New Netherland Council Dutch Colonial Council Minutes

The government of the New Netherland colony was comprised of a director-general assisted by a council and a provincial secretary. This administration carried out executive, legislative, and judicial activities within its jurisdiction.

In 1647, a court of arbitrators, consisting of nine men, was established. This court dealt with increased legal activity in the form of lawsuits, petty squabbles, and other nuisances. The court decided cases referred to it by the council in New Amsterdam; however, its judgments were subject to appeal before the council.

In 1653, when New Amsterdam received its charter as a municipality, the court of arbitrators was replaced by a court schout, burgomasters (chief magistrates), and schepenen (elected officials of municipalities with administrative and judicial authority). The council then served as a court of appeal for New Amsterdam and other jurisdictions and concentrated on executive matters such as making appointments, issuing proclamations, passing ordinances, replying to petitions, and corresponding with governments of neighboring colonies.

Council minutes document civil and criminal cases, as well as executive and legislative matters over which the Council of the Colony of New York had jurisdiction. The minutes constitute a record of ordinances, orders, judgments, writs of appeal, writs of inhibition, appointments, proclamations, instructions, oaths of office, orders on petitions, protests, powers of attorney, proceedings in appeal, summonses, indictments, interrogations, recommendations, sentences, opinions, notices, resolutions, and charters. The minutes also include executive decisions relating to the defense and prosperity of New Netherland, as well as to private cases brought before the director-general and council on appeal from the court decisions of New Amsterdam.

The council minutes originally constituted volumes 4-10 of the New York Historical Manuscripts in the New York State Library. A highlight of the minutes is the Flushing Remonstrance, which was written in 1657 by citizens of Flushing, Queens to protest a decree prohibiting Quakers from worshiping in New Netherland. The original records are in the Dutch language.

Photostat use copies of selected documents are available at the New York State Archives.

B1872Series B1872, Photographs of the Flushing Remonstrance, contains related records

A1875Series A1875, Dutch colonial ordinances, contains related records

A1877Series A1877, Writs of appeal, contains related records.

Folder list available at the repository.

Translated in: New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch, trans. Arnold J. F. Van Laer, ed. Kenneth Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, Vols. 4-5: Council Minutes, 1638-1654 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1974).

Translated in: Council Minutes, 1655-1656, trans. and ed. Charles T. Gehring ("New Netherland Documents Series," Vol. 6) (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1995).

Flushing Remonstrance. This item was removed from the series (Council Minutes: Vol. 8, pp. 626-626) as part of the Freedom Train Exhibit, which traveled the state from January 1949 to February 1950 (L. 1948, Ch. 659).

Religious Freedom for Other People. This item was removed from the series (Council Minutes: Vol. 4, p. 93) as part of the Freedom Train exhibit. During 2000/2001 the item was reintegrated with the rest of the series.

Arbitrary Government Protested. This item was removed from the series (Council Minutes: Vol. 5, p. 160, 162) as part of the Freedom Train exhibit. During 2000/2001 the item was reintegrated with the rest of the series.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.