Contract between Kiliaen van Rensselaer and Gerrit Theusz de Reux, June 15, 1632

The West India Company brought the first settlers to New Netherland to gather beaver pelts to sell back in the Netherlands but they had a hard time finding enough people to settle the colony. In an effort to attract more people, the company decided to give private entrepreneurs pieces of land in New Netherland if the entrepreneurs (patroons) promised to ship fifty colonists to it within four years. So, in 1631, a Dutch diamond merchant named Kiliaen van Rensselaer bought a large tract of land around Fort Orange from the Mahicans who had long lived there. He established a "patroonship," or private farming community, which he named Rensselaerswijck. Many patroons bought land, but Kiliaen Van Rensselaer was the only one who was able to build a successful colony. His patroonship, Rensselaerswyck, lasted into the nineteenth century, passing down through generations of the Van Rensselaer family.
 
Kiliaen Van Rensselaer never visited America, but he worked hard to make his patroonship a success. Rensselaerswyck grew quickly, with a steady stream of farmers and tradesmen coming from Europe. Farming was the main activity in the patroonship. The products of farming were used to support the growing patroonship, but also the settlers in colonies nearby. Van Rensselaer had thought that the nearby West India Company settlement of Fort Orange, in the area of present day Albany, and his own colony of Rensselaerswyck would be mutually supporting: the fort would provide protection, and the patroonship would supply the fort with goods. Van Rensselaer hoped to make a profit by selling goods to the settlers in the fort. But the two settlements were so close to each other that they competed for profits, leading to a tense relationship between the patroon and the West India Company that controlled the fort.
 

What role did farming play in the life of the colony at Rensselaerswyck?
 

Imagine you are a farmer in Rensselaerswyck in the early years of settlement. Write a letter to your family back in the Netherlands describing your daily life and work.
 

Baldric – a belt designed for holding an object such as a sword on a person’s hip
Skipper – the captain of a vessel
Freight – the cargo of a vessel
Innocent – an article of clothing
Doublet – a man’s snug-fitting jacket
Jan Saterdagh – a type of sword
Yacht - boat
Milch – milk
Foaled – born as foals
Stave – a narrow strip of wood or iron used to band together a barrel or other vessel
Increase – the offspring of animals or people
Heifer – cow
Yearling – a horse between one and two years old
Untimely – happening at the wrong time
Detriment - disadvantage
Remedy – fix
Forfeiture – the act of surrendering something as a penalty
Merchantable – able to be sold
Stipulated – agreed to
Aforesaid – mentioned before
Palisade – a defensive fence made from wooden stakes
Behoof - benefit
Sow – female pig
Boatswain – a ship’s officer
Compensate – pay
Firelock – a type of musket
Subjecting – placing under the control of