“Discoverers and First Finders”

Abstract The Dutch and English based their claims in North America on five legal principles: first “discovery”, governmental charters, legitimate purchase from rightful owners, actual occupation ( ius primae occupationis ), and conquest in a just war. Yet there was no international consensus on the ranking of these principles. Their use depended on what was considered most opportune at specific moments, as the diplomatic, political, and hierarchical context were obviously of importance. It also mattered on which side of the Atlantic the discussions took place. In my essay, I will argue that these five legal principles provide a useful lens through which to study both English and Dutch colonization attempts in North America between 1606 and 1630. The settlement of Jamestown in Virginia on the basis of a charter of James i was quickly followed by the exploration by Henry Hudson of the river that still bears his name. Subsequent Dutch trading voyages to the area resulted in the first European ship sailing up the Delaware. This was then used as an argument by Dutch merchants claiming exclusive rights of navigation on the river. The contacts of the Leiden Pilgrims with first the Virginia Company and then with Amsterdam merchants brought the argument of actual occupation into play. After the founding of the Dutch West India Company, complaints by the English ambassador Dudley Carleton spurred on Dutch discussions on how best to substantiate the claim of actual occupation. The result was based on the scholarly work of Leiden geographer Willebrord Snellius and may have found its way to Anglo-Dutch diplomatic exchanges through the intercession of Johannes de Laet. Actual occupation also played a role in the acquisition of Manhattan, legitimately purchased from the rightful owners, or so it was perceived by the Dutch at the time. As the correspondence between William Bradford and Isaac de Rasière shows, the English thought otherwise, however.