The Flemish Establishment of Nieuw Nederlandt

The 400th anniversary of the founding of New Netherland has just slipped by.That said, 400 years and 5 days ago,Nieuw Nederlandt was officially established. The four names in bold below were all "Zuid-Nederlanders". Members of the Lutheran congregation at Amsterdam, these immigrants from Antwerp were the first to act upon the news of Henry Hudson's 'discovery'. This post is intended to alert a wider audience to their accomplishment.

‘”The States General of the United Netherlands to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting. Whereas Gerrit Jacob Witsen, former burgomaster of the city of Amsterdam, Jonas Witsen and Simon Morissen, owners of the ship called the Little Fox (het vosje), Captain Jan de Witt, master; Hans Hongers, Paul Pelgrom, and Lambrecht van Tweenhuysen, owners of the two ships called the Tiger and the Fortune, Captains Adriaen Block and Hendrick Christiaensen, masters; Arnoudt van Lybergen, Wessel Schenk, Hans Claessen, and Barent Sweetsen, owners of the ship Nightengale, (Nochtegael), Capt. Thuys Volckertsen, merchant in the city of Amsterdam, master; and Pieter Clementsen Brouwer, Jan Clementsen Kies, and Cornelis Volckertsen, merchants in the city of Hoorn, owners of the ship the Fortune, Capt. Cornelis Jacobsen Mey, master, have united into one company, and have shown to Us, by their petition, that after great expenses and damages, by loss of ships and other perils, during the present year, they, with the above named five ships, have discovered certain new lands, situated in America, between New France and Virginia, being the seacoasts between 40 and 45 degrees of latitude, and now called New Netherland…Given at the Hague, under our seal, paraph, and the signature of our Secretary, on the 11th day of October, 1614.” 

- E.B. O’Callaghan, History of New Netherland,  pp.74-76