To all whom these presents may concerne, greeting etc.
Know yee that the ship called the holy gost of Amsterdam of the burthen about 160 tune beeing taken as a prize and carried away out of the Roade of the Iland of Barbados by some seamen and some planters and Inhabitants of the said Iland, the said Ship and company in their sayling Faling upon the coasts of new England were mett with at sea about 50 leagues from our harbor of Boston in great extremity, wanting provision, by a ship bound from London to our Ports whoe supplied them for there present need and pilatted them into one of our harbors called Natasket[2] where there is not a fort to bring a ship under Command. the Councell hearing of such a ship lying there sent to the Capt and company of the said ship and invited them to come into our harbor at Boston, they being afrade so to doe by reason (as the Councell was enformed) they were told that if they came into the harbor the Capt and Company should bee imprisoned and the ship seased. afterwards the Capt coming a shore, as alsoe some of the company, the Capt was arrested and some of the company were imprisoned, who were examined apt [apart] what ship it was they had taken and whence shee was, whither of Holland or of Spayne,[3] or wheather they had used any cruelty to any of the Company they tooke, either by wounding, killing or setting any of them ashore upon any Iland or other place to the endangering of there lives. they all agreed in one relation that no such thing was done by them or any man hurt, And there beeing not any person heere to enforme against the[m] and they making it appeare by a dutch certificate under the seale of Amsterdam and by other dutch writings w'ch are extant with us found in the seisd ship, that shee was a dutch ship of Amsterdam sett out by diverse Marchants of that citty, the councell released the said Capt and the rest w'ch had beene inprisoned, And sent to the rest of the ships company that they might freely come into our harbor, where they should have trafficke and protection from all Injuries and liberty of trade with any of our inhabitants as any other ships whatsoever, the ship afterwards came into Salem harbor,[4] And the Governor gave order to have the whole Cargo of goods to be brought ashore, that theire might bee a true Invoyce taken thereof, that the state of England[5] might have the tenth. And the rather because it was reported to be a vessell of great treasury And the account thereof might be expected from the goverment, being brought in to this Jurisdiction, And to the end there might be the better satisfaction given to such as might inquier after it. In Wittnesse of the premisses I have hereunto sett my hand and caused the seale of the Colony to be afixed.
This is A true Coppie Compared with the originall
per Edward Rawson, Secret'y.
[The words "Jno. Endecott Gov'n'r and the seale of the Colony" appear in the margin.]
[1] Mass. Archives, vol. 60, p. 174.
[2] Nantasket.
[3] England and the Dutch were now at war (1653-1654), and the ship if Dutch might be good prize, but there was no war with Spain.
[4] There are several entries regarding it in the Records of the Essex Quarterly Courts, I., but under the name of the Happy Entrance.
[5] The Commonwealth government.