Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University

5. Wolter Schonenborch and the Rituals of Office
With four councilors—Van Goch, Van Beaumont, Haecxs, and Trouwers—in place, the most
important item on the agenda for the fall meeting of the Heren XIX in Middelburg was to select a
President, and quickly. The first three days of the meeting were consumed with news of the
Portuguese revolt in Brazil, which had arrived by ship the previous week. 79 But once all the
available intelligence had been sifted and preliminary measures taken to address the crisis, the
delegates turned to the issue of staffing the new council. Discussion began on September 13, but
was delayed by a complaint lodged by the representative from Groningen that Daniel Alberti, a
servant of that province and a former advisor to Maurits in Brazil, had been passed over for the
post of councilor. 80 This complaint was acknowledged, but not addressed, and the meeting
proceeded to name a committee to handle the matter of selecting a new President. The committee
was chaired by Jan van der Cameren, the senior delegate from the States General; its most
important members were David Baute and Johannes de Laet. 81 The committee took two
immediate actions: it dispatched letters inviting the accepted councilors to appear before the
meeting and it sought—and received from the larger meeting—authority to approach a fresh set
of candidates for the office of President.
The candidate nominated by the committee was Wolter Schonenborch, former
Burgemeester of Groningen and the province's deputy to the States General. 82 The reasons for
79 NA 1.01.07 inv.nr. 12564.17, Secrete notulen van de afgevaardigden van de WIC aan de vergadering van deer
Heren XIX, entries for September 11-13, 1645. See also the Notulen van de Kamer Zeeland, NA 1.05.01.01 inv.nr.
26, entry for August 30, 1645. The reception and circulation of this news is discussed in Chapter Three of the
dissertation.
80 NA 1.01.07 inv.nr. 12564.17 no. 23, entry for September 13, 1645. See also discussion of the complaint in the
chamber Zeeland, NA 1.05.01.01 inv.nr. 26, fol. 108, entry for September 9, 1645.
81 See Chapter Two.
82 NA 1.01.07 inv.nr. 12564.17, Secrete Resolutien gehouden byde Gecommiteerde van generael Westindische
Comp. ter vergaderinge der XIXe binnen Middelburch in Zeelandt, entry for September 19, 1645.
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