ABSTRACT
Brawling was an activity engaged in by ordinary people. It provides an interesting example of the limits Dutchmen set on themselves in the absence of official authority. The obvious starting point for any study of Dutchmen's fights is Pieter Spierenburg's Knife Fighting and Popular Codes of Honor in Early Modern Amsterdam. Colonial Dutchmen got into a lot of fights, but few were ever found accused of striking a blow without a considerable degree of preliminary posturing. In Batavia two courts dealt with brawling behaviors: the Raad van Justitie and the Schepenbank. In the region of Albany, New York, the court of Rensselaerswyck ran for four years before it was succeeded by the court of Fort Orange. Albany's records covered a wider range of men's ages and professions than Batavia's, and therefore seems to be the better source for discerning cultural norms around brawling.
