The Story of New Netherland
1609-1664
CS 150
New York State Social Studies
Standards
• STANDARD I – HISTORY OF THE
UNITED STATES AND NEW YORK:
Students will use a variety of intellectual
skills to demonstrate their understanding of
major ideas, eras, themes, developments,
and turning points in the history of the
United States and New York.
NYC ELA Performance
Standards
• E1c. Read and comprehend informational
materials.
• E2a. Produce a report of information.
• E2b. Produce a response to literature.
• E5a. Respond to non-fiction, fiction, poetry,
and drama using interpretive and critical
processes.
Performance Objectives
• Students will understand the development
and historical impact of New Netherland on
the history of New York and the United
States.
• Students will complete one of four projects
based on the information provided in the
presentation, as well as information
researched in textbooks, trade books,
reference materials and the Internet.
Beginnings of the Colony
(1492-1609)
• Since the 1400s, European
explorers have searched for
a westward passage to
Asia.
• Columbus, Cartier,
Vespucci and Verrazzano
all tried…and failed.
• In 1609, Henry Hudson
was hired by the Dutch
West India Company to find
a “Northwest Passage”
through North America to
Asia.
The Establishment of New
Netherland
• Hudson did not find the
Northwest Passage,
but he did claim the
land around New York
harbor for the
Netherlands.
• The Dutch West India
Company saw this
land as an opportunity
to establish a trading
post for beaver skins in
North America.
Establishment, cont.
• In 1614, the first group of colonists settle near
present-day Albany, at Fort Orange.
• Problems at the colony forced the Dutch to
abandon Fort Orange in 1624, for a new capital
down the river – New Amsterdam. The entire
colony was called New Netherland.
• In 1626, Peter Minuit,
director-general of New
Netherland, made an
agreement with the LenniLenape, guaranteeing Dutch
use of all of Manhattan Island
in exchange for various gems
and items.
• The picture on the left is the
letter Minuit’s secretary wrote
to his superiors in the
Netherlands. Called the
Schaghen Letter, it is the
only evidence we have of the
“sale” of Manhattan island.
Who were the Dutch?
• The Dutch came from The
Netherlands, a seagoing nation
in Northern Europe.
• Dutch power reached its
height in the 1600s, when they
established trading colonies in
Asia, Africa, Brazil, the
Caribbean and North America.
• New Netherland would be the
North American arm of an
empire that traded in spices,
sugar, coffee, furs and African
slaves.
• The Dutch were known as a
hard-working, orderly people
who tolerated diversity.
What did New Netherland look
like?
• New Netherland stretched up the
Hudson River to present-day
Albany and into New Jersey,
Connecticut and Delaware.
• The capital city was New
Amsterdam, but other
settlements included Haarlem,
Brueckelen, and Vlissingen.
• Outside the towns, land was
divided into huge farming estates
called patroons.
• The largest patroons include
Rensselaerwyck, and the estate
of Jonas Bronck (the Bronck’s).
What was the government in
New Netherland?
• New Netherland was a
corporate colony of the
Dutch West India
Company.
• Directors-General
governed the colony on
behalf of the company.
• They were responsible for
keeping order, maintaining
trade, and dealing with
Native American tribes.
• Colonists complained often,
both to the Company and to
the Dutch government.
Directors-General of New
Netherland
Peter Minuit
1626 -1632
Wouter van
Twiller
1633 -1638
Willem Kieft
1638 - 1647
Pieter Stuyvesant
1647-1664
Who came to New Netherland?
• The West India Company
had a hard time recruiting
Dutch settlers to New
Netherland because of
better opportunities
elsewhere.
• In response, the
company allowed anyone
willing to work to settle in
the colony.
• Promises of land and
riches drove the new
settlers to the colony.
Who came to New Netherland?
Cont.
• By 1664, the Dutch made up
only 50% of the population of
New Netherland. The rest
included English, French,
Italian, German, Spanish,
Portuguese, Polish and
African.
• Christians of all denominations,
as well as Jews and atheists
thrived in the colony.
• The first Jews arrived in 1654
and were allowed to stay—
against the Director-General’s
wishes.
“…this colony will soon become a babble
of confusion. We have here Papists,
Mennonites and Lutherans among the
Dutch, also many Puritans or
Independents and many atheists and
various other servants of evil…it would
create still greater confusion, if the
obstinate and immovable Jews came to
settle here…so wild a country, with so
many loose people…”
-- Pieter Stuyvesant, about 1654
How did colonists make a
living?
• The primary business of the
colony was beaver skins. Skins
were obtained by trading with
Native Americans at Fort Orange.
• These skins would then be
shipped to New Amsterdam,
where large ships would transport
them for sale in Europe.
• Beside furs, many colonists
worked in various trades in the
city, such as blacksmiths, barrel
makers, etc.
• Farms were found in small plots in
the city, as well as large rented
farms in the patroons.
What was life like for a
colonist?
• New Netherland was a
society divided into social
classes: The rich
merchants and landowners,
the tradesmen, the farmers,
workers, and slaves.
• Even for the very rich, life in
the colony was a hard
existence. In the city, people
lived in cramped houses like
in the Netherlands.
• Lack of services made it
impossible to keep as clean
as in Europe.
Colonial Life, Cont.
• Clothes, tools and other
equipment were made
by hand. There was no
running water,
electricity, or health
system.
• Most Dutch colonists
made items like those
found in their home
country, such as Dutch
doors, windmills and
Delft tiles.
Life Outside New Amsterdam
• For families living in the country, life was even more
difficult.
• Besides the normal problems of 17th century farm life,
rural farmers had to deal with the constant threat of
native attacks, making relationships with Native
Americans that much more important.
Case Study: Schools in New
Amsterdam
• The first school was
established in 1638 by
Adam Roelantsen. It
exists today as the
Collegiate School.
• By the 1650’s, schools
could be found as far as
present-day Albany.
• There were both private
schools and schools
supported by the West
India Company.
Report of the Board of Accounts in New
Netherland. 1644
Estimate of the Expenses which the [West India]
Company would have to bear in New Netherland
for the following persons, to be rationed at their
own expense :
1 director, whose monthly salary should be fl.
250 to board himself, is yearly
…………………………….…fl. 3,000
1 clergyman, a fl. 120 per month
……................………1,440
1 schoolmaster, precentor and sexton, a fl.
30................…360
Pictures of Colonial Life
How did the Dutch get along
with Native Americans?
• At first, the Dutch tried to maintain good
relations, because of the need for beaver skins.
• As more settlers moved in, the colonists took
more advantage of Native tribes to gain more
land.
Native Americans, cont.
• Colonists often tricked
tribes into warring with
each other, as well as
spread diseases such
as smallpox.
• Relations between the
two groups worsened in
1643, when Willem Kieft
attempted to tax
Lenape tribes in
Manhattan, causing a
brutal year-long war
known as “Kieft’s
War.”
“I value the blood of one
Christian more than that of a
hundred Indians.”
-- Pieter Stuyvesant
What was slavery like in New
Netherland?
• The first African slaves arrived
from Angola in 1626.
• The Dutch had established a
rich trade in slaves by the
1600s.
• Slaves were used in
construction, building roads,
as dockhands, on farms and
patroons, and as household
servants.
• Slaves were considered
property; they could not move
around or go where they
pleased.
What was slavery like in New
Netherland? continued
• In New Amsterdam, slaves
were often “rented” out to
colonists in exchange for a
fee, of which the enslaved
person received a small
amount. Some Africans
bought their freedom this way.
• The Dutch offered slaves
“half freedom.” Africans
could work small farms
outside of New Amsterdam,
but paid fees to their master
and were forced to defend the
colony in time of war.
What was slavery like in New
Netherland? continued
• Even freed Africans had restrictions. Africans could not
be out late at night. They were not allowed in the city
after a certain hour, and they had to live in certain areas.
• Recently, archaeologists have uncovered an African
burial ground in Manhattan, proof that colonial society
forced Africans to even bury their dead in a separate
location from whites.
This is the inside of a
typical slave ship. Notice
how they are packed
together.
This painting
depicts a
slave
auction in
New
Amsterdam
in 1643.
Fort Amsterdam,
improved and
maintained by
enslaved
Africans.
The Heer Straet, or
Bredeweg—today’s
Broadway—
maintained by
enslaved Africans.
The wall of New
Amsterdam,
constructed by
enslaved
Africans.
The canal—now
Broad Street—
probably dredged
by enslaved
Africans.
The dock, built by
enslaved Africans.
They also unloaded
much of the cargo.
Households that may
have used enslaved
Africans as servants and
farmhands.
The End of New Netherland
• By 1664, the English King
Charles II decided to offer New
Netherland to his brother James,
Duke of York.
• On August 27, An English fleet
sails into New Amsterdam, forcing
the Dutch to surrender.
• The colonists give up the colony
almost immediately—against the
Director-General’s wishes.
• The English give New Netherland
and New Amsterdam a new name
– New York.
• The next day, trade resumed as
usual.
Why did New Netherland fail?
• The fur trade was not the
money-making business the
Dutch hoped.
• The Dutch could never attract
enough colonists to settle in
North America due to better
opportunities elsewhere in
their empire.
• The English were growing
more powerful in the northern
and southern coasts of North
America, and they saw the
Dutch as the last piece to
owning the entire coastline.
Why did New Netherland fail?
• The colonists were fed up
with company government.
Company policies often
made free trade and
business difficult.
• The Company and the
Dutch government never
tried hard enough to
develop the colony,
preferring to make money in
the rest of their empire in
Asia, Brazil and the
Caribbean.
What was the legacy of the
Dutch?
Dutch Place Names in New
York
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Beaker
Blink
Bluff
Booze
Boss
Cookie
Coleslaw
Cruise
Dam
Deck
Dock
Easel
Freight
Filibuster
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Gin
Howitzer
Hoist
Holster
Landscape
Leak
Loafer
Loiter
Mannequin
Measles
Pickle
Plug
Pump
Roster
Schooner
Shoal
Skate
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Sketch
Sloop
Smelt
Smuggler
Snack
Split
Stove
Tickle
Trek
Trigger
Tulip
Waffle
Wagon
Wiggle
Yacht
Some
English
words
derived
from
Dutch
Objects brought by Dutch
colonists
Holiday and Sports Icons
New York – A center of international
business and finance
New York – A center of diversity. Different
peoples of the world living and working
together.
“If what made America great was
its ingenious openness to
different cultures, then the small
triangle of land at the southern tip
of Manhattan island is the New
World birthplace of that
idea…Manhattan is where
America began.” --Russell Shorto
The Island at the Center of the World
(2004)
Questions/Comments
• How did you like the presentation?
• What did you learn?
• Do you have any thoughts or
questions to discuss further?
• Would you like more information about
New Netherland and the Dutch
colonial experience?
Assignment – Projects
• Create an advertisement/brochure to
persuade possible colonists to settle in New
Netherland.
• Write a journal entry as a
colonist/native/slave/religious minority in
New Netherland.
• Create dioramas depicting scenes from the
history of New Netherland.
• Write a report on a significant person in the
history of New Netherland (Minuit, Kieft,
Stuyvesant, etc.)