Surinam as a Dutch Possession. 175 



consent to her marriage with her lover, on condition that he first makes 



a voyage to Surinam. 



" You worthy triend desire to have my daughter as your love 



" I will surely give her to you, to your great comfort 



" But prove me first, that as a man you possess good courage 



" And first make a voyage to Suriuame, 



" As every proper young Zeelander uses to 



" Who has been enraptured by the beauty of a Zeeland maid." 



On Dec. 30th, 1666 Crijnssen sailed from Vere in Zeeland, as Com- 

 mander of 7 vessels " The Zeelandia " (34 guns and 150 men) as Flagship, 

 the " West-Cappel " and the " Zee-Ridder," the same size and commanded 

 respectively by Simon Loncke and Pieter de Maureguault, the yacht 

 " Prins te Paert," Capt. Salmon le Sage, the hooker " Wester-Souburgh," 

 Capt. Rochus (Roys^ Bastaert, the hired fly-boat " Aerdenburgh " as pro- 

 vision ship and one as advice boat. The crews probably numbered about 

 700, including 200 land militiamen under Captains Philip Julius Lichten- 

 bergh and Maurice de Rame (Raem). 



In Jan., 1667 " de Visschersherder " was sent as a re-inforcement. On 

 Feb. 26th Crijnssen sailed up the Suriuame river, hoisted the National 

 Flag, and demanded from the Governor William Byam, in the name of the 

 States of Zeeland, the immediate surrender of the (wooden) Fort 

 Willoughby. His refusal only lasted 24 hours. On Sunday, Feb. 27th, 

 1667, Byam surrendered and was granted an honourable retreat. The 

 Fort was renamed " Zeelandia " and Maurice de Rame was appointed Com- 

 mander in Surinam. The expedition only cost one life. 



" A great and blessed conquest, blessed because the special blessing 

 " of God is to be seen in so many ways. In the first place it was in the 

 " rainy time there, a time in which it is wont to rain so heavily that on 

 " account of the great abundance of water the land is almost useless, yet, 

 "on the contrary at the time our men were there it was such fine and 

 " dry weather that some of the English noticing it, blasphemously said 

 " that God was no longer English but had become entirely a Zeelander." 



So wrote Abrahamus a Westhuysen, Chaplain on board. " De Viss- 

 chersherder " to his brother on May 19th, in a pamphlet printed by 

 Johannes Ramazeyn, Printer living on the Stadts Cingel over the Nieuwe 

 Haven, in 1667 under the title of " A true account of the splendid 

 Conquest of Pimeriba " etc., the only Dutch account of Crynnsen's 

 voyage which exists. The official report, reached the hands of the 

 Grand Pensionary in Breda, but was afterwards lost. The Colony was 

 officially surrendered by Treaty signed on board the ship " Zealand " 

 the 6th of March, stilo Novo, 1667. That the conquest of Surinam waa 

 a measure of reprisal, is proved by Art. 31 and 43 of the Instruction of 

 Abraham Crynssen, established by the Court of Zeeland at Middleburg 

 Dec. 23th, 1666, also by the Secret Nota of the Most High and Mighty 

 States of Zeeland Dec. 4th 1666 and in various other letters. ( ) 



