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Flip to First Protest Against Slavery in the New World, Germantown, PA, 1688.
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that it is unlawfull to steal, must lickewise avoid to purchase such things as are stollen, but rather help to stop this robbing and stealing if possibel. and such men ought to be delivered out of ye hands of ye Robbers, & made free as well as in Europe. then is Pensilvania to have a good report, in stead it hath now a bad one for this sacke in other Countries. Especially whereas ye Europeans are desirous to know in what manner ye Quackers doe rule in their Province, & most of them doe loock upon us with an envious eye. But if this is done well, what shall we say is done evill? If once these slaves (wch they say are so wicked and stubbern men) should joint themselves, fight for their freedom and handel their masters & mastrisses, as they did it, handel them before; will these masters & mastrisses tacke the sword at hand and warr Against these poor slaves, licke we are able to belive, some will not refuse to doe? or have these negers not as much right to fight for their freedom, as you have to keep them slaves? Now consider well this thing, if it is good or bad? and in case you find it to be good to handel these blacks at that manner, we desire & require you hereby lovingly that you may informe us herein, wch at this time never was done, viz. that Christians have such a liberty to do so. To the end we shall be satisfied in this point, & satisfie lickewise our good friends and acquaintances in our natif Country, to whose it is a terrour, or fairfull thing that men should be handeld so in Pensilvania. This is from our meeting at Germantown, hold ye 18 of the 2 month, 1688, to be delivered to the Monthly Meeting at Richard Warrels. gerret hendericks derick up de graeff Francis daniell Pastorius Abraham up den graef at our monthly meeting at Dublin, ye 30 - 2 mo: 1688, we having inspected ye matter above mentioned & considered of it we find it so weighty that we think it not Expedient for us to meddle with it here, but do Rather commit it to ye consideration of ye Quarterly meeting ye tennor of it being nearly Related to ye truth. On behalf of ye monthly meeting, Signed, P. Jo. Hart. This, above mentioned, was read in our quarterly meeting at Philadelphia, the 4 of ye 4th mo. '88, and was from thence recommended to the Yearly Meeting, and the above said Derick, and the other two mentioned therein, to present the same to ye above said meeting, it being a thing of too great a weight for this meeting to determine. Signed by ord ye meeting, Anthony Morris.

Credit: Haverford College Library, Haverford, PA, Quaker Collection, Coll. no. 990 B-R

Dated "ye 18 of the 2 month, 1688," the Germantown Friend's Protest Against Slavery was signed by Gerrit Hendricks, Derick op den Graeff, Abraham op den Graeff, and Francis Daniel Pastorius. Although it remains unclear as to who composed the petition, the document's writing style and the handwriting appear to match those of Pastorius.