And whereas for the prevention of all such disorders for the future, the King his master was pleased not onely to declare himselfe willing to enter into a treaty with them. But a concept of a reglement to that end, was in his name and by his order upon the 25 day of August last, old style, tendered unto them by him, his Envoy extraordinary; and that he hath since from time to time pressed them to the expediting of so good and desirable a worke, that yet to this day he has received no answer thereupon, nor any the least progresse made therein. That their Lordships have contrary to their treatie with his Majesty to all good neighborhood, and without the least shadow of ground, stopped and detained for so long a time a certaine Swedish ship laden at Gortenburgh with merchandizes for London, driven into this country by stresse of weather, notwithstanding the reiterated and joint demands, made by him and the Minister of Sweden, residing here, for the discharge thereof. And notwithstanding that the King his Master, upon the desire of their Ambassador hath the last weeke given liberty to all shipping of this country, freely to go out of his harbours, even when he had imposed and continued a generall imbargo upon the shipping of his owne subjects. Al which he hath order to lay before them, withall letting them know, that the King his master cannot longer suffer himselfe to be thus dealt withall. Given at the Hague this 25 Novembre 1664, old style. Folio 906. Downingh. cies. Resolution of the States-General. [From the Register of the States-General's Resolutions, in the Royal Archives at the Hague. ] Friday, 5th December, 1664. Read at the meeting a certain Memoir of Mr. Downing, Ambassador Complaints of pira- Extraordinary from the King of Great Britain, containing divers remonstrances that no satisfaction had, up to this time, been given to any of the complaints of piracies and violences committed against his Majesty's subjects by the inhabitants of this country. Which being considered, it is resolved and concluded that a copy of the aforesaid Memoir shall be sent to Ambassador Van Gogh for his information, and be, moreover, placed in the hands of Mess's Huygens and the other their High Mightinesses' Deputies for the affairs of England, to inspect, examine and report thereon. Folio 78. Downing. Complaints. Resolution of the States-General. [From the Register of the West India Company's Affairs, 1664-1670, in the Royal Archives at the Hague.] Thursday, 11th December, 1664. Deliberation being resumed on the Memorial of Mr. Downing, Ambassador Extraordinary from the King of Great Britain to their High Mightinesses, delivered on the 5th of this current month, copy whereof, as we are informed, has been handed by the said Extraordinary Envoy to the Foreign Ministers residing at this court; it is, after previous deliberation, resolved and concluded that copy of the aforesaid Memorial shall be sent to M. Van Beuningen, Minister Extraordinary from this State to the King and Court of France, with command and order palpably to demonstrate to the aforesaid King and his Majesty's Ministers, from the retroacta furnished him here before his departure and also from his own knowledge, the unfounded or mistaken representation of the matters and circumstances therein mentioned, and to show said King, on the contrary, that the King of Great Britain and his Majesty's subjects have begun to treat this State and its good inhabitants with inimical attacks and open hostility, first, by capturing towns, lands, forts and ships in distant countries, and afterwards in Europe, by seizing, taking and making prize all the homeward bound ships of this country, without England being able to allege, or it having ever been asserted that, since the conclusion of the last made Treaty, which quashed or settled all previous differences and actions, any of her ships have been hostilely attacked, taken or destroyed by the inhabitants of this country, much less any lands, islands, forts or towns been occupied or mastered. And, although their High Mightinesses, by reason of the aforesaid inimical aggressions on the part of England, have for a long time been, by the law of nations, justified, for the just and necessary defence of the inhabitants and subjects of the United Netherland Provinces and the reparation of the losses and offences suffered, in inflicting, by way of reprisal, all possible injury on the English, especially since the King of Great Britain hath been pleased publicly to declare and to announce to their High Mightinesses and their Minister in England, that his Majesty himself hath given orders for the incorporation of New Netherland and the seizure of Cape Corse (as he hath now been pleased to make a similar declaration in regard to the seizure, capture and making prize of the aforesaid ships in Europe), being acts of hostility undertaken against towns, lands and places to which the said King not only had no right in the world, but no claim had ever been presented to this State for them, nor, as is believed, was ever any imagined in regard to New Netherland by the said King; besides, such imagined action and claim being older than the year 1654, was extinguished by the lately made Treaty; their High Mightinesses, having entertained the hope of a peaceable issue, especially promising themselves such a result from the good offices which the said King of France hath been pleased to initiate in this regard, have abstained from all offensive actions against the King of Great Britain and his subjects, because the justice of their High Mightinesses' case must appear everywhere so much the clearer. And this, their High Mightinesses' resolution, shall be sent to Ambassador Van Gogh, Residents Heins and Le Maire; also be handed by Agent de Heyde to Count d'Estrades, Ambassador Extraordinary of France; likewise to Mess" the Residents of Sweden and Denmark for their respective information. The despatch resulting herefrom shall be sent off without reconsideration. States-General to their Foreign Ministers. [From the Register of Uitgegane Brieven of the States-General, in the Royal Archives at the Hague. ] To M. Van Beuningen, Ambassador Extraordinary from this State. To Ambassador Van Gogh. To Residents Heins and Le Maire. THE STATES, &c. Folio 328. Memorial of Mr. Honorable, &c. We send you herewith the annexed Memorial presented to us on the 5th instant by M. Downing, Ambassador Extraordinary from the King of Great Britain, together with the accompanying extract of our resolutions adopted on said Memorial, and that to the end therein mentioned. Wherewith ending, &c. In the Hague, the 11th December, 1664. Folio 104. Admiralty. Provisions for Admiral de Ruyter. Secret Resolution of the States-General. [From the Register of Secret Resolutions of the States-General, in the Royal Archives at the Hague. ] Friday, 12th December, 1664. After previous deliberation, it is resolved and concluded that the respective Boards of Admiralty superintending the ships of the fleet under Vice-Admiral de Ruyter be hereby and, at all events, authorized and instructed to send secretly some more provisions to the aforesaid fleet, either by chartering neutral ships here or from some ports of France or elsewhere, in such manner as they themselves shall think best and safest. States-General to Vice-Admiral de Ruyter. To Vice-Admiral Michiel Adriaense de Ruyter, Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of a fleet of Dutch ships of war on the coast of Africa and Guinea, or in his absence, to whomsoever may have succeeded to the chief command. THE STATES, &c. Honorable, Valiant, Honest, Beloved, Faithful. Lieutenant Admiral de Ruyter. Our last to you was dated the 22nd of last month; we believe it will reach you Rupture with Eng With this, as since that time an opportunity has not presented itself to dispatch beyond Europe. Captains Clerck and Verschuur with the ships placed under their convoy; likewise land both in and the West India Company's galiot, which, on the day aforesaid, should have carried you a despatch and inclosures thereunto appertaining. But now, appearances seeming more favorable, and the necessary orders being issued, we have resolved to advise you, by this opportunity, that, in place of a hoped-for change for the best, on the side of the English since the departure and laying up of a portion of the fleet, according to the notification already sent you, they, in addition to the hostile aggressions and proceedings committed and undertaken against the forts and good inhabitants of this State beyond Europe, and especially on the coasts of Africa, Guinea and New Netherland, have broken out in similar proceedings in Europe, not only by seizing the ships of this country within the ports of England, but also by attacking them at open sea, making prizes of and detaining them. Cormantyn. In order to repel and resist this, we intend to employ all possible and lawful means, wherefore we have hereby resolved to instruct and order, as we do hereby order you, that, pursuant to our previous instructions, with mutual communication and correspondence of Director-General Valckenburch, having made use of every exertion towards the reduction of Fort Cape Corse under the obedience of this State together with the other forts or places of ours occupied by the English, and these being victualed as much as possible, according to the strength of the force you have with you, and consistently with the keeping it in fitting order to return home, you do, after such communication and correspondence, endeavor to overpower and capture Fort Cormantyn in the occupation of the English on said coast, should circumstances be deemed favorable, and not occupy too much time. And this being effected or postponed, according as deliberation there shall determine, you will proceed on your voyage home, and inflict, by way of reprisal, as much damage and injury as possible on said nation, either at Barbados, New Netherland, Newfoundland or other islands and places under their obedience, and on their forts, ships or other effects which they shall find out of Europe, so long and so far as the condition of the fleet under your command and the provisions in or with it will permit, and the greatest zeal shall be applied to the work. After all which, instead of sailing to Cadiz, agreeably to previous orders, you will pursue the shortest course homeward and come here north about England, using in all such prudence and courage as you, according to seamanship and soldiership, are possessed of. Relying whereupon, &c. Done the 12th December, 1664. Folio 109. France. Secret Resolution of the States-General. [From the Register of Secret Resolutions of the States-General, in the Royal Archives at the Hague.] Thursday, the 18th December, 1664. A certain draft of a letter to be sent to the King of France being read to the Assembly on the subject of the hostile aggressions perpetrated by England respecting the hos against and towards this State, and the good inhabitants thereof not only beyond but also within Europe; after deliberation, the aforesaid draft is held as approved, and it shall accordingly be neatly transcribed and sent to M. Van Beuningen, Ambassador Extraordinary from this State, with and besides an open copy thereof, requesting and requiring him to deliver the aforesaid letter to the King, and to second their High Mightinesses' good meaning and intention contained therein, by his particular duties and offices. The despatch hereupon shall be transmitted without réconsideration. The States-General to the King of France. [From the Register of Uitgegane Brieven of the States-General, in the Royal Archives at the Hague.] Sire. Folio 854. When M. Van Beuningen, Councillor of the city of Amsterdam and Deputy in our Assembly from the Province of Holland and Westfriesland, departed hence, fifteen days ago, he carried an order to represent to your Majesty the excesses the English have committed against this State and its inhabitants on the coast of Guinea and in America, as well as the cause we had to apprehend that they would not stop there, but would carry affairs to greater extremities. He had orders also to pray your Majesty to be pleased to continue the kind offices you had been so good as to exercise in order to prevent the same. But affairs being so changed since M. Van Beuningen left here, inasmuch as what we then apprehended has now in fact occurred, we found ourselves obliged, likewise, to change operations. Your Majesty will, without doubt, have already learned that a considerable number of ships have been taken at sea by the English, or embargoed in the ports of England, although since the last Treaty, which extinguishes or settles all the preceding pretensions, the inhabitants of these countries have not taken, nor even attacked a single English ship. The King of England himself has not hesitated to tell the Ambassador of this State that such was done by his express orders, so that it can no longer be said that he intends to attack us, but that he has already actually hostilely attacked us, and therefore we can demand the aid we are promised by the Treaty which this State has the honor to have with your Majesty against those who disturb commerce and have recourse to open hostilities. We have believed, up to this time, that the kind offices it has pleased your Majesty to employ, would be efficacious enough to prevent these disorders; but seeing, to our great regret, that they have been useless and that there is no longer any question of preventing the evil but of remedying it, it will please your Majesty to consent that M. Van Beuningen concert with you, or under your authority with your Ministers, the means to be judged the most proper to repair the past, prevent similar disorders in future, and strengthen peace, quiet and liberty of trade throughout Christendom and everywhere else. We have done everything in our power and now hope for the remainder from the aid which we promise ourselves from your Majesty's alliance. M. Van Beuningen will have the honor to enlarge on this subject, wherefore we refer to what he will state verbally. We pray God, Sire, &c. At the Hague, the 18th December, 1664. |