Read before the Historical Society of Delaware, January 17, 1898. THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF DELAWARE, WILMINGTON, XXII. JACOB ALRICKS AND HIS NEPHEW PETER ALRICKS. BY EDWARD A. PRICE, ESQ., OF MEDIA, PENNA. Read before the Historical Society of Delaware, January 17, 1898. THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF DELAWARE, WILMINGTON. JACOB ALRICKS AND HIS NEPHEW PETER ALRICKS. THE discovery of the North and South Rivers in 1609 by Hudson, while seeking a northwest passage to China in the service of the Dutch East India Company, created great interest in Holland. A general edict was passed by the States General, granting special privileges to all persons who had or should thereafter discover any new courses, havens, countries, or places. The privileges of this edict expired by limitation in 1618, but were renewed for limited periods, and up to 1620 several private adventures were taken to the newly discovered land in America called New Netherland. On February 12, 1620, "the Directors of the Company trading to New Netherland," whose grant had expired in 1618, represented to the States General that “ a certain English preacher, well versed in the Dutch language, was inclined to go there to live, and take some four hundred families from Holland, as well as England, provided he could be suitably protected; also expressing their belief that the English were disposed to colonize the land, which would deprive the States of the benefit of their discovery, and asking that the proposed emigrants be taken under their protection, and that, provisionally, two ships of war |