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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | An Oath of Allegiance [to the English Crown], Signed by Walloons Emigrating to Virginia |
| Author | de Forest, Jessé |
| Date | 1621 |
| Document Type | Correspondence; Legal Papers |
| Reference | MFQ 1/565 |
| Library / Archive | The National Archives |
| Collection Name | Privy Council and Related Bodies: America and West Indies, Colonial Papers (General Series) |
| Description | One of the earliest 'round robin' documents in the world, requesting permission from the English Ambassador to the Hague for a group of Huguenot protestants to emigrate to Virginia to found a protestant colony. The would-be colonists wished to escape Catholic Belgium, therefore their names were signed in a circle to prevent the ring-leaders being identified if the petition fell into the wrong hands. |
| Series Description | This series relates to the American and West Indian colonies and includes some records of the Board of Trade. It ends virtually in 1688, after which date most of the American papers are to be found in CO 5, and the West Indian ones in CO 318 and under the various colonies. |
| Biographical Note / History | The petition was granted on condition that the settlers did not live together once they reached America. The Walloon group refused to accept such a condition and instead, were given permission to set up a colony a year later in the West Indies as agents for the Dutch West India Company. The colony failed, however, many of the Walloons found their way to the mouth of the Hudson River and founded what eventually became New York City. |
| Theme(s) | Motives for Emigration |
| Country (from) | Belgium |
| Country (to) | United States of America |
| Places | Virginia, United States |
| Nationality | Walloon; Belgian |
| People | Carleton, Sir Dudley |
| Keywords | government, legislation, petition, children, women, emigration, labourer, Catholicism, Protestantism, religion, persecution |
| Additional Information | Item extracted from CO 1/1: America and West Indies, Colonial Papers. |
| Language | French |
| Copyright | Crown Copyright documents © are reproduced by permission of The National Archives London, UK |
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