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  • De Stael Letters

The Van der Stael Letters

Pieter van der Stael arrived at the Cape of Good Hope with his wife and children on 5 March 1656 to start his tour of duty as "sieckentrooster". He was to replace his cousin Willem Barentsz Wijlant, who left for Batavia five days later on the tenth of March. One of the duties of the 'sieckentrooster' was to report regulary on church matters to the Classis Amsterdam.

The letters from Pieter van der Stael to the Classis Amsterdam cover the period 6 April 1652 to 14 May 1663. The first letter covers the activities from 6 April 1652 to April 1655 and were recorded by his predecessor. His last letter was dated 14 May 1663 when he was on the point of departing to the Batavia and hoping to join his brother-in-law, Jan van Riebeek, on Malaka.

A total of nine letters sent by him are found in the archives, covering page 1 through 37 and numbered as nos. 1 throug 9. From the letters themselves it became clear that at least ten letters were sent, but the one between number three and number four is missing. There is also an indication that another letter was sent to the classis in 1664, but I have not found a trace of it yet and gave it a provisional number of no. 3bis. In the following transcripts the letters are numbered 1 to 9, and ordered on the date it was signed, and in the case of the missing letter, on the date sent.

In addition to the above mentioned letters, a tenth letter is included in this series. This letter is strictly speaking not part of the 'letters from the Cape' (inventory numbers 206-208), but is part of the letters from East India and comes from inventory number 186 "Ingekomen stukken betreffende kerkelijke zaken in Oost-Indië, 1655 april-1682 augustus 13" and is numbered as no. 118. This letter was Pieter van der Stael's last report of activities concerning the church and spiritual welfare at the Cape, written after he and his family arrived in Batavia on 16 Nov 1663. The letter is dated 20 Jan 1664 and also contains a verbratum copy of a letter/statement made by his succesor, Ernestus Back.

List of letters sent and the dates they cover

List of articles in category The Van der Stael Letters
Title Author Hits
1655 Apr 20 (letter no. 1, 6 Apr 1652 to 25 Apr 1655) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 9163
1657 Mar 5 (letter no. 2, 5 Mar 1656 to 23 Nov 1656) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 7115
1658 Apr 9 (letter no. 3, 13 Jan 1658 to 9 Apr 1658) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 7957
1659 Feb (letter no. 3bis - this letter is missing) Written by commented by Corney Keller Hits: 7301
1660 Mar 20 (letter no. 4, 15 Jul 1659 to 2 Mar 1660) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 8130
1660 Apr 28 (letter no. 5, 3 Apr 1660 to 16 Apr 1660) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 8394
1661 Mar 13 (letter no. 6, 10 Jun 1660 to 13 Mar 1661) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 8200
1662 Mar 31 (letter no. 7, 24 Apr 1661 to 14 Mar 1662) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 7605
1663, Apr 2 (letter no. 8, 21 Apr 1662 to 29 Oct 1662) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 7742
1663, May 14 (letter no. 9, 6 Apr 1663 to 15 Apr 1663) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 7777
1664, Jan 20 (letter no. 118, 6 Apr 1663 to 6 Sep 1663) Written by transcribed by Corney Keller Hits: 8271

Abbreviations and symbols used in these transcriptions.

<text> - indicate some text was inserted in between the lines or in the margin. Can also indicate text replacing other text.

[text] - indicates text that was deleted.

[...] - indicates unreadable text.

[xxx] - indicates unreadable text that was deleted,
[...] - idem.

[text] - indicates difficult to read text and what the transcribed thinks it may be.

ver - text in bold and italics indicates the text that is represented by a shorthand symbol. Could also represent a standard abbereviation expanded by the transciber.

: - a colon represents an abbreviation not interpreted by the transcriber. It is up to the reader to interperate and expand it.

7b:r = September

8b:r = October

9b:r = November

Xb:r = December (X in this case is the roman numeral for 10 - decem)

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  • 1655 Apr 20 (letter no. 1, 6 Apr 1652 to 25 Apr 1655)
  • 1657 Mar 5 (letter no. 2, 5 Mar 1656 to 23 Nov 1656)
  • 1658 Apr 9 (letter no. 3, 13 Jan 1658 to 9 Apr 1658)
  • 1659 Feb (letter no. 3bis - this letter is missing)
  • 1660 Mar 20 (letter no. 4, 15 Jul 1659 to 2 Mar 1660)
  • 1660 Apr 28 (letter no. 5, 3 Apr 1660 to 16 Apr 1660)
  • 1661 Mar 13 (letter no. 6, 10 Jun 1660 to 13 Mar 1661)
  • 1662 Mar 31 (letter no. 7, 24 Apr 1661 to 14 Mar 1662)
  • 1663, Apr 2 (letter no. 8, 21 Apr 1662 to 29 Oct 1662)
  • 1663, May 14 (letter no. 9, 6 Apr 1663 to 15 Apr 1663)
  • 1664, Jan 20 (letter no. 118, 6 Apr 1663 to 6 Sep 1663)

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