Eight Men
The Eight Men was a group of eight residents chosen by the people of New Netherland in 1643 to advise Director Willem Kieft on his governance of the colony. An early form of representational democracy in colonial North America, it replaced the similarly selected Twelve Men and was followed by the Nine Men. Council In 1643 Abraham Pietersen Van Deusen, who had served on the council of the Twelve Men, was appointed to a new body of eight men. The group contacted the Estates-General of the Netherlands and blamed governor Willem Kieft for the declining economic condition of the nascent colony, and Kieft's War with the Native Americans. They requested that a new Director-General of New Netherland be appointed, and that the people be given more influence in the new government. Director-General Kieft was dismissed and replaced by Peter Stuyvesant. Kieft left for Holland in September 1647 to defend himself to the Estates-General, but the '' Princess Amelia'' was lost at sea and h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Netherland
New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The colony was originally conceived by the Dutch West India Company (GWC) in 1621 to capitalize on the North American fur trade. Settlement initially stalled because of policy mismanagement by the GWC and conflicts with Native Americans. The settlement of New Sweden by the Swedish South Company encroached on its southern flank, while its eastern border was redrawn to accommodate the English colonies of an expanding New England Confederation. The colony experienced dramatic growth during the 1650s and became a major center for trade across the North Atlantic. The Dutch conquered New Sweden in 1655 but, during the Second Anglo-Dut ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephanus Van Cortlandt
Stephanus van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643 – November 25, 1700) was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor's executive council from 1691 to 1700. He was the first resident of Sagtikos Manor in West Bay Shore on Long Island, which was built around 1697. A number of his descendants married English military leaders and Loyalists active in the American Revolution, and their descendants became prominent members of English society. Early life Stephanus van Cortlandt was born on May 7, 1643, the son of Captain Olof Stevense van Cortlandt. His father had been born at Wijk bij Duurstede, in the Dutch Republic, and in 1637 arrived in New Amsterdam. Beginning as a soldier and bookkeeper, Olof Stevense van Cortland rose to high office in the colonial service of the Dutch West India Company, serving many terms as burgomaster and alderman before dying i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Octets
Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 composition by Felix Mendelssohn *** Octet (Bruch), 1920 composition by Max Bruch ** Octet (Beethoven), 1793 composition by Ludwig van Beethoven ** Octet (Lachner), 1850 composition by Franz Lachner ** Octet (Reich), ''Octet'' (Reich), 1979 composition by Steve Reich ** Octet (Reinecke),1892 composition by Carl Reinicke ** Octet (Schubert), 1824 composition by Franz Schubert ** Octet (Stravinsky), 1923 composition by Igor Stravinsky * Violin octet, a family of stringed instruments * Octet (musical), ''Octet'' (musical), a musical by Dave Malloy Ballet * Octet (Christensen), ''Octet'' (Christensen), 1958 ballet by Willam Christensen * Octet (Martins), ''Octet'' (Martins), 2003 ballet by Peter Martins Science and technology * Octet (computing), a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Voorleser
Voorleser was the title given to a responsible citizen in New Netherland and later Dutch Empire, Dutch colonies who had semi-official duties in local law, education and religion. Etymology The word ''voorleser'' as used in English language, English texts is a variant of the Dutch language, Dutch word ''voorlezer'', which means "one who reads (to others)". However, both spellings are used interchangeably when referring to the title used by New Netherlander, colonial Dutch Americans. It has several different translations or interpretations, such as "lay reader", "public reader","Original 1685 Bell." Friends of the Old Dutch Church & Burying Ground. Retrieved 2010-08-01. "fore-reader", and "church reader". History The title was commonly used from the ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Burgomaster
Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In some cases, burgomaster was the title of the head of state and head of government of a sovereign (or partially or de facto sovereign) city-state, sometimes combined with other titles, such as Hamburg's First Mayor and President of the Senate). Contemporary titles are commonly translated into English as ''mayor''. Historical use * The title "burgermeister" was first used in the early 13th century. * In history (sometimes until the beginning of the 19th century) in many free imperial cities (such as Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck, etc.) the function of burgomaster was usually held simultaneously by three persons, serving as an executive college. One of the three being burgomaster in chief for a year (called in some cases in ; in ''presiding burg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Schout
In Dutch language, Dutch-speaking areas, a ''schout'' was a local official appointed to carry out administrative, law enforcement and prosecutorial tasks. The office was abolished with the introduction of administrative reforms during the Napoleonic period. Functions The exact nature of the office varied from place to place and changed over the course of time. In general, a ''schout'' was appointed by the lord (''heer'') of a domain (''heerlijkheid'') and acted in the lord's name in the local day-to-day administration of the domain, especially the administration of justice. A ''schout'' had three main functions: administration, law enforcement and criminal prosecution. First, the ''schout'' was responsible for many local administrative matters in the town or heerlijkheid. The ''schout'' presided in the meetings of the ''schepenen''. Together, the ''schout'' and ''schepenen'' made up what we would call the "town council" today. He ensured decrees were published. He sometimes repr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Schepen
A schepen (Dutch, ; . ') or échevin (French, , ) or Schöffe (German, ) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands, where it has been replaced by the (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''échevin'' is part of the municipal government. Depending on the context, it may be roughly translated as an alderman, councillor, or magistrate. Name The Dutch word ''schepen'' comes from the Old Saxon word ''scepino'' 'judge' and is related to German ''Schöffe'' 'lay magistrate'. In early Medieval Latin used in France, it was ''scabinus''. Originally, the word referred to member of a council of "deciders" – literally, "judgment finders" (''oordeelvinders'') – that sat at a mandatory public assembly called a ''ding'' ("thing" in English). Their judgments originally required ratification by a majority of the people present. Later, mandatory attendance (''dingplicht'') and ratification were no longer required. Belgium In Flanders, a ''sc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adriaen Van Der Donck
Adriaen Cornelissen van der Donck (1618 – 1655) was a lawyer and landowner in New Netherland after whose honorific ''Jonkheer'' the city of Yonkers, New York, is named. Although he was not, as sometimes claimed, the first lawyer in the Dutch colony (an 'honor' that befell the lesser-known Lubbert Dinclagen who arrived in 1634), Van der Donck was a leader in the political life of New Amsterdam (modern New York City), and an activist for Dutch-style republican government in the Dutch West India Company-run trading post. Enchanted by his new homeland of New Netherland, Van der Donck made detailed accounts of the land, vegetation, animals, waterways, topography, and climate. Van der Donck used this knowledge to actively promote immigration to the colony, publishing several tracts, including his influential ''Description of New Netherland''. Charles Gehring, Director of the New Netherland Institute, has called it "the fullest account of the province, its geography, the I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Captain John Underhill
John Underhill (c. 1608/09 – 21 July 1672) was an early English settler and soldier in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Province of New Hampshire, where he also served as governor; the New Haven Colony, New Netherland, and later the Province of New York, settling on Long Island. Hired to train militia in New England, he is most noted for leading colonial militia in the Pequot War (1636–1637) and Kieft's War which the colonists mounted against two different groups of Native Americans. He also published an account of the Pequot War. Biography Early life, military, and marriage John Underhill was one of three children of John Edward Underhill, John Underhill (1574–1608) and Leonora Honor Pawley. His great-grandfather Sir Hugh Underhill was Wardrobe (government), Keeper of the Wardrobe for Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich, and his grandfather Thomas Underhill held the same position at Kenilworth Castle for Elizabeth's favorite, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wolphert Gerretse
Wolfert Gerritse Van Couwenhoven (1 May 1579 – 1662), also known as Wolphert Gerretse van Kouwenhoven and Wolphert Gerretsen, was an original patentee, director of (farms), and founder of the New Netherland colony. Along with his wife, Neeltje Janse Jacobdochter, Gerretse was one of the first Europeans to settle on Long Island, a farm he named New Amersfoort."Scannell New Jersey's First Citizens" p. 99; retrieved 25 October 2009. He was a Schepen of New Amsterdam in 1654. He is noted as playing an "active role in laying the foundations of the communities of Manhattan, Albany, New York, Albany, Rensselaer, New York, Rensselaer, and Brooklyn." Early life Wolfert was born on 1 May 1579 in Amersfoort, Amersfoort, Netherlands,[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abraham Pietersen Van Deursen
Abraham Pietersen van Deursen (before November 11, 1607 – c. 1670), aka Abraham Pietersen van Deusen, was an immigrant from Holland who settled in New Amsterdam and become one of the Council of 12 that was the first representative democracy in the Dutch colony. The Van Deursen, Van Deusen, Van Duser, Van Duzer, Van Duzor, Van Duzee, and Van Dusen families of the United States and Canada are all descended from Abraham Pietersen van Deusen, a miller and a native originating from Haarlem in the Netherlands. Birth He was born in 1607 in Haarlem to Pieter van Deursen (c1575-?) and Maria or Paulina Vincke (c1575-?). Pieter and Maria/Paulina were married on January 15, 1591, in Haarlem. Abraham was baptized in Haarlem on Wednesday, November 11, 1607, and the witnesses were Jan Jans and Styntjen Jans. Siblings Abraham may have had the following siblings: Handrick Van Dussenberg, who was master of the Masons in 1638, and Adrian Pitersen, of Aitzema, Netherlands, who was a director of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cornelis Melyn
Cornelis Melyn (1600 – c. 1662) was an early Dutch settler in New Netherland and Patroon of Staten Island. He was the chairman of the council of eight men, which was a part of early steps toward representative democracy in the Dutch colony. Early life Cornelis Melyn was born in Antwerp, then a part of the Spanish Netherlands, where he was baptised at St. Walburga Church September 17, 1600, the son of Andries and Maria (Gheudinx-Botens) Melyn, and grandson of Lambrecht Melyn, of the same place. Both of Cornelis' parents died in 1606. Two guardians, Jacques Melyn and Hans Salomons, were appointed for him and he was taken into the family of his half-brother Abraham Melyn to be raised. When he was about twelve years of age, Cornelis was apprenticed as a tailor. When Melyn was about 18 years old, the priest of St. Walburga Church issued him a baptismal certificate and a certificate of good conduct. It is possible he left Antwerp at this time for Amsterdam, where he married Jan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |