In the first half of 1709(NS), Graffenried found himself in London trying to see if he could interest anyone in a mining project in America. His plans were tentative and he was waiting for a better offer from friends in London. On the way to London, he had considered a proposal made while he was in Holland, the nature of which he did not specify, to engage in an enterprise. But he decided that the potential reward from this activity would be insufficient to clear his debts. The mining venture looked as though it could offer larger rewards. In these early stages, Graffenried's interests were in mining, not in colonization.
Michel was negotiating in London on behalf of the Berne partners. Their interest was in colonization. The Bern city fathers had a group of Anabaptists who were being held in prison because of their religious beliefs. In times past, they had killed these people as a way of dealing with them but the emphasis now was on expelling them from the country. So, Michel and his partners had a base of people for colonization. This made the enterprise of a semi-official nature. The date of these proposals was April 28 (1709) and the name of Graffenried was not involved.
The year 1709 was an eventful year in London as more than ten thousand Germans descended on the city expecting to receive transportation from the Queen to America. The sheer number of the Germans influenced all official decisions made at this time. The proprietors of (North) Carolina wanted to secure a large number of these people as colonists but they wanted the Queen to pay their transportation. Michel had not had much success in selling Ritter's proposal for a colony of Swiss in Virginia so his attention was drawn toward Carolina. Graffenried's first interest was in Virginia where the silver mines were supposedly located.
Our understanding of the events is hindered by the paucity of documents which can help us. Also, the dates of the documents seem to be mildly inconsistent. On 28 Jun 1709, the Earl of Sunderland asks the Council of Trade for their opinion of an enclosed petition from several inhabitants of the Canton of Bern who propose a settlement on the frontier of Virginia. The document which is enclosed has the date of 11 July 1709. This petition is in the name of Michel and the language is very general but says the proposed colony would produce minerals, hemp, flax, wine, and salt. The document does not mention Graffenried nor is he a signer of the petition.
Almost immediately after this, Graffenried enters the picture. Just days later, he and Michel send a memorial to the English government which requests that all previous petitions and memorials of George Ritter be laid aside in favor of a new one. In the next note here, this memorial for settling a Swiss Colony in Virginia will be presented.
The best answer that I have for the dates is that they were not original to the documents. But after the English government was in possession of the documents, they added the dates. Thus there could be reversed order dates and in a short period there could be several documents as they had accumulated until the Board met.
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