US History

Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)

This collection uses primary sources to explore Dutch New Netherland.

An 1858 print depicting the encounter between Henry (Hendrick) Hudson and Native Americans.

A Dutch map depicting North America from present-day Canada to Virginia, circa 1655.

This Dutch map depicts New Netherland, neighboring European colonies in Canada, New England, and Virginia, and Native American settlements throughout the region. The inset in the lower right depicts the city of New Amsterdam.

An eighteenth-century wampum belt.

Wampum is a string or belt of beads that held both monetary and ceremonial value for Native American groups in the Northeast. Wampum beads were made from shells. In New Netherland, the Dutch traded European goods for wampum with the indigenous peoples who lived near the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound, where shells were in large supply. The Dutch then traded wampum, as well as other goods, with the Native Americans who lived near the Hudson River Valley in exchange for beaver furs. Wampum was also sometimes used as currency between Europeans in New Netherland. This particular example of wampum dates to the era of the American Revolution and belonged to the Seneca people of western New York.

The West India Company’s Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, 1629.

This document established the land distribution system that the Dutch West India Company used to try to increase settlement in New Netherland. In this system, a *patroon* was a person who received a piece of land from the West India Company. As part of the deal, the *patroon* was expected to bring and oversee at least fifty colonists to live and work the land. Most *patroons* were not very successful in recruiting enough settlers to make the large pieces of land profitable. Rensselaerwyck, located near the present-day Albany, was one of the few successful *patroonships*. 

A contract recording the sale of land along the Hudson River from Mahican Indians to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, 1630.

This document includes a typed translation on the second page. This document records the sale of a large piece of land near present-day Albany, New York, by a group of Mahican Native Americans to Kiliaen van Rensselaer. Van Rensselaer was a diamond merchant and leading officer of the West India Company. Van Rensselaer used this land to establish the *patroonship* of Rensselaerwyck, one of the most successful *patroonships*, or settlements, in New Netherland. The document was signed by Peter Minuit, director of New Netherland, and other colonial administrators. The original document is in Dutch and the translation was provided by A.J.F. van Laer and Charles Gehring and made available by the New York State Library.
		
Additional individuals mentioned in this document include Bastiaen Janssen Crol, the commander at Fort Orange, the fur trading fort near present-day Albany; Wolffert Gerritsz, who had been appointed by van Rensselaer to help secure and administer his patroonship; and Gillis Hosset, a West India Company agent who led a short-lived Dutch settlement on the Delaware Bay. The document includes the phrase *tanquam actor et procurator in rem suam et propriam*, latin for “as an actor and his business manager,” and the word *schout*, which was a colonial administrative title. Manhattan is referred to as *Manhatas*.

A series of drawings for the proposed coat of arms of New Netherland, 1630.

These drawings were proposed coats of arms for New Netherland and New Amsterdam in 1630. The use of the beaver represented the trade in beaver furs. The lions and white crosses were references to the coat of arms of old Amsterdam. The letters GWC represent the West India Company (*Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie* in Dutch). The crown represented the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, which ruled the Netherlands. The far right seal was accepted to represent New Netherland, but ultimately both the left and central seals were rejected for the city of New Amsterdam. 


A print depicting the early settlement of New Amsterdam, published in 1651.

This view shows the early development of New Amsterdam, a small but busy trading center with a population of only several hundred people. New Amsterdam was located on the southern tip of Manhattan.

A map showing the original land grantees in New Amsterdam, 1897.

The land in the city of New Amsterdam was distributed by the West India Company. On this map, each shaded space notes names of the original landowners as well as properties that belonged to the company, such as the bakery, brewery, and garden. 

A 1660 map of the city of New Amsterdam called the Castello Plan.

The Castello Plan is a map of New Amsterdam created by surveyor Jacques Cortelyou in 1660. It provides a detailed view of the layout and land use in New Amsterdam, including Fort Amsterdam, streets, homes and businesses, the canal, and the wall along the northern edge of the city that was built to keep the British out. The Castello Plan represents New Amsterdam around the peak of its settlement under the Dutch, with a population of several thousand. The name of the Castello Plan comes from the Villa di Castello, an estate near Florence, Italy, where the map was rediscovered in 1900.

An excerpt from *A Description of The New Netherlands* by Adriaen van der Donck, ca. 1653.

In this book, Adriaen van der Donck provides a detailed record of the people, government, economy, and lifestyle of New Netherland. This excerpt is from a section of the book framed as a conversation between a Dutch person (“Patriot”) and a New Netherlander about life in the colony, specifically related to its relationships with its neighbors, expectations for new settlers, and trade opportunities. The excerpt begins several pages into this section, or in the middle of their “conversation.”

A lawyer by training, Van der Donck was hired by *patroon* Kiliaen van Rensselaer as an administrator for Rensselaerwyck and arrived in New Netherland in 1642. Several years later, Van der Donck was granted a large tract of land north of Manhattan. He became an influential political leader in New Amsterdam and a rival to Peter Stuyvesant. Van der Donck advocated for New Netherland’s residents to be recognized as full Dutch citizens with a say in municipal government, while Stuyvesant favored a more undemocratic system of governance in which his word was law. With his expanded landholdings and political influence, Van der Donck was referred to as *Jonkheer*, or “young squire,” which evolved into the name of the present-day city of Yonkers, where his estate was located. 

A transcript of the ordinance from the Director and Council of New Netherland granting “half freedom” to a group of enslaved men, 1644.

This ruling by colony director Willem Kieft (spelled William Kiefe in this document) offers an example of “half freedom” in New Netherland. It grants the freedom to farm and work independently to a group of formerly enslaved Africans including Paulo Angola, Big Manuel, Little Manuel, Manuel Gerrit de Reus, Simon Congo, Anthony Portugies, Gracia, Peter Santomee, Jan Francisco, Little Anthony, Jan Fort Orange, and their wives. However, their status is referred to as “half freedom” because there were conditions to their freedom. They had to pay the West India Company annually for their freedom and serve the company if called upon. Also, their children would remain enslaved to the company. 

Slavery was practiced throughout New Netherland as early as the 1620s. The system in New Netherland was different in some ways from the system that existed later in the British colony of New York. For example, enslaved men and women generally had equal access to protections of the courts and a select number of enslaved people were granted degrees of freedom, including “half freedom” and full freedom.

Excerpts from *Voyages of the Slavers St. John and Arms of Amsterdam, 1659, 1663*, documenting the Dutch slave trade to New Netherland.

New Netherland’s last director, Peter Stuyvesant, dramatically expanded New Netherland’s, and specifically New Amsterdam’s, role in the slave trade among Africa, the West Indies, and North America. While slavery in New Netherland was unique in some ways, it was similar to practices elsewhere in the American colonies in that Africans were kidnapped, exported, traded, and sold against their will for the purpose of unpaid labor. Most enslaved Africans in New Netherland belonged to the West India Company and labored to help build and support the colony. (This document uses the long “s,” which looks like an “f.” The Caribbean island of Curaçao was another Dutch West India Company colony.) 

An excerpt from the minutes of the court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck, circa 1652.

These minutes from the local court reveal the lives and disputes of the residents of Beverwyck and Fort Orange. Fort Orange was the West India Company’s primary fur-trading fort, located near the junction between the Mohawk and Hudson (then North) Rivers. Beverwyck was the main settlement that surrounded the fort. Both were located near present-day Albany. In the span of several months that this excerpt represents, the court heard from professionals as diverse as bakers, magistrates, and brewers about issues such as land use and home construction, slander, marriage, and the inconsiderate construction of a pigsty. The court also heard from both men and women as well as Cathalina Sanders, referred to in the minutes as a “negress,” likely an enslaved woman. 

An excerpt from the *Journal of Jasper Danckaerts* on his arrival in New York, formerly New Amsterdam, in 1679.

Jasper Danckaerts was a Dutch traveler who kept a journal during his visit to New York, formerly New Amsterdam, in 1679-1680. Visiting fifteen years after the British takeover, Danckaerts encountered a city that retained much of the unique character that it had under the Dutch. In this excerpt, Danckaerts records his arrival and first days in New York, describing the layout and key features of the city as well as his experience going to church in the fort (formerly Fort Amsterdam).

An excerpt from the *Journal of Jasper Danckaerts* on his travels in present-day Brooklyn, formerly part of New Netherland, in 1679.

Jasper Danckaerts was a Dutch traveler who kept a journal during his visit to New York, formerly New Amsterdam, in 1679-1680. Visiting fifteen years after the British takeover, Danckaerts encountered a city that retained much of the unique character that it had under the Dutch. In this excerpt, Danckaerts records his visit to Long Island, or present-day Brooklyn, across the East River. Danckaerts encountered a number of families that had settled there while it was under Dutch rule: a woman of Walloon descent, Native Americans, and other Dutch and European residents including Jacques Cortelyou, who was born in the Netherlands of French Huguenot parents. Cortelyou was the surveyor who had produced the Castello Plan in 1660.

Questions

1. Examine the [image of Henry Hudson’s arrival](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1342). Describe how Hudson’s crew and Native Americans are depicted. Based on the image, what did the artist want to convey about this encounter? What may have been different about the way this encounter actually happened?
2. Do a close reading of the [Dutch map of the North American colonies](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1343). Identify land features that are recognizable on a present-day map, such as Long Island, Manhattan, Cape Cod, Cape May, and the Chesapeake Bay. What audience did the creator have in mind for this map? Why did the mapmaker include images representing wildlife and a Native American settlement? What does the map suggest about the Native American population of the region? Identify locations referenced in other sources, such as Rensselaerwyck, Beverwyck, and New Amsterdam.
3. Examine the [proposed coats of arms](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1347) and use the item description to identify the significance of the imagery in each one. Which elements are most prominent in each design? Based on the imagery, what did the artist think were the most important aspects of New Netherland’s government and culture?
4. Use the [early depiction of New Amsterdam](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1348), the [map of original land grantees](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1349), and the [Castello Plan](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1350) to examine the development of the city of New Amsterdam from its early years to its peak under Dutch rule in about 1660. What continuities and changes are evident over this approximately thirty-year span? 
5. The [land contract](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1346) for the purchase of Rensselaerwyck says that this large piece of land was purchased by Van Rensselaer from the Native Americans for “certain quantities of presents.” Based on the description of trade in New Netherland in the overview and the items in this set, what might these “presents” have been? 
6. What do the [ordinance](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1352) and the [excerpt from the *Voyages of the Slavers St. John and Arms of Amsterdam*](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1353) reveal about how the system of slavery worked in New Netherland?
7. Identify the different individuals, families, and groups that Jaspar Danckaerts encounters in his [first excerpt from his journal](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1355) or the [second excerpt from his journal](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1356). What does this mix of people suggest about the population of New Amsterdam and its surrounding settlements?

**Advanced Discussion Questions**

8. How does the [Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1345) address the role of Africans in the *patroon* system in Article 30? What does the charter make clear about the presence of African people? What does it leave vague or unclear about their status? 
9. Do a close reading of the [land contract](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1346) for the purchase of Rensselaerwyck. Translate each section into more contemporary language to describe what is taking place in your own words. What reference can you find to the sale price paid for this piece of land? Consider this transaction from the Mahican, or Native American, perspective. How might this document have been different if it were drafted by the Mahican sellers, rather than Dutch administrators?
10. Using the [excerpt from Adriaen van der Donck’s book](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1351), explain how he characterizes the future of the colony through the voice of the “New Netherlander.” 
11. Based on the [excerpt from Adriaen van der Donck’s book](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1351), the [court minutes from Beverwyck and Fort Orange](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1354), and Jaspar Danckaerts’s writing in the [first excerpt from his journal](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1355) or the [second excerpt from his journal](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1356), what can you infer about everyday life in New Netherland? Consider what the documents reveal about residents’ occupations, their concerns, and their interactions with each other.

Activity

Using the sources in this set, ask students to imagine themselves as residents of the bustling city of New Amsterdam around 1660. Students should create their own identity inspired by the people mentioned in the sources. For example, students may elect to be a colonial administrator who works at the Fort, a formerly enslaved person granted half freedom and living on their own farm, a West India Company merchant, a *patroon*, or a traveler visiting the colony. Ask students to briefly introduce their “characters” including their names, backgrounds, and occupations. Then, inspired by Jaspar Danckaerts’s writing in the [first excerpt from his journal](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1355) or the [second excerpt from his journal](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/dutch-new-netherland/sources/1356), ask students to write a journal entry about a day in New Amsterdam from their chosen character’s perspective. Journal entries should take into consideration a person’s daily activities as well as the ways in which they might encounter or interact with other “characters” in the classroom. 

Teaching Guide: Exploring New Netherland

Resources

1. [Digital Exhibitions](https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/), New Netherland Institute. 
2. [New Amsterdam History Center](http://www.newamsterdamhistorycenter.org/). 
3. [Dutch New York](http://www.thirteen.org/dutchny/), PBS. 

Overview

In September 1609, Henry Hudson and his crew, sailing for the Dutch East India Company, entered what is now New York Harbor and began traveling up the river that would later bear his name. The company had asked Hudson to find a northern route between Europe and Asia to give them an advantage over competitors. While the river did not provide a route to Asia, Hudson took notice of the region’s riches: lush natural resources, a protected harbor on the Atlantic, and an abundance of beavers, whose fur was valuable in Europe.

Hudson’s report of his discovery inspired settlement of the colony New Netherland. Over the next six decades, New Netherland grew to include parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The colony started as a series of fur trading forts along the Hudson River (then called the North River), specializing in trade with Native Americans for beaver furs. The fur trade served the interests of Dutch merchants, who ultimately unified as the West India Company (founded 1621). 

Between the 1620s and 1660s, the colony grew as a result of a number of influential leaders and initiatives. In 1626, colony director Peter Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan from Native Americans and built Fort Amsterdam, later surrounded by the city of New Amsterdam, on its southern tip. In 1629, the West India Company established a system of land distribution to encourage settlement in the colony. In the 1640s, director Willem Kieft expanded the southern and eastern boundaries of the colony, but came into conflict with neighboring Europeans, Native American allies, and the residents of the colony. The last director of New Netherland was Peter Stuyvesant. Under Stuyvesant, the colony’s multicultural population—diverse European ethnic and religious groups, Africans, and Native Americans—grew. The colony flourished between 1647 and 1664. After years of tension between New Netherlanders and New England settlers, however, British forces sailed to New Amsterdam in 1664 and demanded surrender. With no military resources to defend the colony, Stuyvesant was forced to hand it over and it was renamed New York. 

English

Dutch New Netherland

dutch-new-netherland_02_ff1af97216a2af09ecf7821cbf772bbb.jpg

Courtesy of the Newberry Library via Illinois Digital Heritage Hub.

Visscher, Nicolaes, “Novi Belgii, Novaeque Angliae nec non partis Virginiae Tabula,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/9e99239d141f36e96f153ada3f79d2b1. 

A Dutch map depicting North America from present-day Canada to Virginia, circa 1655.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 2 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Dutch New Netherland