Slavery in New Netherland
Translation from Van Laer, Council Minutes, Volume IV, 1638-1649, doc. 53-54, pg. 66
At the request of the fiscal, Gysbert Opdyck, commissary at Fort De Hoop, declares that he handed his Negro boy, called Lourviso Barbosse, a pan to bake cakes and as the fire was too hot for the boy, Opdyck took the pan, giving the knife to the Negro. Thereupon he, Opdyck, ordered the boy to get a platter, who brought one that was dirty, wherefore Opdyck beat the Negro who, to avoid the blows, attacked Opdyck, who thrust him away, so that the boy fell on his left side, pushing him with his foot. The boy ran toward the door where he fell and Opdyck, finding the aforesaid knife bent like a hoop, went to look at the boy who had a wound in his body near the left arm from which he shortly after died.
About the New Netherland Institute
For over three decades, NNI has helped cast light on America's Dutch roots. In 2010, it partnered with the New York State Office of Cultural Education to establish the New Netherland Research Center, with matching funds from the State of the Netherlands. NNI is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. More
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Housed in the New York State Library, the NNRC offers students, educators, scholars and researchers a vast collection of early documents and reference works on America's Dutch era. More
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