Utrecht, 1652

A few short weeks before the tulips reached peak bloom, a wealthy magistrate from Utrecht sat down to write a letter of complaint to the Heren XIX (Lords Nineteen). In his letter, the magistrate, one Cornelis van Werckhoven, expressed his frustration with the “wilden” (savages) of Nieuw Nederland (New Netherland). The previous year Van Werckhoven purchased large tracts of land near the Nevesinck and Tappan from the Raritan Indians who he considered to be the “lawful owners.” After returning from a trip to Gelderland, he opened a letter from the chief clerk of the Geoctroyeerde West-Indische Compagnie (Chartered West India Company or WIC) dated March 11. In it the clerk included an excerpt from a letter from Baron Hendrik van der Capellen tot Rijssel, a nobleman from Gelderland and a representative in the Staten-Generaal (States General). In his letter, Van der Capellen informed the Heren XIX that he purchased the very same parcels of land from the Raritans. Beside himself, Van Werckhoven exclaimed, “I cannot believe that, even though they are savages, they will sell a piece of property twice.” At the next city council meeting in April, a still fuming Van Werckhoven informed his fellow magistrates in Utrecht of his plans to head to Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam).

One month later, as growers cut the colorful flower heads from their tulips, the eldest son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer welcomed a newly minted dominee (reverend) into his office in Amsterdam.