The notarial records (Notariel Ardhief) in the Amsterdam town archives (Gemeente Archief) offer a rich source of data on Dutch West African trade for the period between the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries. In 1962 Patricia Carson published a fairly extensive list of references to these records for the years between 1651 and 1709, indicating thereby the importance of the notarial documents as a source material. However, to my knowledge this material has not been systematically examined by historians of West Africa. The purpose of this note is to draw once again the attention of historians to these documents. My comments are to be considered as supplementary to Carson's account.

The notarial records are, to put it mildly, extraordinarily voluminous. The prospective researcher should allot himself or herself a minimum time of about six months if he or she intends to examine even a representative sampling of the records in a thorough manner. Unfortunately, the records are neither catalogued nor indexed as far as the West African data are concerned, hence the researcher must read a great deal of superfluous material in hopes of coming across references to West Africa. The records are not easy to read, so it is not possible to ‘skim’ through the folios in the hope of spotting a West African place name. Each folio must be carefully examined. The records are in Dutch and the handwriting is in the Gothic script. Although the handwriting is generally clear and legible, it is remarkably -- indeed almost unnaturally-small, so that a magnifying glass would be an asset.