West India Company
Van Rensselaer was one of the first subscribers to the West India Company. As with the other subscribers, he contributed 6000 guilders to be a member of one of its chambers. Having paid his way, he was welcomed to the Chamber of Amsterdam, one of five Chambers of the West India Company, each located in a principal Dutch city. The Chamber of Amsterdam was the largest with twenty members, mainly due to the city's population, and represented four ninths of the management of the West India Company.