Johannes De Decker (c. 1626 - Unknown) was a Dutch lawyer and colonial official. He was one of the six signers of the articles of capitulation of New Amsterdam to the English on September 6, 1664.
De Decker was sent to work as a lawyer for
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant ( – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the Directors of New Netherland, director-general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664, when the colony was pro ...
in
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
by the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
(WIC) in 1654. He held various top political positions and in 1657 was appointed Comptroller. On September 10, Johannes sailed to
Fort Orange
Fort Orange () was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland; the present-day city and state capital Albany, New York developed near this site. It was built in 1624 as a replacement for Fort Nassau, which had been built on n ...
to warn them an English expeditionary force was coming and to rally local forces. However, Fort Orange officially surrendered September 24, 1664.
[ History of the City of New York in the Seventeenth Century, Volume 1 By Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer 2013 pages 491, 526 ]
De Decker was a lawyer, member of the council of the government that ruled New Amsterdam, and lead negotiator for the 1664
Articles of Surrender of New Netherland. He reported directly to Stuyvesant. Ten days after the English took over, De Decker was expelled from New York for organising opposition to English rule in Fort Orange. Six years later, in 1670, De Decker was allowed back into New York on condition that he stayed only on his 60-acre farm on
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
.
[
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See also
*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 Napoleon ...
*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'' ...
References
See also
* ''The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York
The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York is a charitable organization in New York City of men who are descended from early inhabitants of the State of New York. Thomas S Johnson is the current president. The organization preserves his ...
: history'', Volume 2. 1916. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York
''Old Families of Staten Island''
2009. J. J. Clute.
''Staten Island and its people: a history: 1609–1929''
1933. Charles William Leng, William Thompson Davis.
* The Gilder Lehrman Collection GLC00377 ww.gilderlehrman.org original document, articles of surrender 1664
1620s births
Dutch merchants
People from Dordrecht
People from New Netherland
Year of death unknown
{{Netherlands-bio-stub