New Amsterdam

New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch settlement at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, which later became New York City. It started as a small trading post near Fort Amsterdam. The post was there to protect the fur trade for the Dutch West India Company along the Hudson River.

In 1624, New Amsterdam officially became part of the colony of New Netherland. In 1625, it was named the capital of the colony. By the mid-1600s, New Amsterdam had grown into a busy city with thousands of people.

Many people moved to New Amsterdam looking for new chances. By 1655, over 2,000 people lived in New Netherland, most of them in New Amsterdam. In 1664, English forces took control of the city. They renamed it New York after the Duke of York, who later became James II & VII. This brought an end to Dutch rule in the area. The Dutch and English later agreed to keep the territories as they were after the Second Anglo-Dutch War through the Treaty of Breda. Today, the place where New Amsterdam once stood is known as Lower Manhattan.

Etymology

The local Munsee people called the southern tip of the island Manhattoe. When the Dutch built Fort Amsterdam, the place became known as "Amsterdam" or "New Amsterdam." The city only reached as far as the wall of Wall Street and did not include the rest of Manhattan or the larger area of New Netherland.

History

See also: Dutch colonization of the Americas and History of New York City

Early exploration and settlement (1609–1624)

In 1524, explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano named the area that would become New Amsterdam Nouvelle Angoulême to honor his patron Francis I of France. In 1609, Henry Hudson, sailing for the Dutch Republic, went up the river now called the Hudson River. He was searching for a route to Asia but found a place full of beaver, whose fur was valuable.

Beaver pelts were very valuable in Europe for making hats that stayed dry. The Dutch set up trading spots and in 1624, they officially started the settlement of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. The town grew around Fort Amsterdam, built to keep the trading place safe. The area was first a business for trading with local Indigenous people.

Pilgrims' attempt to settle in the Hudson River area

In 1620, the Pilgrims tried to sail to the Hudson River but ended up settling near Cape Cod instead, starting the Plymouth Colony.

Dutch return

The Hudson River was chosen for the settlement because it gave easy access to the ocean and a safe path for the fur trade. In 1621, the Dutch West India Company was started to manage the colony. In 1624, the first families arrived and began building Fort Amsterdam. The settlement had a church, rooms for soldiers, and storage for goods.

Fort Amsterdam (1624)

Fort Amsterdam was built to protect the entrance to the Hudson River from other European countries. By 1628, a smaller fort was finished. It became the center of the colony, with space for soldiers, a church, and storage for trade goods.

1624–1664

In 1626, Peter Minuit became the leader of New Netherland. He is known for trading goods worth about 60 guilders with local Indigenous people for Manhattan. The settlement grew, with windmills and sawmills built to use local materials. By 1653, New Amsterdam was officially recognized as a city.

In 1655, there was conflict when Indigenous people attacked Dutch settlers after a colonist hurt a woman. This conflict is called the Peach War. The colony also welcomed its first Jewish residents in 1654.

English capture

In 1664, English ships arrived and took over New Amsterdam without any fighting. The colony was renamed New York City in honor of the Duke of York. The Dutch took it back briefly in 1673, calling it New Orange, but gave it back to England in 1674.

Main article: Governors Island

Main article: Fort Amsterdam

Cartography

The early Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam was well-documented with city maps. The Dutch made good maps to show how the colony grew and how many people lived there. These maps help us learn about the history of New York City.

One famous map is the Castello Plan from 1660. It shows almost every building in New Amsterdam. By looking at it with a list of citizens from that year, we can learn where people lived. Another map, the Duke's Plan, was made for the Duke of York. New York and Albany were named after him. These maps help archaeologists find old places in modern New York City.

The maps show that Fort Amsterdam was at the southern tip of Manhattan, where The Battery is today. Broadway was the main street going north, and Wall Street marks where the town’s wall used to be. The streets of New Amsterdam were winding, like in European cities, and some of this layout is still in the Financial District today.

Legacy

The founding of New Amsterdam in 1625 is now remembered in the official Seal of New York City. Writers like Russell Shorto think that New Amsterdam had a big impact on New York and the United States.

Many of the old buildings from New Amsterdam are gone, but some parts of the old street layout are still there. People work to save and learn about this history. In 2009, the National Park Service celebrated the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s trip with the New Amsterdam Trail.