350 Years Ago: Happy Birthday to “New York New York”
This year we celebrate the 350th anniversary of the founding of New Netherland, the original Dutch colony that stretched north along the Hudson River to today’s Albany, south to today’s Delaware River, and east to Long Island and the banks of the Connecticut River. This Dutch colony in North America was not to last long—a mere 50 years—but the influences it has had on American culture continue today.
The history of New Netherland is a tale of two 17th century empires. After several years of warfare between the English and the Dutch, in March 1664 King Charles II ordered English warships to cross the Atlantic and lay siege to New Amsterdam (that part of New Netherland that is today’s Manhattan). When the warships arrived at today’s New York harbor in August 1664, the Dutch soldiers garrisoned at the Fort at the lower tip of Manhattan quickly saw that they were outgunned and outmanned, and decided to abandon the fight. Shortly thereafter, the treaty known as the “Articles of Surrender of New Netherland” was signed in September, and “New Amsterdam” became “New York”– named for the King’s brother, the Duke of York. The Dutch soldiers at the fort were unceremoniously taken prisoner and sent to Virginia to be sold.
But the conflict over control of New Amsterdam was not over. In 1673, England and the Netherlands were at war again, and King Charles II was himself at war with his own Parliament, which believed that Charles was a secret Catholic, and that he would enter into an alliance with Catholic Spain. Charles fought back, dismissed Parliament, and banished the members of his Court who he thought were conspiring against him.
While the two countries battled in Europe, and Charles was distracted with his own problems at home, in August 1673 a Dutch naval squadron under the command of Cornelis Eversten the Youngest sailed to New Amsterdam and seized it, placing the island back into Dutch control. “New York” was once again “New Netherland.”
During the short period of the Netherlands’ re-taking of New Amsterdam, and tired of war, King Charles commenced negotiations with Netherland’s ruler, William III of Orange, to end the conflict. The two warring nations agreed to make various economic concessions to each other, and the terms of peace were substantially concluded in January 1674. Colorfully, the following month the two kings sent trumpeters to their former enemies’ capitols to literally trumpet the peace accord, although the treaty not yet been officially signed.
Finally, the “Treaty of Westminster” was signed on February 9, 1674—350 years ago this month. Among the major terms of the treaty was a provision that New Amsterdam would be returned to England. In exchange, the Netherlands were confirmed in their rights to the island of Suriname, a valuable sugar-producing island in the West Indies that the Dutch had seized in 1667.
Today, New York is the commercial capital of the United States. For the last 350 years, it has also been one of the most diverse populations in our country, owing in no small part to the original colonization of New York by the Dutch. Indeed, by the 1650’s, New Amsterdam was populated by people from multiple countries besides the Dutch: English, French, Swedish, German, and other European immigrants had settled there, as well as Jewish and other ethnic minorities. Historians have noted that at least eighteen languages were spoken in Manhattan by that time, not including the various Native-American languages spoken by members of the neighboring tribes.
Today’s New York also continues to reflect the influence of our original Dutch settlers– Dutch surnames, street names, place names and many common English words derive from New York’s Dutch roots (look up where the word “cookie” comes from!). As well, many descendants of our original Dutch settlers have figured prominently in our country’s political and cultural affairs, including several U.S. Presidents ( for example Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a descendant of one of the leading Dutch families in New Netherland). So, today we celebrate the 350th anniversary of America’s original “melting pot,” and Hats Off to New York New York.
