Bride of the Darkness

Settlers

Amos Vega was one of the many Dutchmen who used to trade in furs at Fort Amsterdam of New Netherlands in the year 1655. His ancestors were the Sephardic Jews who were cornered toward migration firstly from their stronghold at Iberia in Spain and then from Portugal. Persecution was however no new term for the Jews. Since their very inception in the land of Israel they suffered from the hands of Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans and Christians. The irony lies in the fact that persecutors were not themselves safe from persecution as explicit from the Assyrian, Armenian and Greek genocides that filled the pages of history later on. As the founding step of oppression is not religion but the whims to declare Supremacy. Although due to the Roman Conquest, few Hebrew speaking, sons of Judas long migrated into the areas of Spanish peninsulas that emerged as Netherlands from the shadow of Spain in 1581, as a heaven for Christian Protestants, who wanted to practice their religion away from the clutches of Roman Catholic authorities, The majority of Marranos and Sephardic Jews settled in Dutch provinces, most notably Amsterdam around the wake of 17th Century in 1602. Deeply influenced by the teachings of John Calvin and the eighty years long war sustained by the Prince William of Orange and his successors for the autonomy of Protestants, Dutch authorities believed firmly in the principle of religious tolerance which acted as the main pull behind the migration of not only Jews but many other ethnic minorities and individuals who were oppressed for their thinking and religion in different parts of world.

These Sephardic Jews were mostly ''New Christian'' or the Converts from Judaism to Christianity, who even after conversion, were still suspected of practicing Judaism in secret and subjected to inquisitions by both Spanish and Portugal monarchy that lead to their immigration to Netherlands and other northern European countries. They were mostly referred as Portuguese Merchants who were accepted to dwell but not to practice their religion in open. Amos's father Michael Vega was a successful name in the trading of oil, almonds and sugar. They lived on the Herengracht, a wealthy suburb, quite segregated from the community's other footholds. Michael was a widower with only two sons Abraham and Amos in his family. He was on friendly terms with many wealthy and influential Dutchmen. There were Christians maids who served him and an hugely impressive amount of Guilders in his purse. While Abraham was deep in philosophy and religion, being a Rabbi who carried the Saturday congregation for his fellow community members in an empty warehouse building on the bank of Houtgracht canal, Amos assisted his father into the family business. He had a restless soul who craved for the unknown, to explore the unexplored shores; he wanted to be a Seafarer. But he knew his father will not allow him for such a life.

In the year 1954, the authorities of United Netherlands finally acceded to accord the Jews status of Dutch citizens and valid passports, to travel onto the lands and water through different part of world. Amos saw this as the opportunity he always waited for and thus proposed his father to partake trading on the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in New World. Though reluctant at beginning, his father very soon saw the huge profit that could be reaped from such a venture. There was less competition and high margin here and thus he allowed his younger son to travel on board on St. Catherine in the summers of the year 1955.

It took Amos a full week to get over the initial swells of sea sickness that made his stomach rumble with strange noises and his head dizzy half of the time he was awake. But when he stood on the deck of the ship and gazed at the blue mystery before him, his mind cleared. There was a new way of life, a country to explore, a place full of primitive men and beast. However St. Catherine took whole four months to reach New Amsterdam and such a long time made the mysterious blue immensely boring for Amos. He waited keenly for the land and the new adventures that awaited him on that soil.

Life in New Netherlands was no bed of roses; instead it was a hotpot of battles and hardships. The houses that traders like Amos lived were nothing more than a one storey high stone houses with very few relics of civilized life except mattresses, chest and pewter crockery. Few indulged in furniture made by the carpenters of the colony. There were few churches and public houses. They ate no dainty feasts, drank alcohol rarely and lived a grave life haloed by the fear of Indians forever.

It was not a particular good time for trading and there was no sight of any Indian or their furs for many days since the Dutch has proclaimed the war against New Sweden and were recruiting every able bodied man into the army. Day by day as he waited for any ripple in his stoic life Amos realized that the prospects of any trade are very dim until the war is over. Thus he readily enrolled himself in the Army and looked forward for an opportunity to honor his manhood. However there was not much scope to justify the image of war god that he had built for himself in his mind at the fort trinity and Christina as the Swedes were hugely outnumbered by Dutch and ready supply of ammunition, besides he was ordered to be stationed at the New Amsterdam and guard the fort along with 19 other men.

One day when he woke up after getting his usual rest post his night duty, there was a huge commotion, loud noise of people yelling at the top of their voices, As he came out of his hut, he saw a massive crowd of Indian men of different tribes yelling and cursing all over the town, Someone soon told him that a Dutchman shot down a Indian woman last night whom he caught stealing pears in his garden. Indians ambushed the fort and their angry leaders shouted at the Burgomasters, ready to launch a attack. It took a whole day for Burgomasters to pacify the wild men and make them wait at the Nutten Island until the higher Dutch authorities return to have a reconciliation talk and readdress their woes.

As Amos returned to his night duty the next day, he perceived the unusually loud animal sounds that always spoke of the presence of Indians nearby. They were ambushed and outnumbered by the hostile tribal. His revolver thrashed the shit out of many Indians. They were fighting a lost ground, but still they were fighting. He saw many Indian going down and he saw many Dutch men go down too, by the time a warrior's blade slashed his shoulder.

He killed some, who came in his way, but there were too many and they were swiftly moving toward the plantations and the houses settled on the edge of city. He knew there were innocent lives there that could not defend themselves from such an attack and thus he followed tribes. He battled and was already deep in the woods by the time Indian blades had torn his flesh one by one many times. Soon a war cry that resembled more the scooting of owl and loud chirping of birds stuffed her ear and the sharp pain made him reel on the earth. The last thing that he remembered was lots and lots of weight crushing his backbone and pushing the breath out of his lungs and the brown clay soaked crimson in his fist.