This is the last of three volumes to document the administration of the Dutch-controlled colonies that were under the jurisdiction of New York's first governor, Sir Edmund Andros. The documents range from official correspondence, reports and notes, to court minutes.

This volume describes the laws and ordinances from the colony of New Netherland from 1647 to 1658 and writs of appeal from 1658 to 1663. The laws reveal the legal thinking of the Dutch on subjects such as Indians, smuggling, crime and everyday issues including wages, fencing and land allocation.

The records in this volume represent the oldest surviving archival papers of the Dutch community that eventually became Albany. Although the Dutch first visited this area in 1609, records were first maintained in 1652 by officials of the village of Rensseleraerswijk.

Volume XII of the Dutch Colonial Manuscripts contains the correspondence of Petrus Stuyvesant, director general of New Netherland from 1654-1658. It represents the earliest surviving correspondence, comprising letters from the directors in Amsterdam and the governors of neighbouring colonies.

This volume is a collection Petrus Stuyvesant's correspondence from 1647 to 1653, the first six years of his tenure as director general of New Netherland. These letters show how the young Stuyvesant handled major problems in his administration and confronted the challenges laid before him.