Testimony
Testimony. 1667. Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Archief van Dr. S. Hart. Translation by Eric Ruijssenaars.
Document Text |
Summary |
| Harmen Martensz from the city of Den Bosch and Evert Willemse Munnick, both formerly soldiers of the Dutch West India Company, declared that even before the English came to New Netherland there had been talk of an English army approaching. | This is the testimony of two Dutch soldiers who were present for the surrender of New Netherland. |
| The government gave no orders for special defense measures. Only when four ships arrived at the end of August was order given to bring the city and the fort of New Amsterdam into a state of defense. | There were rumors that the English were planning to attack, but no one did anything until four ships came into the harbor. |
| The sergeants did their best, given the short time, but the people of New Amsterdam were unresponsive. They did not report to their guard posts. When the soldiers saw that the civilians lacked the will to fight the English they withdrew to the fort. | The citizens of New Amsterdam did not come together to protect the city. |
| There were 150 soldiers. . . . Councilman Van Ruyven sent his wife Hillegond to the English because they did not have gun powder to defend themselves and because the English were their friends. Hillegond was accompanied by Lydia de Meyer, the wife of free merchant Nicholas Meyer. | Two city leaders sent their wives to talk to the English. |
| As Hillegond left the fort, she said: “Now these dirty dogs want to fight, now that they’ve got nothing to lose. And we have our property here, which we would lose if we fought.” | The women insult the Dutch soldiers on their way to see the English. They also tell the soldiers that their homes are worth more to them than their loyalty to the Dutch West India Company. |
Testimony. 1667. Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Archief van Dr. S. Hart. Translation by Eric Ruijssenaars.
This video was created by the New-York Historical Society Teen Leaders in collaboration with the Untold project.
Background
On August 26, 1664, four English ships sailed into New Amsterdam’s harbor and demanded that the colony of New Netherland surrender to the English. Peter Stuyvesant, the Director-General of New Netherland, tried to rally the people of New Amsterdam to fight, but he soon realized they preferred to surrender peacefully. Stuyvesant set up a meeting between the citizens of New Amsterdam and the English representatives so that they could negotiate terms of surrender. On September 8, 1664, New Netherland was officially handed over to the English and renamed New York.
About the Document
When word of the surrender of New Netherland reached the Dutch Republic, the government launched a full investigation to find out what happened and who was at fault. This document, collected during their investigation, is the eye-witness account of two Dutch soldiers who were working for the Dutch West India Company during the surrender.
The soldiers told the government that Lydia de Meyer and Hillegond van Ruyven, two wives of New Amsterdam council members, visited the English camp before any official meeting took place. Why were Dutch women visiting the enemy camp during a military standoff? When Peter Stuyvesant announced his intention to fight the English, he made it impossible for any of the men who served in the government to reach out to the English without committing treason. So members of the city council sent their wives instead. It was a perfect solution: as women, Lydia and Hillegond could speak to the English without committing treason, and their high status as wives of city council members meant that the English would take them seriously. Hillegond and Lydia smoothed the way to a peaceful surrender when the men of New Amsterdam could not. Hillegond’s comment to the soldiers as she left makes it clear that, for these women, protecting the settlement of New Amsterdam was far more important than protecting the pride of the Dutch government.
Vocabulary
- civilians: A person who is not in the army.
- Den Bosch: A city in the southern Netherlands.
- Dutch Republic: The name of the country of the Dutch in Europe from 1581 to 1795.
- Dutch West India Company: The company that owned and ran New Netherland.
- free merchant: A merchant who did not work for the Dutch West India Company.
- New Amsterdam: The capitol of the colony of New Netherland, where New York City is today.
- treason: The crime of betraying one’s country.
Discussion Questions
- Why does Hillegond want to find a peaceful solution to the conflict with the English?
- What about the legal status of women in New Netherland made Hillegond and Lydia ideal ambassadors to the English at the height of the invasion crisis?
- Why is it important to know this story? How does this story change our understanding of the surrender of New Amsterdam?
Suggested Activities
- Teach this document along with the Articles of Transfer (Resource 18 in New World—New Netherland—New York) to consider what role women played in the surrender of New Netherland, and how women were affected by the transfer.
- Invite students to write a short skit recreating the interaction between Lydia and Hillegond and the two soldiers they encountered on their way to meet the English. The soldiers can represent the arguments of those who wanted to fight to keep the colony Dutch, and the women can represent the arguments of those who wanted a peaceful surrender.
- Hillegond and Lydia were able to engage with the English because their intimate network of family and friends gave them the authority to do so. This kind of unacknowledged power network allowed women in many different colonial societies to exert influence far beyond what was traditionally available to them. Use any of the following resources to explore this idea of intimate power networks further with your students: Translating for the Dutch and Lenni-Lenape, Life Story: Johanna de Laet, Life Story: Charlotte-Françoise Juchereau de Saint-Denis, and Life Story: Weetamoo.
- Hillegond and Lydia were not the only women to wield considerable power in New Netherland. Invite students to compare and contrast their experiences with any of the women listed below. Ask students to consider what kind of power each woman wielded, how they gained their positions in the colony, and what challenges and triumphs they achieved. Then ask students to use what they have learned to write a paper about the opportunities and limitations women faced in New Netherland: Translating for the Dutch and Lenni-Lenape, Life Story: Johanna de Laet, Life Story: Quashawam, Life Story: Lady Deborah Moody, Founding Mother, Hardenbroeck v. the Orphanmasters, and Life Story: Margrieta van Varick.
Themes
POWER AND POLITICS
New-York Historical Society Curriculum Library Connections
- For more resources relating to women in New Netherland and the surrender of New Netherland, see New World—New Netherland—New York.
