New Amsterdam
The record that defines history is often written by the victor. Generally, the defeated provided little contribution to that history beyond their mere presence or the opportunity to be vanquished, and replaced, by the victor’s story. Russell Shorto in his book Island at the Center of the World replaces this tenet regarding the little known Dutch settlement in what we now know as New York City. Utilizing new Dutch documents, Shorto has not only found a new storyline to the settlement of this area, but has reconstructed and explained the unique dichotomies of NYC itself. Long seen as a city with a vast array of people and beliefs and customs, Island at the Center of the World shows historical basis for this culture. It can be argued that New York is the commercial hub of the world, and Shorto shows this basis in the Dutch settlement, not the English takeover. Early Dutch settlers such as Adriaen van der Donck would impart unique Enlightenment beliefs and philosophies on this new world. Paired with these Enlightenment beliefs are linguistic adaptations that are still part of the modern vernacular. The Dutch were the first to settle Manhattan and Shorto shows a profound and lasting influence that is still seen today.
In 1609, the Dutch West India Company employed Henry Hudson to find a route to the Far East. Instead, he sailed up a river that would eventually be named for him and found the island of Manhattan. It was then occupied by Indians, but would be purchased from them and settle with Dutch settlers for the next 50 years. Unfortunately, that’s the generally accepted version of the entirety of Dutch influence in this area. However, with newly translated Dutch documents, the richness and extent of Dutch influence on today’s society is astounding.
The settlement of New Amsterdam, today’s New York, lay in between two areas of English settlement. In contrast to these settlements which were started for religious tolerance, the Dutch focus was trade and commerce. This settlement soon became inhabited by a mix of races, religions, and cultures that were primarily interested in making money and trading around the world. Dutch colonies were seen as “the melting pot of Europe.”(p. 125) The harbor and rivers of Manhattan Island provided a perfect mecca for the sea trade of the day. The many different belief systems that were a part of New Amsterdam were not so much accepted, as tolerated, mainly for the purpose of friendly trade arrangements. The economic success of this colony was detested by the English, and the Dutch became gravely concerned at the English intrusion into Connecticut. The Dutch turned from a pursuit of a corridor to the Far East and realized that they were located in the center of great riches. Ultimately, this belief in, and pursuit of early commerce from the New World, provided the basis for New York’s establishment as the center of world commerce for the following centuries.
Many of the cultural norms and ideas that we take for granted today come from the Dutch influence of the New Amsterdam colony. Words and concepts as ingrained in our society as “Santa Claus” come from the Dutch. But of utmost importance to today’s American society would be the Dutch influence on our governmental systems. Considered one of the more prominent members of Dutch society, beside Peter Stuyvesant, was Adriaen van der Donck. Van der Donck made incredible connections between the climate of company in the colony and the potential governmental structure. He learned of Indian belief systems and started to incorporate these into his governance of the colony. His ideas came into conflict with those of the West Indies Company and the economic goals of Holland, but within the colony itself, his ideas were revered. Some even believe that he could be considered “an early American prophet, a forerunner of the Revolutionary generation.” (p. 9) These varied beliefs from a vast array of cultures were brought into Enlightenment philosophy as some of the basic constructs of Revolutionary American thought. Van Der Donck was able to fuse the unique ideals of economic stability and success with the ideologies of religious tolerance and diversity, as well as, values of liberty to create bedrock for today’s American society.
The Dutch settled North America with the goal of economic prosperity. There were definite struggles within the colony between ethnic and religious groups, as well as with the surrounding English colonists. A unique culture had developed within this pursuit of economic success that seems to have transcended the sheer monetary goals of its original colonization. New York City is the worldwide commercial success it is today due to the foundation of the New Amsterdam settlement and its aim at economic prosperity. Americans prepare to go to the polls and churches and synagogues and community meetings which stem from the precedence set by the governance of the early Dutch. The English roots get all of the “good press” in American history; but as often happens, the best stories lie in untranslatable texts.
