Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University

(1591-1631), a director from Dordrecht, submitted a formal request that all three be permitted to
attend, even though they would collectively be entitled to only two votes. 79 This request was
rejected by the other assembled delegates on the grounds that it violated the terms of the charter,
but all three Maas delegates were permitted to remain at the meeting.
The same was not true at the next meeting, held in March of 1624, and the conflict
became increasingly acrimonious thereafter. The representatives of the States General—
Hendrick Feyt, Johan van der Meer, and Nicholas Schaffer—had already consulted on the matter
the previous week and concluded that the Maas could only appear with two delegates, but the
disruption the dispute caused to the meeting’s progress became so severe that they shifted
strategies again and again to try to find a resolution. 80 Their methods included putting the
question to a majority vote, asking a subcommittee to make a recommendation, and requesting
the delegates to consult with their principals. Finally, when the Maas delegates refused to attend
unless all three were admitted, the representatives of the States General resorted to sending the
chamber keeper to the delegates’ private accommodations to execute a formal summons. 81
None of these methods worked, as De Witte and his colleagues held stubbornly to the
position that the charter spoke only of votes, not delegates, and that their principals would not
permit them to negotiate on this point. 82 Failing to gain approval, they were instructed to leave
the meeting—a prospect that contained within it the thinly veiled threat that the chamber would
withdraw its capital from the company altogether. Separately, De Witte made a proposal on
behalf of his own city, Dordrecht, to deliver an investment of 500,000 guilders in exchange for
79 NA 1.05.01.01 inv.nr. 1, entry for October 10, 1623.
80 NA 1.05.01.01 inv.nr. 39, entry for March 13, 1624.
81 NA 1.05.01.01 inv.nr. 1, entries for March 16-March 25, 1624.
82 Ibid., entry for March 22, 1624.
119