By the end of June, the “Remonstrance of New Netherland” was complete. The eighty-four pages included a compilation of the opinions of the people, a history of Dutch discovery and development, the legitimacy of the Dutch claims to its American territory, and his vision for the future.
Stuyvesant could not stop his opponents from going to ‘sGravenhage. Being involved in delicate negotiations with the New England colonies, he could not go himself. He sent his very partisan assistant instead. The Board of Nine chose Adriaen and two others and, at the end of July, a former pirate vessel took the opposing parties across the ocean.
In the ten years that separated Adriaen from his country both had changed. Having brought its enemies to their knees, the Republic was at the pinnacle of its power and was the wealthiest nation in the world. Adriaen had grown up into a man with unusual experiences and an unusual vision. He and his friends had become Americans – a word that he was the first to apply to the people living in America, including colonists, and that recurred frequently in his writings as a concept of identity. Adriaen van der Donck and his friends received their opportunity to address a special committee of the States General on October 13, 1649. He presented his arguments for a democratic government free from the oppression of the DWIC with great flourish. He submitted a large map of the American east coast showing the extent of the colony and Manhattan’s central position as a trading hub. He showed the gathering a beautiful colored pen drawing of New Amsterdam. He painted the dire economic and political conditions under the DWIC, but outlined the colony’s potential wealth and emphasized his point with a display of pelts, fruits, corn, and other products. Many of the representatives were impressed, but the outcome was uncertain at best. The DWIC was very powerful. The delegates’ hopes for a swift resolution were dashed by two outside events that distracted the States General.
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Adriaen and his fellow Americans did not sit still. They found a publisher to print the Remonstrance, which became a bestseller and enticed many to want to emigrate. The first ship had to turn away hundreds, so more ships followed. Even Adriaen’s mother and siblings sold their belongings and prepared to go. The DWIC now faced a conflict. But even as they were fighting the obnoxious lawyer, they also benefited from his salesmanship. By April, 1650, the States General found time to rule on the dispute under the title, “Provisional Order respecting the Government, Preservation, and Peopling of New Netherland.” The verdict put the blame on the officials of the DWIC and they called Stuyvesant home to report. New Amsterdam was to have an elected council, but the DWIC would remain. The Americans got nearly all they had clamored for. Adriaen hastily composed a letter to a respected figure in the colony who had previously been neutral, and invited him to join the new government. He stayed on in ‘sGravenhage to be sure that the States General would carry out the special committee’s recommendations and used the time to work out the format of the new government. He wanted the colony to become the eighth State of the Dutch Union.
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In 1651, Mary Doughty crossed the Atlantic to join her husband Adriaen, who still was in ‘sGravenhage. They had been apart for two years. Stuyvesant’s assistant was fighting the accusations Adriaen had brought against him in the States General. The lawyer found unexpected help from an age-old human weakness when the Director’s assistant had found himself engaged with a young woman and maintained a room for that purpose. He had failed to share with her that he had a wife and children in America. When the affair came to light, he was arrested, fined, and put on a ship together with his amour.
With his opponent out of the way, Adriaen appeared before the entire governing body of the Republic on February 10, 1652. He made the same case as before, but added the many dispatches he had received from the colony since his last appearance. The High Mightiness, as they were known, understood that the community of Manhattan had advanced from a ragtag collection of fur traders, soldiers, and whores to one of respectable citizens for whom martial law was no longer appropriate. Eventually Adriaen’s victory was crowned with a letter he was to present to Stuyvesant in person. In it, the States General called the Governor back home. Adriaen was to resume his position of President of the Commonalities. [Or?]
(To be continued)
Excerpt from MANY HEADS AND MANY HANDS, James Madison’s Search for a More Perfect Union.
Mau VanDuren (author of this blog)
http://www.governance4us.com/...