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New Netherlanders were residents of New Netherland, the seventeenth century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on northeastern coast of North America, centered around the Hudson River and its bay.

The population of New Netherland was not necessarily Dutch, [1] but had a variety ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, mostly west European, Algonquian, Iroquoian, and West African. Though the colony only officially existed between 1609 and 1674, the descendants of the original settlers played a prominent role in colonial America. New Netherland culture characterized the region (today's Capital District, Hudson Valley, New York City, western Long Island and northern New Jersey) for two centuries. The concepts of civil liberties and pluralism introduced in the province would later become a mainstay of American political and social life.

History

The first non-Native American to spend a winter on Manhattan without the support of a ship is believed to be Jan Rodrigues, a man of African descent born in Santo Domingo. [2] [3]The second Director of New Netherland, Peter Minuit, was a German-born Walloon who spoke English and worked for the Dutch West India Company. [4]. Early ships to the new colony carried mostly Walloon passengers and Africans being brought as slaves, many of whom later became Free Negroes. [5] Among the early English settlers were two religious leaders, Anabaptist Lady Deborah Moody and Anne Hutchinson, who took refuge in the province. Sephardi Jews arrived after the loss of Dutch Brazil. [6]Sarah Rapelje [7] was the first female child of European parentage born in the colony of New Netherland[8][9]. An early settler from Africa was a wealthy Muslim, and land owner, Anthony Janszoon van Salee.


The arrival of the immigrants did not necessarily mean the departure of the indigenous people. The concept of ownership as understood by the Swannekins, or salt water people, was foreign to the Wilden, or natives. [10] The exchange of gifts in the form of sewant or manufactured goods was perceived as trade agreement and defense alliance which included farming, hunting, and fishing rights. Often, the Indians did not vacate the property or reappeared as their migrational patterns dictated. [11] The River Indians, within whose territories many European settlements were established, such as the Wecquaesgeek, Hackensack, and Canarsee, had regular and frequent contact with the New Netherlanders.

Among the many settlers who sailed from the United Provinces of the Netherlands were Dutch, Flemish, Walloon, Huguenot, German, and Scandinavian who are sometimes called "New Netherland Dutch". [12] African slaves belonging the Dutch West India Company, may have been brought directly, or via the Caribbean or South America. English language speakers mostly arrived from New England and Long Island.

Though Dutch was the official language, and likely the lingua franca of the province, it was but one of many spoken there. [13], as many as eighteen by the 1630s. [14] The Algonquian language had many dialects, Walloons and Huguenots tended to speak French. Scandinavians brought their tongues, as did the Germans. Africans may have spoken their mother tongues as well. [15] English was on the rise to become the vehicular language in world trade, and settlement by individuals or groups of English-speakers started early. The arrival of refugees from New Holland in Brazil may have brought more Portuguese, Spanish, and Judaeo-Spanish. Commercial activity in the harbor, which included pirateering, could have been transacted simultaneously in any of a number of tongues. In some cases people "Batavianized" their names [16][17] to conform with the vernacular and official language Dutch, which also greatly influenced placenaming.


Although the Dutch West India Company had established the Reformed Church as the official religious institution of New Netherland [18], the early Dutch settlers planted the concept of tolerance as a legal right in North America as per explicit orders in 1624. They had to attract, “through attitude and by example”, the natives and nonbelievers to God’s word “without, on the other hand, to persecute someone by reason of his religion, and to leave everyone the freedom of his conscience.”

Though the region became part of the British colonies in 1674, it retained its "Dutch" character for many years. [19] as early settlers and their descendents developed the land and economy.

Demographics

Population estimates are for the European and African population and do not include the the Native American.

  • 1628: 270
  • 1630: 300
  • 1640: 500
  • 1650: 800 [20]-1,000 [21]
  • 1664: 9,000 [22]

See also

References

  1. ^ *Un-Pilgrims - Article by Russell Shorto
  2. ^ NYC Parks marker
  3. ^ Paumgarten, Nick (2009-09-31). "Useless Beauty - What is to be done with Governors Island?". The New Yorker (LXXXV, No 26 ed.). p. 56. ISSN 00028792X. {{cite news}}: Check |issn= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.kellscraft.com/DutchEnglishOnHudson/DutchEnglishOnHudsonCh03.html
  5. ^ http://www.innerexplorations.com/home/black.htm
  6. ^ A Fiske, John, The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1902, Chapter XVII
  7. ^ Bergen, Teunis G. (1876). “The Bergen Family - or the descendants of Hans Hansen Bergen”. J. Munsell, Albany, New York.
  8. ^ Shorto, Russell (2004). “The Island at the Center of the World, The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America” .Doubleday. New York.
  9. ^ 14 Generations: New Yorkers Since 1624, the Rapaljes Are On a Mission to Keep Their History Alive, Steve Wick, Newsday, March 28, 2009
  10. ^ Ruttenber, E.M.,Indian Tribes of Hudson's River, ISBN 0-910746-98-2 (Hope Farm Press, 3rd ed, 2001)
  11. ^ Shorto, Russell (2004). The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-7867-9.
  12. ^ "New Netherland Dutch". Nysm.nysed.gov. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  13. ^ Un-Pilgrims - Article by Russell Shorto
  14. ^ [1] accessdate=2000-06-03
  15. ^ http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/NNHistory.html
  16. ^ Shorto, Russell (2004). The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-7867-9.
  17. ^ The American historian Charles W. Baird, in his book “History of the Huguenot Emigration to America”, qualified this type of abuse as "Batavian disguise".
  18. ^ Wentz. A Basic History of Lutheranism in America. p. 6.
  19. ^ "Indigenous Population". Bergencountyhistory.org. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  20. ^ http://www.kbr.be/america/nl/nl22.html
  21. ^ http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Northeast/New-York-History.html
  22. ^ A brief outline of Dutch history and the province of New Netherland: http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Netherlands.html
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