When asked why he wrote a book on New Amsterdam, a tiny Dutch colony in the eastern United States, historian Russell Shorto’s answer was simple. “This was a colony that was largely overlooked by history,” he says, “and it wasn’t some colony that existed in a field somewhere, it was Manhattan. It was New York.
” Before New York was conquered by the British and given the name it currently bears, it was a tiny Dutch colony known as New Amsterdam. The Dutch settled in New Amsterdam 400 years ago, laying the foundation for the vibrant and multicultural city it remains today. The Dutch introduced policies of religious tolerance and ethnic diversity, making New Amsterdam one of the few places inhabited by people from all over the world, people of all religions and skin colours, united in their shared commitment towards tolerance and the pursuit of wealth, dignity and freedom.
An early sketch of New Amsterdam (Library of Congress) Although New Amsterdam is largely ignored by historians and New Yorkers alike, the influence of the Dutch is all over the city, if one only knows where to look. From its street names to its culture, New York’s Dutch legacy is undeniable and will be celebrated by the Dutch Embassy in Manhattan in honour of the 400th anniversary of Dutch settlement this year. Advertisement Hudson’s voyage The first known European to arrive in what we now know as New York was Henry Hudson, an English-born explorer employed by the Dutch East India Company.
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