Dutch New York

Interactive Map: Manhattan in 1609

Brian Lee — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:04:50 +0000

Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? Find out here, by navigating through the map below to discover Manhattan Island and its native wildlife in 1609.

Click to zoom into Mannahatta or enter your address or a landmark name (e.g. Empire State Building) in the text box below the map. Use the slider control to fade between 1609 and today and the ‘Streets’ button to turn on/off the roadways.

Map provided courtesy of The Mannahatta Project, a project of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

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Video: Dutch New York

Brian Lee — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:20:43 +0000

As we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage to America, historian Barry Lewis takes us back in time to rediscover the first European settlers in New York — the Dutch.

Document: The Purchase of Manhattan Island, 1626

Brian Lee — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:14:06 +0000

This letter from Peter Schaghen, written in 1626, makes the earliest known reference to the company’s purchase of Manhattan Island from the Lenape Indians for 60 guilders. Schaghen was the liaison between the Dutch government and the Dutch West India Company. In the letter, Schaghen reports the arrival of the ship Wapen van Amsterdam from the New Netherland colony. The original of this document is held by the Rijksarchief in The Hague, but is on display in New York City at the South Street Seaport Museum from September 2009 through January 2010. Read a translation.

[ ] 5
Rcvd. 7 November 1626

High and Mighty Lords,
Yesterday the ship the Arms of Amsterdam arrived here. It sailed from New Netherland out of the River Mauritius on the 23d of September. They report that our people are in good spirit and live in peace. The women also have borne some children there. They have purchased the Island Manhattes from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders. It is 11,000 morgens in size [about 22,000 acres]. They had all their grain sowed by the middle of May, and reaped by the middle of August They sent samples of these summer grains: wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, canary seed, beans and flax. The cargo of the aforesaid ship is:

7246 Beaver skins
178½ Otter skins
675 Otter skins
48 Mink skins
36 Lynx skins
33 Minks
34 Muskrat skins

Many oak timbers and nut wood. Herewith, High and Mighty Lords, be commended to the mercy of the Almighty,

In Amsterdam, the 5th of November anno 1626.

Your High and Mightinesses’ obedient, P. Schaghen

Video: British Takeover

Bijan Rezvani — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:13:12 +0000

Professor Joyce Goodfriend of the University of Denver describes how and why the British took over Dutch New Netherland.

Timeline: Dutch American History

Bijan Rezvani — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:13:10 +0000

Video: Women in Dutch New York

Bijan Rezvani — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:12:04 +0000

Early America expert Professor Joyce Goodfriend describes the role women played in preserving Dutch culture in America.

Video: British Headquarters Map of 1782

Bijan Rezvani — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:09:11 +0000

Dr. Eric Sanderson of the Mannahatta Project uses Geographic Information Systems to bring to life a detailed map of the city from 1782.

Video: The Dutch Room at the Met

Brian Lee — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:52:29 +0000

In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage to the place that would become New York, Philippe de Montebello of SundayArts interviews Peter Kenny, the Curator of Decorative Arts at the American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Discover the history of the room and what features define it as Dutch.

Video: The Decision to Colonize

Bijan Rezvani — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:13:30 +0000

Janny Venema of the New Netherland Project discusses how the Dutch West India Company decided to colonize the area of New Amsterdam and encourage non-company patroon ships to realize Dutch presence in the region.

Video: New Amsterdam, Diversity and Opportunity

Bijan Rezvani — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:12:37 +0000

Dr. Charles Gehring, director of the New Netherland Project, describes the diversity and sense of opportunity that characterized New Amsterdam.

Video: From Hudson to Beverwyck

Bijan Rezvani — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:11:12 +0000

Janny Venema of the New Netherland Project narrates the passage from Henry Hudson’s travels through the development of Rensselaerswyck to the establishment of Beverwyck, a trading community located in the area of present-day Albany.

Video: Mannahatta – New York Before the Dutch

Bijan Rezvani — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:10:49 +0000

Landscape ecologist Dr. Eric Sanderson describes the Mannahatta Project and the original ecology of Manhattan.