Dutch colonial council minutes, 27 June - 21 July 1639 · Creating Digital History - Uncovering NYC

Dutch colonial council minutes, 27 June - 21 July 1639

Title: Dutch colonial council minutes, 27 June - 21 July 1639
Subject: New York (State)--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775; Slavery--United States--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Description: The Dutch Council never established clear parameters to those enslaved among the colony's population. Therefore, enslaved people or those with the status of "half-freedom" could own material goods, marry, own property, and partake in the colony's judicial system. In 1639, the council minutes note court proceedings, in which a slave, Pedro Negretto demanded payment from Jan Celes: "for the trouble he has taken in tending the defendant’s hogs." Celes was ultimately: "condemned to pay the plaintiff 2 schepels of maize."
Creator: Dutch Colonial Council
Date: June - July 1639
Source: "Dutch colonial council minutes, 27 June - 21 July 1639." 1693. Available through New York State Archives. URL:
http://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/11441
Rights: Public Domain, via New York State Archives
Type: Manuscript
Format: JPEG
Language: Dutch/Flemish
Coverage: Colonization, Settlement, and Communities (1607–1763)