and Vaudois, and likewise the oath, with the amendment
that, instead of fifteen, the term of contract would only-
last five years, and if any one found even that period
too long, that he would have the liberty to request the
Seventeen to make it shorter, and that the latter would
be bound to do so, should the request be found reasonable.
" The oath to be taken by all freemen, without exception,
was as follows : — ' I promise and swear that I will be true
and faithful to the High Mighty Lords, the States-General
of the United Netherlands, as our Highest and Sovereign
Government ; to His Highness the Lord Prince of Orange,
as Governor, Captain, and Admiral-General, and to the
Directors of the General Chartered East India Company
in the said lands ; likewise to the Governor-General and
Councillors of India ; and finall}' to all Governors, Com-
manders, and Commanding Officers, who may be placed
over me during the sea voyage and afterwards on land.
That I shall faithfully in every respect, and according to
my ability, maintain and carry out all the Laws, Placcaten,
and Ordinances issued, or still to be issued by the Lords
Directors, the Governor-General, and the Councillors of
India, or the Governor or Commander at the place of my
future residence ; and further, in every sense, conduct
and behave myself as a good and faithful subject ought
and is bound to do. So truly must God Almighty heli*
me.'
" No passage was to bo allowed to such as wore of tlie
Roman Catholic religion."
On the 20th of October of the same year (1(385), all
88 Rambles throtigh the Archives of
these conditions were finally confirmed and adopted by the
Seventeen, with the further amendment that the passage-
money for an adult was reduced from f.300 to f.150, and
for children below twelve years from f.l50 to f.75. The
oath remained unchanged.
Eight days later, the Eev. Pierre Simond, a fugitive
Huguenot minister at Zierikzee, was appointed French
minister at the Cape, with a salary of f.90 per month.
As they had now positively decided to enlarge their
Colony at the Cajie, the Seventeen directed the various
Chambers on the 5th of November, 1G87 : (1) to send out
thither with the first departing ships as many colonists —
including French refugees and Piedmontese — as might be
inclined to go, whether agriculturists or tradesmen ; to
supply those having families with f.GO or f.lOO each, to
enable them to fit themselves out for the voyage ; and the
unmarried with f.30 or f.50 ; and (2) to report at the
next meeting the names of those who had already left,
and what each emigrant intended to take in hand after
arrival.
The matter was further considered on the 22nd of March,
1688, when the Seventeen received a letter from the States-
General, dated the 19th of February of the same year, and
addressed to the Amsterdam Chamber : —
" It stated that a portion of the poor fugitives from the
Valleys of Piedmont had taken temporary refuge in the
neighbourhood of Nuremberg — about 200 families, com-
jirising nearly 1000 souls: men, women, and children;
that all were trained agriculturists, and in addition ex-
perienced masons, carpenters, locksmiths, and coopers ;
that they had among them four ministers ; that all were
inclined to proceed to one or other Colony under the
dominion of the East or West India Companies, on the
one condition that they might be allowed, as far as was
practicable, to settle close to each other, in order to practise
their religion together to the Glory of God, and its further
future extension ; and that therefore their High Mighti-
the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 89
nesses desired the Seventeen to say whether they could not
find a suitable locality for a large number of these poor
people in one or otlur of the Company's districts."
As desired in the preceding session, lists were likewise
laid on the table of all the persons who had already been
sent to the Cape during the winter, both of the Dutch
emigrants and of the French fugitives ; whilst Com-
missioners were appointed to inquire into everything
connected with the subject, esi:)ecially the condition of the
Piedmontese fugitives or Yaudois, and advise the Board
accordingly. The chief promoters of the scheme added
one of their own number to this Committee, viz., Mons.
Schorer. The names of the other members were : Messrs.
de Muncq and Van Domburgh, of Zealand ; De Vries,
Corver, Decquer, and Bernard, of Amsterdam ; and Advo-
cate Van Dam. The names of the representatives of the
other Chambers are not mentioned.
On the following day (28rduf March, 1688), the French
and Vaudois presented a petition, that certain extra con-
ditions might be allowed them, besides those already
agreed to. Their sjookesman and representative was Jean
Pastre Marchand, who stated that he had been deputed
hy the French fugitives near Erlagh, and the Vaudoia
near Nuremberg — about 1700 in number— to plead their
cause.
Jt was referred to the Committee above mentioned, which
brought up their report two days later. The result was,
that it was decided to (1) despatch to the Cajie about six
or seven hundred of the fugitives who were near Nurem-
berg — the number that would be left if all who had lately
died, all the lame, halt and old were deducted, — on con-
dition that the States-General fitted out these people on
their arrival in the Netherlands, from the collections made
for them, without burdening the Comjiany in that respect ;
sent them on board the Company's sliip at Government
expense, and presented each with a small amount of money,
paid into tlie Company's chest, and which on their arrival
at the Ca])e would he recjuired for tlieir temporarv siijjport ;
(2) to depute Messrs. Van Zuit Polsbroek, Van de Bloc(|uery,
90 Bamhles tlirough the Archives of
and Advocate Van Dam, to the ITag^ne, in order to confer on
tlie s\il)ject with the Government there ; and (3) to grant
full powers to the Committee annnally investigating the
Company's affairs at the Hague, to arrange about the ships
required for the service, the time of departure and every-
thing else that would be found necessary.
On the 1st of April, 1688, the Seventeen considered the
report of these Commissioners, to which was annexed the
lists of the French and Piedmontese fugitives already sent
to the Cape as colonists by the last ships. It was found
that the number consisted of fifty-six men, twenty-nine
women, and forty-one children ; and that eleven men, four
women, and ten children were ready to leave in the Zuid
Bevelaiul, so that the grand total would be 151 persons.
I have already said that the Amsterdam Chamber had
on the 22nd of March, 1G88, received a letter from the
States-General, dated the 19th of February, previously,
regarding the I'iedmontese fugitives. That letter had
been written after the Committee appointed by their
High Mightinesses had reported that, notwithstanding
the general notice given to all the ofiicials throughout the
country, no portion of the collection made for the destitixte
fugitives, had as yet been i-eceived by the Receiver-
General, Mngisier Cornells Van Aarssen : and that they
had received a letter from the Evangelical Swiss Cantons
addressed to them from Zurich, dated the 9th of January
last, informing theui —
" That the Elector of Brandenburg would receive
2000 of the Piedmontese in his domains, and that ac-
cordingly the Cantons had decided to send thither in
the following spring a large number of fugitives ; that
a proper statement woi;ld l)e drawn up of the pecuniary
subsidies which would fall to their share, and be paid
out to them as soon as they left for their destination ;
that the rest of these poor people who would remain
behind to be sent elsewhere by God's Providence, would
likewise receive their portion for their support and con-
the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 91
solati(jn ; and finally that the Cantons would like to be
informed of the intentions of the States-General. That
the Commissioners had likewise heard and seen two per-
sons, named Jean Pastre and Jacques Guiot, deputed on
the 9th of November last year by a portion of the poor
Piodmontese in the neighbourhood of Nuremberg, as
shown by a deed signed by two of their ministers, in order
to request aid from the States-General, and that those
persons had informed them that the number of these un-
fortunates consisted of about 200 families, or 1000 souls,
having amongst them four ministers, &c, (see above), but
that on account of the winter season they could not come
down to Holland ; that the majority were in ^•ery great
poverty, and had received no assistance whatever ; that it
would be necessary for the States-General to render them
some assistance, provisionally, in their dire necessity, and
that the money which the Government might decide to
send, could be divided among tliem by the two deputies,
the ministers, and others who might be further appointed
for the purpose, so that each might receive a fair proportion,
and according to his necessities," &c.
But I fear that I am being tempted to give more ex-
tracts t^ian the spaoe at my disposal will allow, although
the importance of the sul)ieet requires that even the
smallest details should be known. Let it suffice for our
present purpose however, to state that large sums of
money were collected throughout the United Provinces
for the exiled Vaudois or Waldensians ; that the question
was considered whether they could not be settled in any
f)f the Netherland districts ; that the East and West India
Companies were re(| nested to inform the States-General
whether they could not accommodate any of the unfor-
tunates in one or more of their Colonies : that through
Jean I'astre and Jae(]nes Guiot — their representatives in
Holland — their number was civen as about 700 or 800
92 Rambles throiuih the Archives of
souls; that a lono; correspondence took place between the
States-General nnd the (.'oniieil of Seventeen, and that it
was finally agrt'(>d that the latter wotild receive the exiles,
on condition that the States paid the Company the sum of
f.lioO for each family of five persons, or f.r.O for each indi-
vidual, and that the Company would at that rate bear the
expenses of the fugitives from the timn of tlioir departure
fi'om Nuremberg uutil their arrival at the < ape ; that at
the latter pLice they were to be provided with wheat and
other necessaries of life for seven or eight months, on
condition of refunding these advances afterwards with
their own produce ; that they were likewise to be pro-
vided with deals and spars for building their cottages,
treated in every sense like native-born Netherlanders,
and secured eveiy benefit of the regulations as drawn up
and agreed to ; that the fugitives were at once to be in-
formed of the steps taken, by means of Jean I'astre or
otherwise, in order to submit an exact list of those willing
t<j proceed to the Cape on the conditions stated, and that
the necessaiy steps might be taken for their conveyance
to their destination ; that should the Vaudois around
^u^emberg refuse to emigrate on the conditions offered
them, the same proposals were to be made to others else-
where, without making the slightest distinction between
those of the valleys of the Duke of Savoy, or the natives
of such parts as the King of France had ac(iuired for him-
self bj- treaty ; but always with the understanding that
the niimber was not to exceed eight hundred ; and finally
that the Commissioners appniuted for the })urpose by tlie
States-General were recjuested and instructed to pay to
the East India ' 'ompany out of the collections in the hands
of the Receiver-General, the sum of f.40,000 for the benefit
of 800 riedmontese fugitives, and to take the necessary
steps to have all the money collected in the Provinces
and not yet paid in, at once transmitted to the Receiver-
General, to enable him to draw up an exact list for the
infornuition of the States-General, that a further distribu-
tion might be eflected in the best manner possible among
the ]iuor natives of the Piedmonteso valleys.
At the same time the Seventeen appeared to have l^en
the Cohuy of the Cape of Good Uope. O.l
very careful in their selection of emigrants ; for the
Arasterdam Chamber docliiied, on the 18th of January,
1688, to entertain the re(|uest of tlie Kev. Simond to
a})])oint a Committee to take down tlie names and ciinditiun
of those who had jn-esented themselves in large numliers
in order to proceed to the Cape, pix)vide<l that they received
a little support until the time of tlieir departure.
I'ut the negotiations proceeded uninterruptedly in the
case of the Yaudois, and, as both the Com])any and the
States-General believed, in accordance with the exju'essed
wisli of the fugitives. Suddenly, however, after all the
arrangements had been satisfactorily com]deted, and the
ship AHiinaar prejjared for the reception of 200 exiles, the
Amsterdam Chamber was compelled, on the 28th of June,
1G38, to minute as follows : —
" The Equipment Committee laid before the meeting an
extract from the journal of tlie Commissioners for business
affairs at the Hague, dated the 25th of June, 1688, regard-
ing the voyage of the VaTidois. It mentioned that the
latter had declined to go, and accordingly the Commis-
sioners advised that the })lan should be abandoned. This
advice was adopted, and the Committee instructed to de-
spatch the Alhuaar at once, that vessel having hitherto
liOfH (U'layed for tlic purpose."
94 Bamlles fliroKf/h the Archives of
CHAPTER XII.
But why did the Vaudois so suddenly make up their
minds not to proceed to the Cape ? A writer, already
quoted,* says, that " whilbt the arrangements were being
concluded, the Vaudois obtained employment in Europe,
and then declined to go so far away." But is this the
fact ? 'Tis true that the Archives abruptly end with the
bare statement that they had declined to go ; but as they
have told their own story through one of their most illus-
trious representatives and leaders, their great Pastor and
Colonel, Henri Arnaud, it is indispensable to listen to him
for a while, and hear from his lips that the Vaudois had
never intended to live elsewhere than in their native
valleys, and had always but one determined purpose,
to return thither, or die in the attempt. Twice they
failed, the third time they succeeded ; a handful of men,
barely 800 in number, performing feats of arms and
obtaining decisive victories such as have never been sur-
passed in history. That was the kind of work those men
of Nuremberg, or a portion of them, had been employed
upon, astonishing the whole of Europe, and compelling
the Duke of Savoy to join the grand alliance, and likewise
turn his arms against France.
But let Arnaud tell his own story, of which we give as
much as is necessary for the proper comprehension of this
period of the Archives : —
" The Vaudois inhabit three valleys at the northern
extremity of Piedmont, viz., those of Lucern, St. Martin,
and Perouse, under the dominion of the Duke of Savoy.
Their proper name Vallemes is derived from the Latin
word vallis, and not, as has been insinuated, from Valdo,
a merchant of Lyons. The Valley of Prajelas, or the
* Chronicles of Cape Commanders, p. 289.
tlie Colony of the Ccq^e of Good Hope. 95
Clusoue, is alsu iuhaLited by Vaudois, but subject to the
King of Frauce."
This being so, we can clearly see why, when the States-
General and the Seventeen spoke of the fugitives, they
mentioned the French and Vaudois as interchangeable
terms, expressing the same idea. But let us proceed : —
" After Louis XIV. had driven the Protestants out of
his kingdom, it was but natural for him to endeavour to
persuade the young Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II.,
to follow his example. The latter, however, persistently
refused, until he was informed that the French King
would undertake the work himself with 14,000 men.
Urged by fear, he thereupon commanded the Vaudois,
on pain of death, to demolish their churches, and submit
their children to the Koman Church for baptism. Having
in vain endeavoured to induce their Prince to cancel the
cruel order, they prepared for defence, and were attacked
on the 23rd of April, 1686. On the first and second day
they vanquished the French troops, and arrested the pro-
gress of the Duke's army on the heights of Angrogna ;
but on the third day, by some unaccountable fatality, and
unmindful of the thirty-two wars in which their fathers
had engaged for the sake of their religion, they suddenly
laid down their arms. Fourteen thousand of them were at
once thrown into thirteen prisons, and 11,000 died in
them from cold and heat, hunger and thirst. Only 3000
were again restored to liberty, but only to be banished
from their projjcrty and country. They took refuge in
Switzerland and elsewhere, being assisted by liberal col-
lections made for them in England, llolhind, Germanj',
and Geneva.* Colonies were formed in the Duchy of
* Tho Duke of Savoy, Victor Amndcus II . nf'tor liavinp: nimlc peace
with the Vaudois, once said to Mons. Arnaud aud some of hiu com-
96 Rambles through the Archives of
Wiirtemberp;. tlie States of the Margraves of Durlach
(Baden), and Tlesse-Darmstadt, and the CWnt of Hanau.
Like moving skeletons, the survivors had arrived at
Geneva. The Swiss afforded thein sustenance. A large
number were spread through the Canton of Berne, but not
valuing life, unless spent wliere it was received, they
resolved, whatever might be the penalty, to return to
their valleys. Twice they made the attempt, and twice
they failed. But this determined conduct provoked the
indignation of the Beruois and the citizens of Zurich, who
convened an assembly of the Evangelical Cantons at
Aarau. The Vaudois of the greatest consideration were
invited to attend, and there told that they would no longer
be borne with, and were to withdraw with the rest of
their people from the cantons in which they resided.
Though surprised at this order, for since the failure of
their last enterprise the Swiss had continued to provide
them with subsistence, they steadfastly refused to emi-
grate to Brandenburg, and had but one reply, that they
only wished to return to their own country. Upon that
they were ordered to leave Berne within a fixed period.
They obeyed, but discovered to their amazement that they
rades who had captured a French couritr with despatclies, "You have
only one God and one Prinze ; serve them faithfully. Hitherto we
have been foes ; henceforward we must be friends. To strangers
(Louis XIV.), your misfortunes are to be attiibuted : but if, as is your
duty, you expose your lives for me, I also will expose mine for you.
and as long as I have a morsel of bread, you shall have your share."
All this sounded very well, but it is a pity thsit he had such a short
memory. However, Ariiaud's comment on it is as follows : " With
what justice the fate of the Vaudois was thus subj( ctod to the feuds or
friendships of these princes, I shall not discuss. I will simply remark
thiit God not only disunited these two powfrs, but permitted them to
turn against eac-h other those arms which had been united to destroy
the Vaudois at the very moment wiicn, after many and severe toils and
di.-;a|ij)ointments, they were at the point of overwhelming the Vaudois
nation, and exterminating it for ever."
the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 97
were everywhere affectionately treated, that the harsh
tone adopted towards them was the result only of State
policy, and that the secretary of the city had been in-
structed to provide them with a sum of money as soon
as they embarked on the Aar to proceed to Zurich and
Schaffhausen, and ultimately to sjiots still more remote.
They had likewise objected to proceed to Wurtemberg,
notwithstanding the most favourable offers made to them
by the Duke Frederick Charles ; they wished to keep united
as one body, and finally obtained permission to pass the
winter in the Cantons cjf Zurich and Schaffhausen. Large
sums were in the meanwhile being collected for them in
England and Holland ; and again they were urged to
emigrate to Brandenburg, but they persisted in their
declaration that they would not. TJie Swiss were now
really scandalized, and accordingly treated them without
ceremony, compelling them to sign an instrument by ichich
they promised to go wherever they loere ordered. 31. Ai-naud
himself signed it, hut at the same time protested against it as
extorted by violence."
After this, " the necessity of departure for Branden-
burg was so adroitly insinuated that 800 men, women,
children, and servants determined to comply, but it would
seem that Providence, who preserved this little flock for
an example of wonders, was unwilling to lead it to a
country where it could remain. For scarcely were they
beginning to be settled, before the train of proceedings
between the Dukes of Orleans and Xenbourg compelled
them to seek their safety in flight, lest they should fall
victims to the French, from whose fury they had already
too severely suffered. They at once resigned the estates
and privileges grunted them by the Elector Palatine,
and the offers of the Duke of Wurtemberg, who would
98 Ra miles through the Archives of
have employed the effective, and supported the remainder ;
and determined to seek their former asylum in Switzer-
land, where they were once more kindly received. But
though earning a living among the peasantry, the thought
of returning to their own valleys never left them ; hence,
when the spies whom they had sent out the year before,
had raised their hopes, and also informed them that the
Duke of Savoy had recalled his troops from the mountains,
they resolved forthwith to return, cost what it might."
That they came together in a large forest in the Pays
de Vaud ; that they were hardly GOO or 700 in number ;
that they formed themselves into nineteen companies, six
of which were composed of Protestant exiles from France ;
that they started from their place of rendezvous on the
16th of August, lG8t' ; that they were thirty days on the
march ; and that, to the world's astonishment, they gained
their object* — is a chapter of history that reads like a
romance. They did an immense service to the cause of
the Grand Alliance and its chief promoter, William III.
of England — " who having learnt, in an audience granted
to M. Arnaud, that the Vaudois persisted in their design
to re-enter their valleys, commended their zeal and piety,
and exhorted their pastor to keep them together that so
ancient a church might not be lost by separation." All
this and more is graphically descrilx'd by the minister,
who, in recognition of his genius and the great ability
* Arnaud speaks of himself as follows : — " Your attention, reader, has
l<oeii directed to events scarcely to be irangined. But with the
Vaudois you will impute tlitm only to (he Providence of God, "Wjio, to
render His presence more visible, choso for his chief iustrumeiit in this
wonderful struggle a man ignorant of arms or of war, excepting
with Satan. Is it not wonderful that such a person, after escaping the
pursuit of those who souglit to deliver him to the tliimes at Constance,
.slmuld have been aide to cflect a passage tiirough Savoy, taking as liis
prisoners the nob'cs and gentry of tlie land to bo witnesses of the
valour and discipline of the Vaudois? Was the victory of Salabert-
raun less than miraculous, where 800 men, most of whom had never
handled a musket, routed 2.500 regular troops, killing 600, with a loss
on their own side of only tiftoen ? "
the Colomj of the Cape of Good Hope. 99
displayed by him in the conduct of the expedition, so
successfully and gloriously terminated, received a Colonel's
Commission from William and Mary, the King and Queen
of England.
A little of their histor}' as a church, and of their suffer-
ings will not be deemed out of place here : —
" The Vaudois believe that they deserve the name of
Apostolical, and give their reasons. They do not, how-
ever, deem it necessary to go higher than when they
formed a part of the diocese of the Apostolic Claude, Bishop
of Turin, in the commencement of the 9th century, one of
the bishops who, with many distinguished Eomauists, dis-
claimed the authority of the Bishop of Eome. Born in
Spain, and famous for his talents, he was appointed Metro-
politan of the See of Turin by Lewis the Meek, who had
become alarmed at the progress of iconolatry in Italy. It