Description:

Dutch Caribbean
St. Eustatius, December 24, 1779
Citizenship in the Caribbean, 1779- Acting Governor for de Graaff Admits a Citizen
MD
An English translation from the Dutch-owned Caribbean Island of St. Eustatius, written during the governorship of Johannes de Graaff. 1p, measuring 10.75" x 7.75", St. Eustatius, December 24, 1779. Within, Peter Runnels, "acting in the absence of the Right Noble and Worshipful Heer John De Graaff" records one "William Well junr., a Native of lreland, having on the day of the date thereof, before us, taken the Oath of allegiance... admitted a Citizen of these places." Exhibits darkened toning and damp staining, flattened folds, and areas of minor paper loss at edges, not affecting text. Uneven margins throughout, mounted to an outside page to the overall size of 8" x 11". Good to fair with interesting contents!

Johannes de Graaff (1729-1813) was a Dutch Governor of St. Eustatius, Saba, and St. Maarten representing the Dutch West India Company during the time of the American Revolution. He started his career as a military commander of St. Maarten and, in July 1751, was appointed a secretary on St. Eustatius, which later became a free port that was frequently used for slave trading starting in 1756. De Graaff himself reportedly owned an approximate total of ten plantations, three hundred slaves, sixteen trading ships, as well as a quarter of the island's real estate. Undoubtedly because of this strong economic influence, he was made Governor of St. Eustatius and its Dependencies, a position he served from 1776 until the British Army's capture of the Island in 1781.

The plantations of St. Eustatius were primarily set up in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by Dutch settlers. The first enslaved Africans of the transatlantic slave trade were brought to the Island in the 1640s to work on the increasingly successful tobacco plantations. By 1650, they had completely replaced the indigenous slave laborers. The number of plantations greatly increased between the 1730s and 1750s, the highest number recorded at one time being 75, but were on the decline by the mid-nineteenth century. Today, several unmarked burial grounds have been discovered and excavated on former plantation sites around the Island, shedding light on the region's history of enslavement.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8" x 11"
  • Medium: MD

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August 7, 2024 10:00 AM EDT
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