trade there. And to be sure to watch and prevent their trade the said Capt Yoll, who at first roJe about an English mile and a half from the James, weighed and came and anchored and rode so near her as he could without coming foul of her. And they say that the Eng lish Commanders being desirous of Trade and willing to essay what they cOllld do therein-,sent of r' the Charles her boat to go ashore with goods to trade for Negroes; and that the said boat was scarce half the ship's length from t he ship when a Dutch man of war's canoe and boat presently seized the said boat and goods and carried them and the men that were in the said boat aboard the said Capt Yoll's ship, whe" e they were three days detained and then the boat beibg turned off the men came aboard the James and declared that they were with threat s commanded by the said Capt 1011 either to come aboard the Bnglish or to go to sea fo r they should not go ashore nor stay in the Dutch ship. And they further MJfrlar:u: depose that, being thus still by the Dutch prevented and not suffered to trade, thl..-"Y with the said ship James after several days stay weighed and went for MDEX MAUREA and thgy arrived and anchored on or about the loth of November 1662. where the said Capt Marett, being in - vited by the Uutch Chief Factor of that place to come ashore' to buy slaves, went ashore, and while he aarxxxxmmxJf was so ashore the canoe that attended to bring him off and the men tharein were surprised by the Dutch and the said men imprisoned as such of them (as were afterwards rejeemed) 4. I 1662/3. confessed and in their said imprisonment they were, as they affirmed and as by the marks on their bodies appeared , beaten and abused, and some of the canoe men were not released but detained Prisoners. And if the said Ca ptain had gone aga i n ashore, as he was invited to do, he had been poisoned by the Dutch, a s they heard severa l Negroes affirm; on e of th 3m EXJ.i:Ng also saying that he sww the poisonout po Lion, that wa s pre- pared for the said Captain, ca "t, a way. And they say that ship's boats very hardly go ashore on those Coasts by reason of t he Greatness of the sea there, s o that they are necessitated to make use of canoes, and the said canoe of the James being so seized and none other there to be bought, the trade of the said ship was exceedingly prevented ; and such loss and damage by the said interruption is , as they say, the more apparent for that whereas they were to windward offered seven slaves a day if they had been permit t ed to take them aboard, they could not, when they came afterwards to Cormantine, get above one or two in a day and in some days none at all. Concordat haec Copia cum suo Original i penes 1iegrum Supremae Curiae Admiralitatls Angliae emanente Notsque Publ. dictae Curiae Examinator. (sgd) Edmundus Arnold. Decimo Quinto October 1663. Petrus Marrett de Redriffe in Comitatu Surriae Nauta Capitaneus Navis vocat flhhe James" aetatis 37 annorum aut eo circiter testis in hac parte juratus coram venerabili viro Johanni Exton legum Doctor Supremae Curiae Admiralitatis Angliae loc~mtenenti sive judice, de y~nit at sequitur, vizt:- That he this deponent in the said ship the James whereof he wa s and is Comrrender with his Company in service and f or ac- count of the Company of the Royal Adventur ers of Eng land trad- ing to Africa,sailing to Guinea and coming to ye Port of COMENDA on or about the 20th _Of October in the year of our Lord God 1662, they then met with a Dutch man of war belong l ng t o ye West India Company of the Netherlands,having the Golden Lyon_ carved on her stern, and whe l-eof one Cornelius Yol was Capaa i n, who as soon as this Deponent was come with his ship to an anchor, sent his boat aboard to this Deponent to warn him not to trade there; the messenger telling this Deponent t hat he wa s sent by his said Captain to acquaint this De ponent t hat he should not trade there and that if this ile ponent endeavoured to trade ther e the said Capt a in would hinder him and not suffer his boat to go asgore nor suffer any canoes to come f rom shore 5. to him. Whereupon this Deponent went ashore to the Dutch Fort called (as he taketh it) Castle de ,\>line and acquainted Derrick WILREE the Dutch Governor who this Deponent and his Consort Robert Bartlett in ye ship Charles (whowas also in ye same service) were, and how that they were come to trade t on that Coast for account of the said Royal Company and withall acquaint- ed him with fihat message this Deponent had received from the said Captain Yol. Upon which relation of this Deponent the said General made him answer that he had order from his Mas- ters not to suffer any English to trade there and that therefore neither this Deponent nor the said ship Charles, nor any Eng- lis3, should trade the r e if he could hinder them and that if they would trade they should come in better strength than the Dutch had there, or in uwrds to the same effect. And saith that at such time of his going ashore he gave order to his men to weigh with his ship and go to windward from COMENDA to see if they could get trade there; but saith that as soon as his men weighed the said Captain Yol weighed and sailed along with the James, and when ye James anchored ye said Cap-tain Yol came to an anchor, and so weighed and anchored twice or thrice as the James did,keeping still nearer unto her and the boat s of the Dutch bet ween her and the shore ~ to hinder ye Natives to come to the James and they of the James from going ashore. Whereupon this Deponent's ship (all trade being thus hin- dered them) sailed for CAPE CORCO and there arrived in Company of ye Charles aforesaid on or about the 5th of November 1662; the said ship of Captain Yol sailing along with them, and then they met with another Dutch man of war, both which Dutch ships belonging to ye Dutch or Holland Wet~ India Company, and joint- ly forbad and there also hindered the trading of the said two English ships and ke ;.;t boat s manned with armed men between the said two English ships and the shore to obstruct their trade; teiliog them still that they should not trade there. But saith that this Deponent and the said Mr Bartlett, not willing to desist from bare words and threats of the Dutch, put some goods aboard the Charles her boat to send ashore to pay for slaves for which they had contracted; but saith that the said boat r owing to go ashore, was set upon and seized by force and vimmence by the Dutch boats that lay there night and day to hinder the trade of the said English ships. Which Dutch boats having so seized the said boat of the Charles carried her aboard ye said Captain Yol's Efiai ship. And there she was kept three days;and then she being turned off the men that were in ye said boat came and re r~tted to this Deponent and the said Bartlett that they were ±m~~~E~xEJ xmex~ enjoined by the Dutch either to go aboard their mKX~ own ship or else to go to sea y for they should not go ashore. And saith further that being thus from place to place hin- dered by the Dutch from tradeing, this Deponent with his said ship and Company sailed to ye MAUREA where he arrived on or about the lOth of November 1662, and being there arrived,the Dutch Chief Factor there invited this Deponent ashore to buy 6. 1662/3. some slaves which he said he had to sell. Upon which invi- tation this Deponent going ashore~ after some treaty had with the said Factor about the... said slaves, this Deponent intending to return aboard his ship was prevented, for that the canoes that were there to attend him were seized by the Dutch, and this Deponent's men that were in the canoe were taken and im- prisoned by the Dutch, and a quantity of gold and other goods were also seized; all which canoe,goods and gold were finally detained by ye said Dutch and never returned, this Deponent being constrained to come away without them and to leave some of his men in their custody. By the det ention of whi ch canoe this Deponent was disabled to prosecute his voyage by either sending to or receiving goods from shore, not having other boats left that were capable of going asho~e, nor were there any then there to be bought. By which detention and hi s for- mer dissappointments his voyage was exceedingly hindered both as to the time of despatch and the price and hinderance of ye sale of his goods; he being necessitated afterwards to sell them at a far lower ~xx~x rate than they would have yielded at the fore said places where he was so interrupted. Moreover he deposeth that he wa s told by some of the Natives that :f he had come ashore again at MAUREA (as he was invited by the D~tch to do about buying the slaves aforesaid) he had assuredly been poisoned by the said Dutch; and this Deponent doth v erily believe the same to be true, for that this Dep- onent hath farht er been acquainted by one of his men that was prisoner under them that when they saw that he would not come again ~~ashore, they in his sight threw the poisonous potion whic-h they had prepared for him away. And he hath heard sev eral others that since came from that Coast affirm that the general report there is that if he had come ashore again,he had been poisoned, for t hat there was by the Dutch poison prepared fro him. l.ioreover, he deposeth that as he hath credibly heard and verily believeth there were no Dutch ships at ~PE CORSO or COMENDA before the Dutch heard of the arrival of this Deponent in his said ship upon the Coast; and he is ye rather induced to thisbelief and to believe that they did not beleaguer CAPE CORSO and COMENDA by sea, as they pretended, for that after this DeIOnent was come from thence, the said two Dutch ships came also thence in his sight, and left no shi pping there. Indorsed: Deposition of Peter Marrett,Commander of the ship . James. 7. Exhibitum the 3rd 9ber 1663. The UnderwZgDaen Envoy Extraordinary of his most Sacred Majesty of Great Britain &c having received and considered the Resolution of their Lordships ye States General of ye United Provinces of ye 8th/18 October (Q.V. N.Bk (7) p.91.) given him by their Agent de Heijde in answer to ye first part of his Memorial of ye 17th of September (Q.V. ibid, p. 88) concerning 2 English ships called ye Charles & James. :loth find therein contained two things. First that their Lord- ships do deny that anything was taken from ye said ships. Secondly, that they do justify the interdiction given by WILREE anJ his actual hindering them by force from their trade in pursuance thereof. Now as to ye first. The said Envoy Extraordinary doth make known to their Lordships that Peter Marett,Com~nder of ye said ship James, and other officers in ye said ship, being Ra exam- ined in ya High Court of ye Admiralty of England, have deposed upon their oW oaths that their canoe and goods were taken and kept by those of ye West India Company of this Country,and not only bad words given but several of those that belonged to ye said ships so beaten that ye marks were to be seen upon their bodies, af"Qer their releasement,and some of ye Canoemen yet remaining prisoners. As to ye Seeond. He doth grant that in case of an actual and real siege it is lawful and usual to interdict and hinder all trade during ye time of such siege; but that he hath never heard or r 8ad of whole eountries, Aingdoms or Provinces said to be besieged. A perticular Fort, Castle or town may be besieged and so as to warrant ye hindringof any trade therewith for such time, but it will require a greater and more numerous strength than ever ye Romans were master of, so to besiege at once a Count ry or Kingdom. :.foreover" no particular Fort, Castle or 'Iown (much less a whole Country) can be said to be besieged because there nI are FJE a few ships before it, or on ye Coast thereof, nor unless it be blocked up by land as well as by sea. Nor doth ye bes ieging a place with vessels (as their Lordships are pleased to term It in their foresaid ans- wer) where it is apen and free to ye land, ~ive warrant for ye prohibitiD~ or hindring of trade therewith, nor can any Prince or State expect that their friends and allies should forbear unless or for longer time than it is by them inv ·~sted and shut up by force by land as well as ships by sea, as was sufficiently debated and acknowledged in ye business of ye Postillion , Frederick and Francis and John. And as their Lordships have further evidenced this last year, when though ye King of Spain had not only besieged with shi ps (as they are pleased to quality it in their foresaid Resolution) the Coasts of Portugal, but had also a great army in ye bowells of the Kingdom, y et were so far from understanding that ye people of this Country should the r eupon be deba rred from trade therein, that they contented not themselves with ye forcible maintaining and freeing thereof, but did seize and take those very ships of ye King of Spain, though they pretended not to an universal inhibitlbon of trade,but only to search fo'r 8. 1662/3. Contrabanda goods. Now if their Lordships please to look into ye insinuation given by WILREEy the,r will find that it ±s reached not to Ccntrabanda goods only, but generally to prohibit all manner of trade whatsoever, and that not with some particular Fort, Castle or Town, but with whole Gountries and Kingdoms, and that neither ye Fort at CABO CORCO nor any other port or place where ye English did desire to trade, was at that time blocked up or besieged by any land forces of ye said Company, but only a ship or two of theirs upon ye Coast, and which did not continue before anyone or more places, but still weighing anchor and plying to and agalnst which way soever ye English ships went; so that they might be much more properly,and wlth greater reason, said to besiege ye ships Charles and James than any port or place of those Countries. And for the distinction which their Lordships do seem to hint at in their foresaid answer of entree or port ouverte or non ouverte, and as if no trade ought to be but in those entrees or ports ouvertes, and so that upon ye account of ye blocking up or taking of such port$ or entree ouverte,it is lawful for them to hinder trade all along ye Coasts where there is no such port or entree ouverte; the said Envoy Extra- ordinary doth declare that he doth by no means understand nor can in any kind admit thereof. It is well known that in many parts of Europe where yet there is i very considerable trade,there is not any Port or entree ouverte as at ye Island of Madera, the Azores ; and many otherp places, and throughout ye Coasts of Africa & America, they do not tie themselves to ports or entrees ouvertes,but the most of their trade is driven in open bays & roads where- ever a ship can come to an anchor and send a boat on shore. Nor can his Majesty in any kind Elt.xmQ( s~fer that his sub- jects should be hindred from their trade with ye natives of those Countries in amity with him in such places where they can ceme to them,though they be not JlElx.sKXXD ports or entrees ouvertes upon ye a~count of this country's having besieged or taken some or more port ouverte therein. And ye said Envoy Extraordinary doth again in the name and by order of ye King his Master, demand that WILREE be exemp- larily punished, and satisfaction and reparation made to ye Company of Royal Adventur ers of England for ye damages sus- tained by them, by the taking their boat and goods, loss of time, ~FPftjmM ••8 & disa ppointing and hindring them from trade, in such places in which they were, and wheBe they could have put off their own commodities and bought such as they stood in need of at the best rates, and assurance that his Subjects shall not be in like manner tnoubled for the future. Protesting otherwise, as he doth hereby in the name and by 9. special order of tha Aing his ~ster against ye foresaid insinuation od the said WILREE and the inconvenieQces that may follow upon the justification thereof, and of Xio.JeXWK;Y: this way of dealing with his Subj ect s; withall letting them know that it is not the way to maintain the good understanding between his MaJesty and this country to say: "That no order hath joeJl ever as yet been given B±KnKxxfx~or shall be given either from their Lordships or fran the West India Company of this Country to act upon ye Coast of Guinea with reference to the Allies of this State and particu- larly towards the English Nation as that the r eby the good understanding between them should be in any kind altered". And yet at ye same time and with the same breath not only to justify the violences already committed by the said WILREE, but the said insinuation itself~ the consequen- cei whe r eof can be no other (if persisted in) than a dtrect breach in those parts~with what may follow thereupon. Moreover the said ~vQY Extraordinary doth again in pursuance of an especial order which he hath newly received from his Majesty's Privy Council ~ demand that satisfactiQn and reparation be made to the persons interested in the ships Bona Esperanza, and Henry Bonaventur~. Given at ye Hague this 23rd of October 1663, old style. (sgd) G. Downing. Note. The st. Gen. Resolution of 3rd November upon the above Memorial does not seem to bave been noted. Probably it was merely a formal one referring the Memorial to the W.I.C. for report. 10. 1662/3. The Directors of the west India Company to the States General. N.D. Indorsed "Lectum 1 Dec.1663." (From the Dut eh) The Directors of the Chart W.I.C.,here present, with due respect rep\resent how it has pleased Y.Ho. Mos. on the 9th instant (Nov) to send to the Presidial. Chamber at Amsterdam, for report, a certain second ttemorial from Mr Downing Extra- ordinary Envoy of hjs ~ajesty of Great Britain containing in effect a rejoinder to the reply given to HH by Your Ho. Mo . to his first Memorial in destruction of HH's complaints about the hindrance of trade caused to the ships James & Charles on the Coast of Africa at COMANY and CABO CORCO by t he ships of the W. I.C. of these lands; and lIIiilIt the same being examined by the aforsaid Directors and compared with the documents received by them from Guinea, the,{ once more declare and protest that they have never had any thought of treating the English nation in Guinea, or elsewhere, in such manner that any ~pleasure ought to be conceived, even by that Crown, from the actions they have committed, especially about the ships James & Charles; about which the Company has taken upon itself less rather than more than the law of nations and necessity permitted; like as Y.Ho. Mo. have been able to judge from our report (N .B. Does not appear to have been copies, butn o doubt it is fully embodied in the St. Gens' • " t\ Resolution of 18th October 1663 -q.v. N. Blr.(7) 11u91.}Yct(jlJft.,C.~ p'l upon the first ~emorial from Mr Downing. Nevertheless, as it has pleased RH. not to be satisfied with that , but to put on paper some further arguments in refutation of what was sincerely and truthfully reported in justification of the Company IS action, therefore the Directors, fihllowing the trail and order of HH's Memorial, upon HB's first point once again deny that any mishandling or ill treatment was done to the English; ani they truth- fully affirm that the English endeavouri ng by force and surreptitiously to come on shore in order to assist t he enemies of the Compmy, who wit hout trade were all r uined and must have fallen into it s hands~ and their canoe being seized,none of the goods found in it were kept by the Company, but everything was restored according to friendly usage; like as HH. now, in this his further Mfueorial , himself, JJlainly declares that the said canoe wks only taken charge of \beswaert) and not captured. Whereby the Company ought to be freed even from the sus- picion that it had wished to commit any violence to the afore - said ships, much less that the Ministers of the Company should have wished unlawfully to a ppropriate the goods of the English and treat their persons, in the canoe , badly; who are always received at the Castle El Mina with every 1. honour. And it cannot be laid to the charge of the Company if possibly in the seizing of the canoe by rough seamen and the English resisting" something or other was done without the order of the Director, which, if it had been brought to his lua:k:iIDI knowledge" it would have been shewn, by the pun - ishment of the odfenders, that the injury done to their per - sons was as displeasing to him as the taking of their goods; (he) ~rotesting that up to now t~~~~~~ not to have received the lea st knowledge of any bad treatment done to the said persons" with the declara tion that, the same being true and properly verified (of which nothing of the sort has so far appeared to the Company) the persons guilty of it shall not be saved from ~~ justice; being confident that, on similar occasions, xatisfaction will be given in like manner to the Company in regard to the subjects of his Royal Majesty. The second point of Mr Downing so far justifies the action of the Company in that HR. acknowledges that the Company, having beleagured the places COMMANY, or AKITAKI, situate in the Kingdom of COMENDO, and CABO CORCO, in the Kingdom of FUTU ( the first of which was formerly conquered from the Portuguese by the arms of the Company and was afterwards transferred (opgedragen) by the King of COMENDO to the Company to the exclusion of all other nat ions), at the time of the arrival of the ships James & Charles (like as is stated -geposeert- in the reply to the first Memorial) would also have been justified in (gefiondeert tot) the proceedings taken against the aforenamed ships. Therefore the aforenamed Directors once more persist in the arguments alleged in the first reply, and, for further justification of , the beleaguering thereto add (daerbij doen) HH's own confession that the said places were so sr~t in by the ships of the Company that the Natives could ERitEEx come neither in nor out of the said places against the WE will (tegebs danck) of the Company. And further replying to the various exceptions alleged in HH's further Memorial to show that the places COMANI XEN or CABO CORCO were not beleaguered, they firstly request that HH. will please to make distinction between the be- leaguering of Kingdoms and the beleaguering of places which prevent the entrance to any Kingdoms, and between the King- doms in Europe and those which are situated in Guinea: and that HH. will further be pleased to observe that although the ships of the English, by the beleaguering of the places CABO CORCO and CO~WI particularly, have been prevented from coming into the Kingdoms of FUTU XNX or COMENDO, this has not happened because the Company sustained that by the beleaguering of those two particular iIxEaxx~»keX~ places it has absolutely beleaguered both the Kingdoms; but because the Company, having beleaguered the places CABO CORCO and COMANI particularly, has been so fortunate and other nations so unfortunate that Nature has given 12. 1662/3. " those said places to the said Kingdoms as the only entrances from the sea, and having shut in the further coa3ts of those Kingdoms by rocks, she (Nature) has thus shut them out of the Kingdoms, and the Company has shut them out of only the s pecial places. And it was not to be required of the Company to admit the allies to the trade in the specially beleaguered places, or to let them pass through the same into the Kingdoms , because Nature had closed the o~er passes (passen), "op praesoPPo(Jst" that the enti.re Kingdom was not beleaguered mor~ or less if (als) anyone wishing to beleaguer a place which because of morasses or other impediments has but one entrance, he, having properly occupied (beset) the same, is bound to let everyone pass through the occupied pa ss, "op praesuppoest" that the beleaguerer had not closed all the places, also those which are (made) inaccessible by Nature. And here is not ap~licable the example of Madera and other places which, having suitable roadsteads round about for ships, must not be understood, according t o Imt HH's contention, to be shut in, even granted that the harbour wa s beleaguered; because , as st at ed before , t he Company ha s not beleaguered the entire Kingdom; but the situation of the places not being so conveni.ent as those alleged by RH., therefore they have been shut out by Nature and not by the Company. Therefore HH., on observing the foregoing distinction between Kingdoms, need not ask with surprise how it is possible that one, "des noots", should wish to beleaguer entire Kingdoms; because many of the Kingdoms on the Coast of Guinea, and espeGially FUTU, do not extend their juris- dicyion so far as many cities in Europe; for example, in the s~ace of ten miles (Dutch) there are five Kingdoms , among which are numbered COMENDO and FUTU; which has come about (toegecomen) thereby that the nations of Europe have given the titles of Kingdoms to all those which, by a separate (bijsondere) government consisting in a Chief as King, and Councillors called Caboceros, were separated from others. Secondly, HH. does not also show that the places CABO CORCO and COMANI or AKITAKI have not been beleagueeed because they theyt were occupied (beset) only by sea and not by land ( at which position HR. iEx~x rebounds from the opinion he had t hat the Company beleaguered the entire Kingdoms); for it does not depend upon the opinion of an ally whether a place,in which he wishes to be,is beleaguered, but upon the quality of th e Force which is l¥ing before the place, Whe"~rl.t is competent (bequam) to prevent all import s and -~o its enemies. 13. Moreover, anyone wishing to beleaguer a place is not bound to occupy all passes, both necessary and unnecessary, but only those by which he judges he will so harass the enemy that he will be obliged to fall into his hands. And the beleaguerer is not bound, even grant ed that the occupying of any passes were judged by him to be unnecessary, therefore to let the allies pass through that pass which is occupidd by him. Consequently the Company also is not bound to let the English come by sea to CABO CORCO or COMANI, even though, if some passes were left open, t he alLies of the beleaguerer woul d be able to come through them to the beleaguered in order to drive their trade. And consequently, the English, if they had thought it good, could also have made use of those passes which were not occupied on land; which would not have been prevented them. Thirdly, also the example,discovered in the state of the Kingdom of Portugal at the time when the King of Spain bad an armada at sea and an army in the field, does not come into consideration, because it refers to (weder siet op) tbe be- l eaguering of an entire Kingdom very different to that of COMENDO or FUTU, as has been said heretofore, and because here the be league r ing of particular places is being dealt with. Fourthly, it neitheI!" adds to nor detracts from the l1rlRl!I.gKRX-*X beleaguering of a place that the ships lying before it go under sail upon the arrival of any ships in order to Ilrecog- nosceren" the arrivals and, if necessary, to defend t hem- selves, as the natural property of a ship i s to sail and, lying at anchor, it can show little force. Which is much as if one would wish to sustain that a pass, being occupied by cavalry , it was not occupied because the trcoopers rode here and there in the places of the pass, and their nlLlJJber was not so large that they coul d defend it s1ianding still. From all which reasons, the sa±i Directors are firmly con- fident that Y.Ho.Mo. will be able to conclude thatralthough HH. states (poseert) that .• notwithsaanding the protest of friendship made to the said ships by the pro~isional Director, Dirck WILREE, he in fact treated them without all friendship~ the Company has »eKN~~ nevertheless been justified in the proceedings taken against the ships James & Charles; and that you will judge that the Company ought not to be blamed solet.J because, in We xercising its rights, it has been the cause that the English ha~e not been able to attain their intention. The which doing &c. 14. 1.1 1662/3. Resolution fEl of the 6tates General of t he Unit ed Netherlands. Sabbathi the 1st December 1663. Is read at the Assembly a certain Remonstrance from the ~ Directors, here present, of the W.I.C. of these ~ands , con~tin­ ing, in compliance with their Ho. Mo.s' Resolution of the 9t h November last, a report upon a certain second Memorial from Mr Downing, ~traordinary Envoy of the King of Great Britain, containing jn ef~ect a rejoinder to the reply given to him by their H. M. to his first ~morial, in destruction of his com- plaints about the hindrance of the trade of the ships James & Charle~ on the Coast of Africa at COMANIJ & CABO CORZO E~xk caused by the ships of the aforesaid W. I.C. Whereupon being deliberated, is found gOfYi and decided that the said Remon- strance shall be placed in. the hands of Messrs Huygens and other their H. M.s' Deputies for 1'h-;: affairs of the said W.I.C. to i nspect, examine and to make report thereon. Resolution of the States of Hol land and West Fr i esland taken on Saturday the 8th December 1663 . The Council-Pensionary has reported to the Assembly the considerations and the advice of Messrs their Hon. Great Mi.ghtinesses~$' deputies who, j.n pursuance and fulfilment of their Hesolution Commdssorial dated the 28th of last month, have examined and considered a certain further liIemor ial tXEm ,f?resented by Mr Downing , Extraordinary Envoy of the King of Great Britain, to their High M. containing cOffi , l aint s about bad and unfriendly treatment which had been committed by t he ships of the W.I.C. of these United Netherlands toward s t wo English ships named the Charles and James, both belonging to the Company of the Royal Adventueers of England trading into Africa; together also with the reply given by the i r High M. to the said complaints on the 18th October last; as also the further memorial delivered in to the Generality , dated the 23rd of the same month by the said Mr Downing, in rejoinder to the said reply; and also a ~2~ certain further report given by those of the said W. I.C. to the afor esaid further Memorial to the High M. on the 1st instant. Whereupon being deliberated, their Hon. llreat Mi ghtinesses have found the reasons & arguments in the said further report entir ~ly suf - ficient and convincing, and it is therefor e foun d good and de - cided that on behalf of this Province the matter shall be so directed in order that a well reasoned reply on the basis of the reasons and motives comprised in the aforesaid re port from those of the said W.I.C. to the said further illemorial, ma¥tt be drawn up by their High M. and afterwards handed over to the said Mr Extraordinary J!:nvoy Downing. 15. Resolution of the States General of the United Netherlands. Martis the 11th December 1663. Messrs the Deputies of the Province of Hol l and and West Friesland have, at the Assembly, opened the Provincial Advice of Messrs their Principals upon the Remonstrance presented on the 1st instant to their High M. by the Directors of the W.I.C. of these lands, contaIning, in compliance with their High M.s' Resolution of the 9th November last, report upon a certain second Memorial from Mr Downing Ex: Ebv: of the King of Gt. Britain,containing in effect a rejoinder to the reply to the same E~xKEoo±KXMigExM. given by their High ~. to his first Memorial in dest ruction of his complaint s about the hindrance of the trade of the ships James & Charles on the Coast of Africa at COMANIJ & CABO CORCO by the ships of the afsd W.I.C. taken in hand. Whereupon being deliberated, is found good and decide d that the aforesaid Provincial Advice shall be placed in the hands ' of Messrs Huygens and other their High M.s' Deputies for the affairs of i::u England to inspect, examine and to make report thereon. . A draft (~margin) Resolution of the States General (the original ap:rarently not having been noted), replying to the second ~morial of ~r Downing. This draft Resolu- tion is, mutatis mutandis, in identical terms with the Remonstrance from the Directors of the W.I.e. (supra), though some of the paragraphs (and a few sentences) have been struck through. This draft rlesoltltion is dated, "In 'den Hage the December 1663 Tf • (The paragraphs struck through aBe those beginning "Secondly" and "Thirdly"; but :ltn:mdd!l the words TfFourthly" remain in the draft.) 16. 1662/3 Peter Marett of Rederiffe in the county of Sur~ Mariner, and Henry Walkeden of the parish of Stepney in the county of Middlesex Chyrurgeon,both formerly sworn in this Court, nemely the said Peter Marrett on the~ 5th and the said Henry Walkeden on the 16th day of October last and then deposing vouching several injuries and interruptions of trade done by the Subjects of the United ~mxix~~ Netherlands to the Company or ~oyal Adventurers of England trading to Africa, being now again sworn do, by way of add-,tition to these their former D'';';'Klsitions, say and depose by virtue of the i r oaths: That at the reppective time and times of the injur i es and interruption of trade, thsBein mentioned to be done by the Dutch to their ship the James and her Company (and consequent- ly to the said ROSial Company in whose employment she was) the Dutch had not any Factory settled either at Comenda or Cape Cost mentioned in their said Depositions, which they know, for that they were there present in their said ship , and saw and took notice that the Dutch had then no factory there. And they further depose that neither the sa i d places of Comenda or Cape Cost WR...re then besieged, there being no forces either by sea or land before either of the said places, which could no way signify any besiegeing, inas- much as the boat s of the Natives went freely in and out afishing and upon their other occasions. Vera copia examinatur (sgd) Edmund Arnold. Notia-s Publicus Supremiae Curiae Admiralitatis Angliae. 17. On the behalf of the Company of Royal . Adventurers touching Vamage sustained from the Dutch, the 30th December 1663. John Denn of the rarish of St Olave Southwark ~ariner,Commander of the ship the Mary belonging to the Company of Royal ~dventurers of England trading to Africa aged 36 years or thereabouts, and William 4:tton dwelling in the Parish of Stepney Master's Mate of the said ship aged about 34 years or the r eabouts, and tiobert Knight also Master's Mate of the said ship dwelling in stepney Parish aged 33 years or thereabouts, sworn before the Judge of the Admiralty do depose: / That on or about Thursday the 26th day of February 1662 (according to the computation of the Church of England) elL I ~G~ '\ these Deponents, in the said Qualities, arrived in t he - ~ said ship Mary in the service of the said Royal Company E~ at the Port of ANTO on the Coa st of Africa, where the said Company hath and then had a House and settled Factory. And being so arrived the said Commander John Denn went ashore and traded, and that while he was so trading,namely on or about KEE Saturday the 28th of the same month, Captn James Johnson in a ship of Zeland \of 34 guns or thereabouts) named the Golden Lyon arrived at the said Port of ANT 0, to which he was (as he said) comn~nded by General Valkenburg h the Dutch General at Castle Delmine, to see and take aCGount what th.:-y were and whence they came with their said ship . And that upon his a rrival the said Capt James Johnson saw and perused the .papers and documents of the said ship the Mary. Which when he had done,namely on or about the 4th of ~rch next following, the said Capt Johnson, whils t the S'a id John Denn was ashore, surprised the Mary's boat and men therein and the goodts imddmXEKmB that were in the same which the said John Denn had ordered to be brought ashore to him t o the English Factory. Whereupon the Deponent John Denn took a canoe and went aboard the said Ca ptain Johnson's ship and made demand of his boat,men and goods. To which demand the said Capt Johnson made answer that he should have his men (and accordingly delivered them) but should not have either his boat or goods, both which the said Captain Johnson detatued. And they further depose that on the Iniorrow, being t he 5th day or thereabouts , of March last, the said Deponent John Denn sent thi s other De ponen t Wi lliam La i ton aboard the said Capt Johnson again to demand his said boat and goods, and that the said Capt Johnson returned answer that he had the night before received order foom t he said General from Castle Delmine to restore the said boat and 18. 1662/3. goods provided that the said John Denn would weigh anchor and forthwith depart from ANT 0 ; and that if he would do so & immediately set sail he the said Capt Johnson was ready and would deliver up his boat and goods, otherwise not. Which being so, the said John Denn one of the Deponents considering that if his boat and goods were finally detained his voyage would be rendered fruitless and in- effectual, was necessitate~ to yield to the said un~eason­ able conditions, and having received back his boat & goods to set sail thence. Before which departure the said Capt Johnson told him that he was sorry to be employed in such service but being therein commanded by the General, he must obey or else be hanged. And they depose that on or about the 7th of March next ensuing the premisses, these Deponents arrived with the said ship & came to anchor at COMENDA upon the said Coast where the English have constantly had a trade and where the Hollanders or Nether Dutch had then no Factory or ship in that Road; and that after such arrival the said Master ~ Factors of the Mary had and were in exercise of Free 'l:rade with the Natives. But on the next day in the fore- noon there arrived a Holland Frigate of about 12 guns from Castle Delmina, the boat whet'eof came aboard the Mary and the men in the said boat required this Dep:ment John Denn to go aboard the said Frigate, whlch he accordingly did; and being so come aboard, the Commander (as the said John Denn deposed) told him that he was sent by their General Valckenburgh to hinder all boats or canoes going from or coming to the said ship the ~ry at that place, and that he accordingly would hinder & disappoint the said ship's trade there, or in word s tot he same effect. Whereupon they were forced to depart & did depart thence on the morrow without a~ further trade at that place. And arriving with the said ship Mary on or about the 9th of March at Cas-tIe Delmina,he the said John Denn went on shore to desire leave of the said General to water there; which the said General seemingly granted, but after two days that he had kept them in expectation of it~ he ex- pressly refused to suffer them to water, and so they were necessitated to depart, And arriving wlth thdir said ship on or about the 11th of the said month at CONG (where there was neither town nor house) there arrived also on the morrow in the morning from Castle Delmina, two Hollands ships (the one being the aforesaid Frigate that had hindered the trade of the Mary at COMMENDA and the other~ship of 22 guns called the Christina) both which ships anchored on the Mary's broadside, and commanded the said 5~hn Denn (her Commander) aboard the Christina, not whit~he refused to go, returning answer that he had only~ alreadYXshewed his papers to Capt Johnson but had satis- fied their General at Castle Delmina. Whereupon the Captains of both the said ships came in their boats in great rage & demanded why he refused to come aboard when they sent for him, and threatened to carry him and his ship back to Castle Delmina; and so returning to their own shi ps they manned the biggest of their boats (which had a great gun placed in the head) and came and rode therewith within a ship's length of the ~ry's side & would not suffer any boat or canoe to go from her ashore or come unto her, but a ltog ether hindered the same. Whereupon they of the Mary were canst rained to sail thence with her without either trade or refreshment. And la stly, the said John Denn & William Laiton do depose that endeavouring in April last to trade with their said shiP% at CAPE COAST, th~ were interrupted by the Dutch who had four or five boats manned in an hostile manner constantly the r e lying, which would not suffer them to land goods or have any commerce there, a lbeit that the English ha d a Factory ghere and the Dutch then none. The premisses they know and depose being as aforesaid one of them the Commander and the other two Master's Mates of the said ship Mary, and going the said voyage from place to place in her, and seeing the same so done and happen as they have before deposed. And the said Robert Knight, albeit he was not present at the said ill\t ffi' ruption of trade in April last at CAPE COAST, yet he was there in or about March last 7 and therebzy. well ~ knoweth that the ..::.nglish had then a settled Factory and . 1. that the Dutch had then no Factory there. Vera Copia Examinatur. Edm: Arnold. Nots Pub. Supremae Curiae Admiralitatis Angliae. ========= ====== 20. The following documents are copled from t he entries in the Register Book, Verspreyde W.I. Stukken. l162 ~ at the pages noted under each. We Joan Va lckenburgh, Director-General ove r the North Coa st o f Africa and the Island St Thome, together wit h those of the Council here at this place , make known to all whom it concerns, certif¥ing It t o be true , at the request of Gilbert Baty (Baute) Fiscal for the Genera l Chartered west Indian Company in these Districts, that the following writing is a true and authentic copy of certain .f.Q.:£!: Protests made and served (geinsinueerd) by those of the Eng li sh nat ion on und against the 1l1:inisters of the said Company in this country; together with a certain Attestation under the hands of Christoffel Christoffelsen, Roeloff Albertsen, and Jan Cornelius, at the request of Pontes de Bourbon Factor at TACCORARY, passed the 1st February 166Q; reading 'Nord for word as follows:- (The four protests ~ are in English, but have been v ery badly copied into the Regist er ) (1) Whereas the Honourable Guinea and East Indaa Company for ye English nation J by the Patent under ye Broad Seal of Bng l and gr anted to them for the encouragement of Trade, have for these many year s managed a trade upon ye Gold Coast of Guinea and settled fact or ies in several places t here of, by, and wit h ye f ree consent of ye whole cOQ~try , and at their own vast and great expense and cr0rge~ and year ly send several ships with great cargasoens of goods and merchandise that be there sold and d i sposed of by t heir Agent and t 'actors ; I, J OHN PULESTON, Agent for ye aforesaid Company do, by t hese Present s, and in their behalf protest against DI RCK WILREE , Director-Gen~ral for ye ~rds of ye United Provinces and ag- ainst ye Occiden~al Company of Guinea and all those t ha t i t may concern fo~nde-avoring tread seriously (?) to supplant their humble I mployer s factories , and for ye surprising of canoes going to and from CAPE COAST and oth er pl a ces with l ett ers and likewise goods, t here to 'be sold and disposed of ; and although several times demanded they, contrary to equity and good conscience, det ain the same and have done so for this nine months last past, and continue to hinder the l anding as fa r as in ~hem lies : whereby to demand about one hundred marks of gold owing to their laily assaults and affronts t o our canoes, servants and slaves, by firing of guns and other abuses, is like to be lost. And I do further prot est f or and in ye beha l f of my afore - said ~Em~~ Honourable Company agalllst ye said DIRCK WILREE and his adher ents that whereas f or ye further advancement of trade and for ye more safe landing and put tlng ashore of our 1. honourable employers' goods, their good ship called ye . Coronation, whereof was Commander Captain Roger Milven, dld come to an anchor at CAP COAST to perforne ye same by her boats, in the month of February last past, was molested and hindered by fire of their ships sent on purpose, which kept .their boats night and day with armed men between ye shore and ye aforesaid ship Coronation. so hindered her from de - livering goods on shore or xxmm canoes from coming aboard to trade; to ye prejudice of o u.' honourable employers, above forty marks of gold per month . we can make a ppear we have formerly taken there for good gold. Whe refore I do conclude my protest in ye behalf of my aforesaid honourable employers against ye said DIRCK WILREE, the States General of ya United Provinces Occidental Company' of Guinea, Commanders and Officers of their ships with all th eir adherents therein concerned, for all damages, losses and of time of ye said ship Coronation, and also for all other damages los ~es and prejudices before mentioned, expenses and interest, or whatsoever mayor shall turn to ye prejudice 'of our Honourable Employers as I shall advise Dated in CORMANTINE Castle the 25th day of vctober 1662. Delivered at their Fort (sgd) J .Jno PULESTON. of AGA ye day & year above 'written, by us, (sgd) William Huling. ~ John Flatman Chip. (pp. 481-484) (2) Whereas the Right Honourable the Royal Company of the English nation by their Patent granted to them under the Broad ~eal of Eng l and from the High and Mighty Charles the Second !'-ing of Great Britain, France and Irel[;.nd and the Dominions thereto belonging, for encouragement of trade upon ye Coast of Africa,thereby gr anting them full power to manage th~ir affairs without any molestation, fro m Cape Blanco to Cape Bonne ~sperance , and to that end giN XEKOC ENX and purpose did send out two ships, one called the James of Whitehall ,whereof is com ander Peter Merritt, and the other Charles of Whitehall,whereof is commander VVi lliam Crowfora, with a sufficient cargo of goods and merchandise to be thera sold and disposed of for n <:gro slaves, and from the re to be trans forted for the propqgation of His rtoyal Maj e sty's Plantat ion s. We, the said rete r Merritt, William Crowford and Robert Bartlett do by these Presents , in the behalf of his Royal Majesty and aforesaid Company protest against DIRCK WILREE Dt~ector-General for the Lords of the United Provinces and againstnt~e Occidental Company of Guinea and against all those ~Lit may concern, for endeavouring treacherously to suppl ant- and overthrow the sa id noyal l'hajesty' s and t he Royal Company's designs, by sending their ships from port to port whereever we sailed and by forcing our aforesaid ships not to trade, and surprising of canoes that came off 1662/3. for the purpose both from COMMENDA and CAPE COAST; as like- wise surprising the ship Charles's skiff on the 6th November last past" going on shore with several goods to pay for negro slaves which are contracted fnn and delaying both men, boat and goods at CAPE COAST; and by keeping their boats with armed men night and day betwixt shore and the aforesaid Royal Majesty's ships, to hinder their goods from going on shore and canoes coming off to trade, to the prejudice of H.M. and the afore- said Royal Company above 300 Marks of gold. Wherefore we do in the behalf of his Majesty and the afore- said Royal Company conclude our Protest against the sKiN afore- said DIRCK WILRE~, the States General of the Oni t ed Provinces Oc c idental Company of Guinea, command er s and offtcers of the i r ships with all adherents therein concerned for all Elx:ki.Jez damages and loss of time of the said ships James & Charles, and also fo all other damages, losses and prejudices before ment ionee, expenses and interest , or what soever mayor shall turn t o ye prejudice of his Royal lvlajesty and the aforesaid Royal Company as we shall upon all opportunity advise. Dated in CORMANTINE Ca stle the 7th day of November 1662. (sgd ) Peter Merritt Protested the day and year William Crowfor d above written in Cormantine Robt Bartlett Castle before us (sgd) Jno Puleston Willm Hulling. Delivered on board the Gold Lyon Admiral for the Dutch nation this 8th November l662,this Protest by us, (sgd) Abra. Houlditch John Lumley. (pp. 484-486.) (3) -Recital as in No.2. supra • ••••••••••• We the said Peter J:erritt:J William Crowford & Robert Bartlett do by these Presents on behalf of His Royal High- ness James Duke of York and the aforesaid Royal Company protest against DIRCK WILREE etc etc -ut supra- for endeavourtng to supplant and overthrow the aforesaid Roya l Highness's and Royal Company's designs b~ not suffering the aforesaid ships to trade and surprising of canoes come off for the purpose and by sending their ships from port to port whereever we sailed and by keeping their boats with armed men night and day be- twixt the shore and the aforesaid Royal Highness's and Royal Company's ships to hinder thei r goods from going on shore and canoes from coming off to trade . and likewise surprising of th", ship Charles's boat the 6th of November 1662 going on shore with several goods to CAPE COAST to pay for negro slave s that wer8 contracted for and delaying both men ,boat s & goods. 3. Also by surprising our canoe and canoemen and some gold the 11th of November last at the MOUREA. to the prejudice of His Royal Highness and Royal Company~ above three hun - dred llilarks of g old. Wherefore ••• • •• (as in No. 2. supraJ~uQstituting Royal Hi ghness for Royal Majesty)... • •• Dated in CORMANTINE Castle the 22nd of December 1662. (sg d) Pet er lvlerrit t Signed in the presence Wil Ham Crowford of Robt :2artlett. (sgd) Jno Puleston Jno Betts Gilbert Beavis. Delivered at the Fort Good Hope by us (sgd) Thos Bartlett Abr Riplers. (pp. 487-489) (4) Whereas John Pratt of the ~nglish nation liIlerchant hath by a licence granted to him from His Royal Highness J ames Duke of York and the Royal Company of Adventurers for Africa, thereby granting him full power to trade and merchandise on ye Coast of Guinea without any molestation, and to that P~EE end and purpose did send out one ship called the Hope whereof is Commander John darrison, with a sufficient cargo of goods and merchandiee to be there sold and disposed of for negro s l aves,. and from thence to be transported for the propagation of his Royal Majesty's Plantations. I,the said John Harrison, do by these ~resents in the be - half of the aforesaid John Pratt my owner and employer,protest against DIRSK WILREE,formerly Director lieneral in Guinea for ye Lords of ye United Provinces and againsithe Oc cidental Company trading to Guinea in the first place for seiE¢~ing and detaining my canoe at the L"actory of ANTA alias TRACKRADE; and against JOHN VALCKENBURGH, Director-General at present for the aforesaid Company, fEx in the second pl ace, and against a ll those that it mayor shall concern, for upholding and maintaining the seizure of my aforesaid canoe, to the pre- judice of my aforesaid ~wnerKN» and employer» above two hundred ~rks of gold Wherefore I do, in the behalf of Thomas Pratt aforesaid conclude my Protest against the aforesaid Dirck wi lree and Johan Valckenburgh now Director-General of ye United Pro- ±~xtx incest Occidental Company trading to GUinea, merchants and factors unto them belonging, with all t heir 4. 3J 1662/3 adherents therein concerned for all damages,losses and pre- judices before mmtioned, expenses, and interest, or what- soever may turn to the prejudice of ye aforesaid Jo ml Pratt~ as I shall upon all JmKa:JlXlIID!i opportunity advise. Dated in CORMANTINE Ca 3tle the 24th of J'anuary 1663 +010 (sgd) John Harrison Signed in the presence of (sgd) Robt Bartlett John Eldorton Delivered at the Fort Good Hope Peter Middleton. by us " ........, (sgd) Henry Hanel Robert Jackson. ,#1 ~ ~ (PP.489-491) ~ ++ The year is 1663 in the copy in WIC.oc.lB. and this seems c1arly correct in view of the following paper. It is 1662 in verspreyde and in G.222]. (Translated from the Dutch) We the under signed Christdlffel Christof f' elsen Assistant , Roeloff Albe"tse Corporal, and Jan Cornellissz Constable,all in the servic e ot the General Chart ered West India Company at Fort WITSEN at TACCORARY depose and declare at the request of the Sub -.Factor_ Pontus de Bourbon that about It months ago the canoe of Mr John Harrison skipper of the English ya c ht , named the Hope, was seized by Mr Adam Artser Factor in the English ~ here, on the cla im, so he said, that t he above - named Mr John Harrison owed him some gold on account of the fetching of hi s water and also for canoe and pad ".ling hire. Giving as the reason of their knowledge that they heard what is before-written out of the mouth of ilJlr Adam Artser; offering if requested, to confirm the same on oath. Done at the Fort aforesaid , the 1 s t February lti63. (sgd) By the three above - named. Having seen, after collation, that the above agree with the original documents, we~ Director-ueneral and those of t he Council have signed this in witness, at our meeting a t the Cas.tle St ueorge d'el Mina in Guinea this ulto March 1663. (sgd) J. Valckenburgh. (sgd) Dirck Wilree P .Linsged V.R.Curgemnigh Tielman Willikens Gert Cosins Paulus Mergendaal. (pp.491-492) ======= 5. --------------------------------------------- 3, 1663. Pro:]) the Hegister Book. Verspreyde \/v. I. Stukken, 1162 , at t he pages noted under each document. We Johan Valckenburgh D:irector---General over th~ imxk~~K Northern District of the Coast of Africa dnd the Island St Thome,together with those of the COQDcil at this place, make known to all whom il., concerns, certifyIng it to be -crue that the following writjngs of Protests, Contra-Protests , l etters and atLestations, from No.I. to No.l1., both in the Dutch and English languages , exchanged between the Ministers of the Hon. Company and those of the Royal Engljsh Company, a re true and authent ic copies of all the said papers, reading word for word as follows:- (1). (This has been translated from the copy in the pamphlet entitled nVerdere Aanteykeninge of Duplyque op seecker Replyque van de heer George Dmvning •••••• " 1666.; the copy in the Rl::lgisteF being defective) Johany Valckenburgh, Director-Generql over the North Coast of Afri.ca and the I sland bt 'l'home with the ap purtenances thereof, i n the name and on behalf of their High iliigbty Lords States General of the Unit ed .Netherlands. together with their CharteJred West Indian Company to The Hon. Mr Francis Selwyn, Agent of t he Royal English Company trafficing on the Coast of Africa. Honble Sir, It i s a m~tter well known to all the world and especj,ally to those acquainted with the situation of the Coast s of Africa and Guinea, that the Portuguese Nation, by virtue of the Fort s and Fortifications - which our State and Coml~ny have captured in good war from the said Portuguese theIr enemies, and still at present possess- have always maintained against all and eve ry one that the entire Gold Coast of Guinea and the appurtenances thereof together with the trade falling there~ was their own) of which serves as an infallible proof the Tittle of IILord in Guinea", whi ch is still borne to this day by the ~ings of Portu- gal, and which, by the right of wa r and the subsequent Treaties wit h the Crown of Portuga l , at pr esent indisputably belongs to our Saaee and ,Company, and wherein and whereby the same - as hav i ng acquired such conquests not otherwise than very dearly and with the expenditure of much blood and treasure- ought indeed to have been left undisturbed by their neighbours and a llies, a nd prertictilarly by such good friends as the subjects of his Sereneo~ighness the King of Great Britain; whereas ,never- th~ les s quite/the contrary ~ :tHJL~Xli!!atl'&rtlaXlK:JqOl!'tate) fran there, and we have m~xkIm~ many times given warning to YH's nation to l eave us to it with our own pecple. And this ought to have been done on YH's side, not only because of the mutual alliance beWween our respective nations but a lso because the same indeed was of service for the increase and improvement both of YH ' s nation's own trade as well as that of our Company; and if no assistance wer e given, at least no hind - rance or obstac l e ought to have been caused to this. 2. ., 1663 • . For it is public}{ly known and true that although the place CABO CORSO -not only in consequence of jurisdict ion,whi ch YH (although without right or rea son) wishes lightly t o dis - pute, but also especially by thlt' right of war, when in August of the year 1637 our f orces landed there- was brought under subjection (It onder gebracht) still before the capture of the Cast l e de Mina;and the inhabitants thereof thus became vassals of our State and Company; yet,ol1 toe cOntrary, on YH's side thos~ same vassals of our State and Company ~4incited to ~/ further rebellion and refractoriness,in maintenance of the A aforesa id suborned Danes and Swedes, and hardened therein: and when, on our side, endeavour is made with the expen diture of much blood and trea sure to bring them to obedience again, we are opposed by improper practices and hindered i n our ve r y just and lawful intentions , to the no small injury of our Co mpany and the public mockery and derision of our nat jon . And, to say nothing of the covert assistance -v"/hich is sufficient ly overt- these (intentions) are openly and forcibly prevented by various shi ps such as the Coronation , J ames, Charles, Castle Frigate ~ and Rupert ~ and thereby the blockade of t he aforesai d CABO CORSO, which otherwise might have been br ought !lo a good end in a EkI!Irt:xir:i:!o:=;: shorter time than is now hap I en - ing, has been drawn out into exce ssive ~~ cost s and de lay ; so that we only first became possessors of it again a fe w days ago, as xn YH well knows, and, by the forego 'ng relat ion ,wi ll not be unacquainted that it would be injurious to trade and to our mutual gc.od correspondence for u s both to r emain there , or that we could to l erate the same any longer for fear of what might bef all us from such living t ogether; and t he whiCh we, being restored int o our pessassion, a lso would not consent to nor suLf"er without letting the authors and originators of such desi gns, attempts and unpermitted practices turn us out of our lawful possesslon~ whIch we shoul d r ight ly oe found to deserve, and which wou2d cause unfriendship. Therefor e we have not wished to neglect to warn YH quit e friendly and nei ghbourly, and also t o request you at once to remove and take away your Factories of CABO CORSO and TACORARY; for besides that YH has come in there in an unjust and,for friends unseemly, manner so is it also not pos 3ible t hat we should both stay i n those places and c onserve the friendship between our respective nati cns here in this country, as our State and Company possesses forts and forti - fications in both. LikJas also~ accor ding t o what has a p- peared to us of YH' s ren~wned wisdom and discretion ~ we do not doubt that you will, without post ponement or delay, comply with our so just an d l awful request and that by the remova l of the afore said factories of CABO CORSO and TACORARY, you will s how your inclination f or t he conservat ion of mut ual friendship. ~et, if, contrary to hope and surmise, the same should be found otherwise, and YH should not be a ble to let yourself be persuaded to the compliance of the aforesaid so l awful ana just request, then is it that , on our side, we also can no 3 . longer see ourselves prejudiced, and in that case we shall have to protest about such r dusal, like as we, by virtue of our aforesaid authority and commission do indeed hereby expressly protest against YH 's Royal Company, YH's person, and those under you, and each one of the English nation trafficing upon this Coast, upon YH's longer stay and con- tinuance at CABO CORSO and TACORARY aforenames; and that YH remove your Factories and dislodge from there; also i.eX][R Ettx desist from inciting the Natives of the country,vassals of our State and Company~ aga~sst us and assisting them to p our injury, a s stated herein; or that YH shall be willing t o uphold any rebels or disturbers of the !ublic peace who make shift mez.e (sich behelpende) h ,-re in this country under Danish name, and who have set a price on the bodies and lives of man~ of our State's subjects (which they a lso are them- selves) in the service of the Company or outside it, by hands of the Natives, or also by means of open violence haVi murder - ous'ly caused to die, contrary to the 8th Article of tne Alli - ance concluded between the Crown of England and our State; and any longer to maintain them against us (asso to t be con- siderable injury of YH's Royal Co~pany itself) or be a hind- rance to us in our most lawful intentions. And we shall hold ourselves guiltless of all disasters and inconveniences which might arrise t hereout on this Coast , at sea or on share. And further a lso for the prejudice suffered in our Compaoy ' s trade by YH's traffic there at CABO CORSS and TACORARY since you first set foot on shore there up to the present hour. and which we should come to suffer still further upon its continu- ance, in the sum of 40 Marks of gold for CABO CORSO, and 20 of the same ~arks for TACORARY, monthly; and for 1,000 Marks mmz.e gol d more for what has been caused to the Company,contrary to friendly usage, by the proceedings of the aforesaid ships "Coronation tl , "James~, "Charles" , "Castle Frigate" and ITRupert lT , to t Le hindrance of our ships and to what the same had other- ~ise been destined, or for such like things that might yet be caused by others. Meanwhile, awaiting YH's just resolution in satisfaction of ounreasonable desires, we,oo our side, wi ll endeavour with heart~nd soul to contrubute everything that could serve for the increase of our respective nations' mutua l friendshi p here in this country. Done at the Castle St George del Mina in Guinea, this 7t h June 1663. (sgd) J. Valckenburgh. Huybert van Gageldonck , Upp~r Factor in the servi~e of the General Chart. W.I.C. at Fort Nassau at Mouree,is charged and aut horised ~ike as we hereby charge & authorise him,together with two witnesses,to proceed to Cormantijn or the place where the Han. Mxxfixmd:xx:~llIX Agent of the Royal English Compnay shall first be met,and there ,in the presence of the said wit - nes ses,serve the aforesaid ~rotest upon the said gentleman & ;sfter reading the contents thereof,hand it over to him,duly 4. 1663. verified and sign ed; delivering formal document to us of such se rvice and his act;ions and. the reply received thereto. Thus done at the Castle St George del Mina the day, month and year as above. (sgd) J. Valckenburgh. On this day the 7th June l66~ I, Buybert van Gageldonck Upper Factor on behalf of the Han. Chartj WIC. at Fort Nassau at Mouree, by virtue of the foregoing authority togethe r with the witnesses hereafter namec1,proceeded to the place Cormantijn ~a fortification which is at pres$lt held there by the ~ng lish nation , being situate in the District of Beach (t>trand) FANTIJN, and within the said fortification went to Mr Francis Selwyn Agent of the Royal English Company traffic - ing on the Coast of Africa, to whom, after I had previously greet ed him in the name and on behalf of the Director-Gener!:!l Johan Valckenburgh, I read an d handed over to him the afore- said Protest; and received in re~ply to it that he would peruse and read OV dr the Prot est received ", and in accord,mce with his Royal Commission reply to it in due form. Which thus passed in the presence of Alexander Kruypenningh Upper Factor and Johannis van Heeden Sub Factor , both in the service of t he Gen. Chart. WIC. in the Fort Go ede Hoop at ADIA who t06 ehher with me have signed this document in witness thereof the day and year and month as above. (sgd by the above three) (pp. 526-537) (2) Revised from the defective Snglish copy in the Register and the copy in Dutch in the above Pamphlet) Francis Selwyn, Agent for the Royal Company of Advent urers of England Nt into Africa by XMkE~ authority of his illost .8xcellent .Majesty the King of Great Britain~ France, & Ireland 7 to The Worshi pful Johan Valckenburgh,Director- General pver the affairs of the w.I.C. of t he united Netherlands on the Coast of GuLDea. Sir. It is beyond admiration what mad fury has so possessed your ideas t hat you dare to allege such insuffe r ably false an argument touching the PXNp~ ownership of the Coast of Africa,introducing so audacious a~ xxg~ demand and pretence to the interest:> the Fort s , and posseSS ions of his said 'Vlctjesty my Sovereign, under whose royal predecessors the .8nglish nation have maintained with honour and profiv 5. the unmolested traffic to the several parts of Africa mentioned in the Letters ~atent which his Majesty hath been graciously pleased late l y to g r ant to his rloyal Highness the Duke of York and others of the Royal Company for Lhe incorporation and re - gul at i on of the whole trade of Hfrica within tpe respective l imit s save when t hey are dist nrbed in Lime ofiNar by public . enemies or (as at t his day) in time of peace !by treacheries ,!nEil and vi o l ence of pretended friends, for almost some hundreds of years, not to mention to far before the birth, infancy or minority of y,our (now High ,aighty) States: particul arly in .t:knc the years 1 553, ~~ 1554, 1555, 1556, & 1557 to into the reign of Queen ~lizabeth 1558 and forwarJs to 1662 and 1566, in all which years (if pertinent) I couLl. here insert the; names of several shi ps and Commanders with their journals, voyages, and suc ::e sses to this our coast even to the year 1585, when some profitabl e designs for these parts were diverted to prosecute others of charity in the succour of your sajd *kIDi1N~x (then distressed) State, what time yoUr then Sovereign threatened what, to those acquainted with the hlbstory of those times, is well known/. The effect of which succour, the re l ief and. mediairion of Her Suc ::essors. King James an:.i King Char l es of bl es sed memory, although I forbear to men- tion yet I must xxarmtxooJra::xMii admire the monstrous ingratitude of those (since what of late hath EBEN here been acted,You pretend to be cum privilegio) who unmindful :::f all obliga - t ions, l eagues and amity with the Crown of England - to whdl6e lawful posses0ion his ~jesty being scarcelJ restored through the mercy and wonderful Providence of Almighty God - by violence and rapine,with thei r ships, seized whatever vessel s and ships they could by force or treachery overcome on thi s Coast be l onging to his Majesty. Besides their malicious hindering their commerce on shore at several pl aces, a!1longst others one of his Jiftajesty's ports~ on pre - tences r ather to be laughed at than replied t o. From which mischiefs we doubted not they would have de- sisted since his ,i,fuje sty erected a Corporation under the specia l protection of his Royal authority; and that yourself short l y after arriv ing with your Commission, I supposed to have enquired into and remedied the said abuses and cor - recte d such abuses as your wisdom should discover, so that all grievances removed and a friendly corEes pondence estab - l ished, we might unanimously have maintained peace and amt ty. But Tlheu quam deceptus fui~ for you have not only justi- fied the violence, rapine, hostility and rohberies of others your predeces sor s and countrymen upon the ships and subjects, together with their goods and estates, belonging to his said Majesty the Ki..l1g, but by your own directions and authority surpassed all in:)uries , not t o say insolences, beyond the vilest barbarism. Not sat 131'1ed with employing those of yUW'l- own nation in the breach of peace with us, you have incited his Ma jesty's own subjects to the breach of PJfunu. any, I do hereby protest against your Netherland \V .I.C., your own person, and all in their employment on t h e Coast of Africa, and particul arly this of Guinea, more especially 8. 1663. against thd said ships "Golden Lion". "Amsterdam", Christiiina II "W.I.House" & "B "ndiracht" in the sum of 5,000 {OIl)Jm2i:&wri~W I also desire quite re spectfully and neighbourly now to reques t and beg y ou to stop and desist f rom the further construction of the af~esaid lodge as that all good correspondence, wh ich is now e xerciseJ. in Ewope between tha respective nations may not only be maintained in these distanti (aflandig) regions but a lso be more and more daily cultivated, as the contrary, being an unheard of novelty, we could neither connive a t nor tolerate; but in the performance of our bounden duty must prevent and guard against, which then could bare no other effect s :Id'lam or result s than a certain rupture of all friend- ship. And this all the more if YR, against all right and reason and contrary to what has ever been practised b et ween our res- pect ive nations in these regi ons, should any longer c ont inue to debauch the people of our Company from their service and. oath and pe rsuade them t o faithless desertion as has been done not only in the person of Albert Jan sen who is st i ll under YH's authority, but also about a certain Anthony Vos , c onv ic t ed of manifest rebellion , t o the great injury of our Company and open rupture of the alliance con cluded between our res pective aut ho - rities. Therefore, by virtue of our authority, we have wished to protest about all this and the aforesaid violence j like as we hereby expressly protest if YH, contrary to surmise, has no intention to change from your begun work & intention or to desist therefrom and if contrary to allright and re ason you should persist therein, or any longer withold from us the men in oat h and service of our Cmnpany a nd State, being declared rebels, we shall be guiltless of the damage lUIlQiX disasters andinconveniences which may arise thereout between our res- pective nations on this Coast by sea and on land , of 'Nhic h we shall consider YH the originator; but nevertheless hoping that you will endeavour to direct everything in such manner that we shall have opportunity to serve your person, as we desire with heart and soul. Done at the Castle St George d'~lmina the x~knxxxx 13th September 1663. (sgd) J. Valckenburgh. Huybert van Gageldonck Upp.Fact. at Ft NasssUI'i ,Mouree, charged to del.iver and read the above Portest to Adm1 Jo1).n Stoakes on EM of Gt Britain's ship "Marmeduke ". Date ut supra. Sigd by J.Va1ckenburgh. 17. 'lo-day the l~?th Sept~mber 1666, I Huybert van Gagel - donck~ Upp ~r .t<'actor at Fort Nassouw ll110Uree ••••• proceeded ~ on board the ship "Marmeduke" lying before AmUHiXXNG ANSCHIANG to Admiral Stoakes and having greeted him read and handed to him the afol~said rrotest; and received in reply that through ignorance of the Dutch language he could not understand it; but being a Commander of His Majesty 1 s shjp he could not accept any protest, but after it had been ~xf signed by us he let it lie on the table in the Cabi~ .•... Th a t he :W1liXJrn:R~!tlCtxbi;}u.'i:rlti:IDc.lCxJn:u:ln:aQKIi:X][wdN.x:xl!rnitx±'kx being a Royal Commander wa cO very insulted by this Protest & would therefore send it to Nir Selwyn at Cormantijn X.lll! on whom it must also be served. That he:> Mr Stoakes, was no merchanti but had been sent by His Majesty on inspection ••• as previously diverse English ships had been seized by our Nation on this Coast; and that for what had happened and the affronts to his Majesty t s Standard about Cabo Cors which place and beach they had frequented long years before our nation, woul d be restored and revenged within a short time. Signed and attested by van Gageldcnck & two witnesses. (pp. 556 - 568.) (9) (In English) rtiy Lord~ To yours of the 13th instant by the hand of il!ir Gagel- donck I shall only reply that of my zeal and c~re for the preservation of your national peace ani amity, since my arri- val on this Coast, I leave the world to judge by those fair &; sundry overtures I have so often made to you, and of yours by the ill success thereof; though, as at first, I am still ready by a treaty to endeavour~ with YH., a right Qnder- standing. But most unexj;lected in yout: Protest touching this Coast of FANTYNE & particularly ANASHAN,where my pres - ent ±Nk~~ design is to re-establish that ancient factorie of our nation,in which,giving no disturbance to any of yours, I must desire yovr not molesting me,lest you bring the guilt of what you threaten on your own head • . ( -Touching the persons YH complains of there are none on board my ship. That Albert Jansen is a fugitive & A.Vos a rebel was till now unknown to me. I cannot but show civility to the subjects of any in league with us,especially those who seem to be of your nation,til1 satisfied of some reason to the contrary. They(if ~ ~eB here (none demanding,~ne detained) at their pleasure went away again. I f YH had demanded them I might have known how to serve you as I am always ready to do. ) (Summary) &c &c On the Marmeduke. (sgd) Jno Stoakes. Before Anashan. 7th September 1663. To John Valckenburgh. &c &c. (pp.568-570) 18. 1663. (10) (In t.nglish) Sir, There is a soldier of yow nation lately belonging to Cape Coast, come to ANASHAN,who I understand hath run from his Colony. Thel'efore I have thought fir to send him back to you herewith, being the best service I can do you at present. If there be anything else wherein I may, please command, Your humble servant, . (sgd) Jno Stoakes. "Marmeduke" the 19/29 October 1663. To mr ri. van uageldonck, Governor of Morea Castle, on the Coast of Africa. Present. (pp.570-571. ) (ll) (Fran the Dutch) We the undersigned, attest at the request of t he Upper Factor Alexander Cruijpenningh, h ON that on the 29th July being Sunday in the morning at 11 0 'clock OVifhsthe death of a person named .lB:r Allen at Fort Cormantijn,/:I1ixuK shots were firn a ll round,of which one,a ball of 6 pound, fe~l at the foot of the battery which stands on the Cormantijn side .and this ball was brought int c the Fort by the negroes here . Also that on the 31st July in the morning at 8 o'clock again at Fort Cormantijn was fired "los" all round over the death of a pe r son named Mr Bince, of which bhe ball fell between the rocks behind the fort and one into the sea before the MYNSE village/' Whish we declare to be true and can confirm on oath if n~essary. DONE in the Fort Goede Hoop at ADIA. the ord August 1663 (sgd) by a Sergeant & t -NO other names. )pp.571-572) And we have seen the aforesaid and after collation they are found to accord with the original papers, and we the Director General and the wemb e rs of the Council have signed this in witness thereof at our maeting at the Castle St George d' a Mine in Guinea. This 14th Januarv 1664. (sgd) by Valckenburgh , ~ieter Baut, Dirck Wilree. Tobias Penside, H v. Gaggldonck , Alex Cruij penningh, Frans Fran ss Sluijter, Gerrit Jansz van Dijk. :;(pp. (p .572.) - ----------- 19. 1663. Summary from original in P.R.O. CO.l./17. No.2. Warrant to prepare a bill for the ~ing's signature con- taining a grant to the Roya l African Company •••• With power to the Company to have the government of all pl ant ations by them settle~ in those part s of ~frica and authority t o appoint gove:-nors, raise forces and ¢exec ute martial law; the sovereign r ight to H.M. and his successors beingalways reserved. H.M. , his ~eir s and successors to ha~e 2/.3rds of all gold mines found in the places aforesaid , paying 2/.3rds of all charges incident to the wor king and transportation of the same; the Company to have the ot he r third and pay the other 3rd of the charges. {Draft with corrections & omissions which have been supplied from the ~atent Roll 14 C.II.part 27,which is dated 10 January 166.3. (vide C.S.P. Col. Amer. & W.I. 1661-1668 .) No.408. Ibid. No.3. Extract from preceding Viarrant to R.A.C.of ~ngland re appointment of Governor, SUb-governor &c ~c. . ••••••. (C.Spp.supra, No 409) C.S.P. ut supra, No. 545. August 26th 1663, Whitehall. Order of the Aing in Council. On petition of t he R.A.C. setting forth that t he ir privileges are entrenched upon by Der l'ick Will 1"tey, who assumes the title & power of Governor- General of the caost of africa for the St. Gen. and praying that Sir George Downing, H.M.'s envoy t o the St. Gen. may be empowered to prosecute and protest in the affair. H.M. was pleased ef f ectually to recommend Sir George Downing to demand full and speedy satisfa ction for the injuries oomplained of, and to ef f ect that the like be prevented bereafter. (Dom. Entry Book. C.Il. Vo1.1o, p.355.) Copied from original in P.R.O. CO.l/16 No.lli. (Spelling modernised) This 28th of October 1662. The James Friga te and the Charles-Frigate came to anchor at COMENDA on the Coast of Guinney where did ride a great Hollands man of war with 36 piece of Ordinance and full of men, whi ch ship I s name wa s the "Golden Lyon IT which would not suffer aDY negroes to trade with us nor we with them. The said ITG olden Lyon n had t wo sloope an d t hree men of war canoes day and night coasting along the shore to hinder us of tradjng; and a little to the west ward lay t wo g reat Hollands men of war more, at a place called SH9MAH. From COMENDO Ca ptain I\Il:err i tt and Mr Bartlett went to the Myne to demand of the Governor there the reason whe refore he would not suffer us to trade . His answer was that his il1asters had ordered him so t o do, and unt il such time as he had further order from his said ,,!laster s not any should be permitted to trdde except they came in grea ter forces than th~ had. And at this time t he Hollanders had no Fort nor Factory at COr~~DO, but they did put u s off from trading there purely by the force of the i r shi pping . 30th of Uctober. We weig hed in the Charle s ani set sail fo r the Myne and Cap~ain MezXKK Merritt in t he James weighed and plyed to windward and t he Golden Lyon after him, which ship not permitting Captain Merritt to trade, he came to our ship Charle s at t he Ivlyn e. 5th of November. Both our ships weighed from the said Myne and sailed to CAPE COURSE and there anchored and the said Golden Lyon likewise anchored betwixt us both, and the Vice-Admiral, called the Christiana, with 24 piece of ardinance was ri~ing there. 6th of November. We sent our skiffe with goods t o buy slaves at CAPE CORSE and ye Hollanders seized on our skiffe, goods and men and t oy/ed t hem aboard __ .. 1:heir7 Admiral and there det ained them as pr i - soners certain days. And t hen we weighed our anchor and sailed to Cormonteene , leaving Ca ptain Merr i tt at CAPE COURSE. 7th of Novemtler. We wen t ashore at Cormenteene and drew up a pr otest against ye Gove rnor of ye Myne, t he CaptaL~ of the Golden Lyon ~ and all t~ir West India Company. To which protest we had Agent . hand and sellsral ;vIerchant s of ye Cast Ie of Corment eene. -~ Pu.4/'H The 8th of November 1662. The said Protest was delivered aboard the Admiral by Abraham Holdbetch ~te of the said ~, aft~r they had forced our men (which th~ had taken before as prisoners) into our skiffe again and towed them near Captain ~'II:erritt I s ship, and so l eft than 7 threatening them that if they of - fered to go ashore the Governor of ye Myne had writt they should be sent thither prisoners. In testimony whereof we have hereunto subs:cribed our names. William Crowford of Wapping in the County of Mid ilesex Mar iner and Commander of ye good ship called the Charles belonging to the Royal Company. deposeth upon his cor~orall oath that what is within writ"\in and above written to this deponent s knowledge is just an~ true. ------------------------- 1663. Lxtracts and copies of letters from and to Sir George . Downibg dirlo matic agent at the Hague from 1661 to 1665. (From" life and Administration of Edward First Earl of Clarendon".T.H.Lister (1837). Vol nI. ) . p.249. . CXXV. Sir G6EF'ge Downing to the Lord Chancellor Clarendon. (From the Bodleian i.ibrary. Orig.) Hague,18 Sep •. 1663. O. S. May it please yr Lopp, I have herein inclosed a coppy of my memoriall,wch I have this weeke gi ven in to ye lIltatas Genrall,persuant to ye instruccons sent me by ye post. This trick of ye Hollanders to declare .warre wth ye natives in ye East Indies and upon ye Coast of Africa,wth w.ho_m his Matys sub.;ects have any trade, and then thereupon to forbid them all trade with them,and to continue ye warre till they have brought those natives to an agreemt wth them,to sell ~hem all the in comodi ti es, and then to keep ye English from tradeing, upon the acc0mpt that ·the natives hAve agreed wth them,to sell all to them;-this trick,I say, hath not only bin .ye ruine of numbers of his Matys subJects, but beaten them out of many mighty trades, and will certainly int conclusion utterly overthrow ye En§ lish Eas t Indian, and African Compies, if nothing be applied for remedie but wordes. There is nothing makes them here so proucli' as to have ye English come hijher eternally wth complaints,while their people E'J'e unmolested,advance their trade, and obteine their ends. fUuhtPlilYTI-8.FH-efj-, and truly I am of opinion it· were better that I should make no complainte at all here,but let his 1~tis subjects patiently suffer whatever it shall p Lease the Dutch to doe them,then to complaine, and nothing to follow ther eupon,whereby to lett them see that his lvlatie ~~~iiPot b~ put of with wordes ~d delays. I am sure this fflee.tJlway 1S mot ye meanes to h1nder a warre between En~land and this country, but ye most cer t a ine and un- doubted way to brin~ it on, making them so farr to pre- sume as (as you finde) to add one , injUFY to another; and believe it,ye more they may,ye more they will. Whereas, on t he other side, pay them ;in their own kind, and s 'et their subj ects a crying as well as his i.hties, and you will have a very fairecor r espondence, and they will take 'heed what they doe; and his Mtie wi 11 be ,as . much honrd and loved her e as he h ~th been . dispis ed: fOT they love nor honr none but them that they think both ~an and dare bite them. The King of France his subjects haven now ri ght 1663. done them, and so had ye English in Cro HN/ells time; and, having news that the Swedes are setting out twOl stout men of warre for ye coast of Africa, to r euenge thems e lves of ye i njuries they have suffered ther e by this country,they are her e now acomodating those matters wth .ye Swedes in ear- nest: wher ea s ye poor King of Denmark cannot so much as Cl'et a civill answere fro m them for what his subJects have had ' taken fro m them in those parts,to who m yet in point of ki ndness and obligacon (if these argumts were ofaany force) they owe mor e then to all ye world besides; for that he not only gi ves them such g;reat priviledges in a ll his do mions in pointe of tr.ade,but at their instigacon under- tooke ye l a te warre agt Sweden, wch cost hmm the ye best rart of his kingdome . Your 10rdshi r s most obed.humb.ser~t. G.Downi~. p . 254. CXXVI. Sir George Downing to the Loed Chancellor Clarendon. _ (From the Bodleian Library. Orig . ) Ha~e,25 Sep.1663.0.S. May it plea se yor 1opp. The West Indie Compy he r e have nellS that a castle at CAPE CORSO is delivered to them by the natives who were in possession of it, at ye mouth of ye river there; and they s ay that havi.ng now this castle, and their castle De l Mina, tha t they .will absolute-p.roh-ibite all. natives from tradeing thereabouts ; and it is 'said that the trade there is the best in all Guinea. This castle doth of ri~ht belong to ye Danes; and now that Haniball Sessted(l; is to come to London, if he co"uld so manag e matters, as that ye Danes should r esigne to his Matie their interest in this castle, i t w0uld be a good business. And it will now be a fitt time t.o press an agreemt, that such English ships as wi-il ' may be branded, a nd being branded to injoy ye same priviledge of paying according to their beamd as ye Dutch do,wch I assure you would be a grea t advantag e t o ye English navigacon to Norway and the Sound; and it is neither kind, nor just, nor fitt, for his Maty to suffer that his subjects should have worse treatment in the King of Denmarks country,then ye Dutch. ARe ~~ ~8 ~~e6e •••••• (1) Hannibal Zested ••• successively Danish Ambassdr to the courts of London & Paris. 1663. (?) Copied from original (rr.1..) In P.R.O. CO.l/l?, No.llO. (Spelling modernised) The Company of rloyal AdvdIlturers of England trading into Africa, Do humbly represent 'l'hat ye trade of Africa is so necessary to IDngland that ye very being of ye Plantations depend upon ye welfare of i t ,for they must be utterly ruined if they either want supply of Negro servants for t heir works ,or be forced to receive them at Excessive rates. This Trade was at the time of his !'ilajesty's Restoration managed by particular Adventurers who were so far from any possib l e design of having forts u pon ye Caast,of making any friendships with ye Natives,or asserting ye ho nour of ye nation, that they were a constant prey to ye Hollanders , and were quite tired out of ye trade by their great and frequent losses, amounting to a very great sum, of which they brought in clear proofs to ye high Court of Admiralty. So if his Majesty had not established a Company who,by framing a joint stock and maying designs for ye future sec - urity of ye trade, had kept some footing u pon ye Coast , t he Nation had probably by thls t ime been quite driven out of jt. Since this Company hath begun under ye special direction of his Royal Highness to manage this trade, they have sent out in this l a st year above one hundred and threescore 1000 pounds in Cargoes. They have plentifully Slip plied ye Coa st of Africa with Commodities to ye great satisfaction of ye nat i ve s. They have furn ished all ye Plantations with L'iegro servants; they have set; up divers new ~nufactures at Home , and im- proved ye old, and vented a great many of ye Native eo~modi­ ties of this kingdom, and have employed above 40 ships and continue still to send out more. And they doubt not but by their Returns they shall every year Import into this Nation very considerable quant i t ies of Gold and Silver as the-y have a lready begun. In order to ye Preservation of their Trade they have built new forts in Africa and repaired others and established divers Lodges and Factories that were fa llen to decay, by which th ,,,ir Trade being secured as to ye Natives of those parts, they have no reason to doubt of its daily Increa s e, if not interrupted by £uropeans, amongst whom having no Rivals to ye Trade of that Coaat but ye Hollanders as we have not yet received any Injury froID others~ so we cannot fea r it. But as to them our axper ience of what is past gives us just cause to apprehend what is intended towards us for the future. For they have endeavoured to drive us from the Coast , and deprive us of ye whole ~rade. They have followad our ships from Port to Port and hindered them comi r1?; nigh ye shore to trade; they have entised and persuaded ye Neg r oes t o de str oy 1. our servants and take our forts; they have s_ized upon our goods and boats; and have violently See ye Bxtract of taken possession of CAPE CORSE which Letters sub Lra A. belongs to us,and for ye Surrender of which we have agreed with ye Na - tives who were at that time in possession of it, and had re- ceived money from us in part of payment; they have shot at his i.Jajesty's Royal Flag for offering but to go on shore at OLlr own Factories. And to complete ye former Injuries and Indi g - nities, one Valkenburgh Director General of ye af..:·airs of ye West India Company in Africa See ye fir st Prot est (Q. V • ) hath sent~ a Protest to our Factors, of which we present you a copy in English ; in the which he challengeth the whole Trade of Guinney as their See Sir George Downing's Propriety by right of Con- Memoria l. quest from ye Portuguese. Of which Injuries ..,having sought remedy by ye means of Sir George Downing, we have received no sat i sfaction. So that in one word, Notwithstanding a Stock so considerable and many good ships of Force ye Company have employed upon t heir own Account and divers Land Forces they have sent, if it had not been for ye Countenance of some of his majesty's shi ps which he hath been graciously pleased to afford this Company, of which they have only made use to give them a respect in ye eyes of ye Natives and to preserve their Forts from being taken from them without doing any injury to others, they had eee this time been stript of all their flossessions and Interest in Africa; CORMANT I NE Castle itself oeing in extreme dan. ger when the Marmadu1te and s£eedwell CCime thither, as will ap pear by ye ?) intelligence of all our Ca ptains und Factors. And have since sent a second Prot est in which they say they will by violence force ye See 2nd i?rot est (Q.v.) English from their Ports if t hey do not quit them and their Trade. 2. 1663 (?) Ibid. No. 111. (Being annexur0 to No. 110) An Extract of .Letters from Cormantine and other places in Africa. Out of a letter of Here we have notice that the Dutch do give the 27 of Ju.Y)e daily great presents to the ~ing of FUTTON 1663. & his Caposhiers for to endeavour to ex- clude your lioD1Ors out of the '.lrade. Moeeover they have sent to the lUng of FANTYN & his Caposhiers great presents to make war with the English at the Castle of Cormantine, saying that. if they could out get that place , never Englishman more should have trading upon that Coast. Out of a letter of Such is the Insolency of the Dutch that the 86 June 1663. had not Captain Stokes arrived as he did it s much to b~ feared ere this tiine the Flemish flag had been on Cormantine, as it is now on your Sastle at CAPE CORSE, for we have now perfect l y learnt their whole treachery. They prevailed with the ~lng of AGUINA treacherously to lay hold on JOHN CABES3A who was a great defence to our Castle of Cormantine,having form ;rly protected it from a Neighbour Enemy set on by thl;;!!Il to take it. They prevailed with the Aing of AGUINA, the 28th ~ffiy, to plunier your house at WIAMBA. Out of a lett er of We got a treaty with -chern of FUTTOU in the 18 September spite of the Utitch and got four hostages from ANNASHAN, or pawns that we should ErlJi build a Castle Captain Stokes. there,where our other house stood, but notWithstanding a ll this, the j)utch would not suffer us to land. From Ardra. .._ From Cormantin '1he Dutch r,ave given bribes to the King from the Council of CABESSA LAND who seized some goods of Factors~ going up from hence & killed the Negros 8 September. that had. brought them ,on design to s poil our Trade. Cmlli'.1ENDA hath been formerly inhabited by the .6nglish where we have settled two Englishmen to keep possession 7 the King having, in lieu of them, sent two hostages:1 one his own son. Bu~ the Dutch have a great ship riding before that place,which hinders all Commerce 7firing at all Canoes thzt pass in or out. 3. Frem COMENDA, We came to this place the 21st of August 31st August,from at night. The next morning the man of IvIr Brett ,Factor. war belonging to the Dutch warped between us and the shore. and told us we must not go ashore. Yet that day & two days - more they did not hinder the Negroes from trading with us,until another great ship calle -1 the Amsterdam came from Castle de Mine and then they send two men on board us to see if we belonged to the Royal Company, they pretending, if we had been Inte r lopers, they had power to take us. But we let them know that We were your servant s, and treated them with all civility. But th.s next day thcy manned out three long Boass, 22 men armed in one, 12 in another and 10 in another, and so lay on both sides our ship and on head of us 7 and so continued firing at all Canoes that came near or would have traded with us; and not only so, but those Canoes that were trading with us, and were made fast by ropes to our ship,they came and cut from our ships side, which one of the seamen endeavour:.ng to prevent by going down the ship's side one of the Dutch c .:t him in the leg. Now seeing the affront so great and not being jn a condition to do our Masters right and finlfling them more and more insulting. we weighed anchor and then the longboats men insulted most of all, giving us such base language as wa3 not to be endured. ~ 4. 1663. (~). "Proposals for resettlement of the Royal Company". Original in S.P; 29/67. (P.R.O.) - Present Stock £12~,000, to be valued at 10% and so re- duced to £12~200. CrEiditors to receive 2/3rds of their debts in oId stock and the remainder in ready money. £84,000 new Stock to be raised. Every £100 advent - urer to have a vote in management. Governmmnt in England to be by Committee of five,or at most, seven persons. - "In order to the Management upon ye Coast of Africa. That for ye present t here be no more post s of trade in Africa to ye leeward of Cape ••• (illegible). Ye Castle of CAPE CORSO; ye Castle of ANASHON; a house at COl!llJaENDA; a house at AGA; a house at ACRA. That at CAPE CORSO be ye head factory and r~sidence of ye Agent; and that ye factory •••• (illegible) of tenne persons in ye qualities and under ye salaries as follows. An Agent, to have power to punish all disorders and) inspecte all ye Company's concerns. ) £500 A Chief Merchant, to make all bargains for goods both in buying and selling. 200 A Second Merchant, to assist ye Chief or act in his absence. 150. These three to be of ye Council;to s ign all letters and accounts to ye Company;to have all differing keys to ye gold chest;to receive ye gold from ye gold t aker every night; once in every week to compare ye gold taker's & vvarehouse keeper's accoQT)t s; ••• view ye remains; and once in 6 months to visit(?) ye lesser factories,to examlne & settle their accounts and view t he ir remclins. A gold taker , to receive ye gold & deliver i t every) night to ye Agent. ) 100 A Warehouse keeper, to take care of all goods and account every week. ~ 100 A Chief Accountant,to write all in ye·Journal and send copy Journal every three months to ye Company i n Eng land. ~ 100 A Second Accountant,to assist ye former to write in ye wdg er • 50 Three young Factors to attend ye Agent ••• 150 1. 1350 That over and above ye aforesaid salaries ye Agent be allowed £600 p. annum for his ho usekeeping and that ye other nine persons of ye factory and ye Capt a in of ye soldiers have their diet at his table which is £100 p. annum for himself and £50 for each of ye others. £ 600 Charge of ye whole factory amounts to ~ That ye garrison of Captain (illegible), 50 English soldiers and 30 negro slaves, vizt: A Captain,to be consulted by ye Agent in Warre affairs ~ not otherwise. 100 Four Sergeants or Corporals at £50 p.a. apiece. 200 45 common soldiers,of which three at least to be l house Carpenters;three smiths;and three bricklayers or stone cutters, at £30 apiece. 1650 30 l'Jegro slaves, to be brought from some remot e part of Africa,to row in canoes & carry goods &c. Their diet &c at £15 per annll.ln. 450 2l00¢ ANASHAN to have 13 English soldiers and 8 negro slaves, vizt: A Chief Factor,to command under ye Agent of Capo Corse. ~ 100 A Second Factor, to assist him & be of counsel 50 These two to sign all letters & ac counts both to ye Company & to ye Agent & Councnl(?) at Cape Corse; to render their ac counts to Cape Corse every month; and to send ye gold ••• (?) to them. A Sergeant to command ye rest of ye soldiers; diet & wages. 50 Ten soldiers,for diet & wages £30 a piece. 300 Eight negro slaves,to be brought from some remote) part · of Africa. ) The whole garrison and factory 2. 1663. COMiiENDA , AGA , & ACRA. to have in each place, a house with four Englishmen and t wo Negro slaves. 3 Factors,to diet themselves, £100 each. £300 3 Seconds. 150 6 soldiers, at £30 apiece. 180 6 negro slaves,their diet &c £15 apiece. 90 These three small factories 720 That the Agent & all Factors give goed security •••••.••• Th~ Company's whole annual charge 7 being computed, is:- House rent at ·home £ 100 :f:i:OO Committee,if daily attended by all 750 Officers in ~ngland 410 Ca pe Corse factory,for salary & diet 1 950 Cape Corse garrison 2100 Anashan 620 Commenda, Aga, & Acra 720 6650 Presents & Customs to ye Kings and] great men in all places will be probably 2350 So ye Company's whole charge at J ) home and in Africa may be per annum) 9000 In order to ye Management in ye Chadbee Islands. ================= 3 .