‘”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
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