5.4.9 A description of the towne of Mannados or New Amsterdam : as it was in September, 1661, lying in lattitude 40 de. and 40 m., anno domini 1664
Facsimile of manuscript facsimile of a manuscript pictorial map covering lower Manhattan. Shows structures and fortifications. Ships and houses shown pictorially. Oriented with north to the lower left. Includes decorative border and cartouche, notes, and ill.
From 1609 to 1664, the Dutch actively colonized land on the East Coast with the intention of controlling and promoting trade. The Dutch settled at the mouth of the Hudson River in 1624, which is modern-day New York City. Algonquian-speaking tribes, including the Canarsee, Tappan, Raritan, and Reckgawawanc, lived along the coast before the colonizers arrived. Because the original settlement did not consist of many people, there was peace between people. However, as the European population increased, the Native peoples became more resistant to this invasion of their lands and resources. Eventually the Dutch built a wall to protect their interests, thereby cutting off access to land that was formerly used by Native tribes and groups. On this map, the wall can be seen separating the settlement from the rest of the island. Today the site of that wall is Wall Street. The British conquered New Amsterdam and renamed it New York in 1666.
Why do you think the Dutch built the city so close to water? What purposes did the wall serve for the Dutch? What was the impact of the wall for the indigenous groups? Why did relations sour between the groups of people?
New Amsterdam became a commercial center that was dependent on the fur trade. The Dutch set up an outpost north of New Amsterdam along the Hudson River, at a place they named Fort Orange (now the site of Albany). There they traded furs with Native people. The region’s fur trade was controlled by the powerful Iroquois Confederacy, which dominated the area of what is now upstate New York. Since the Dutch were interested in commerce rather than in religious refuge (the original reason why settlers had come to Plymouth and Massachusetts in the 1620s and 1630s), they tended to be tolerant of religious diversity. In fact, one of the first Jewish synagogues in North America was established in New Amsterdam under Dutch rule. The commercial orientation of New York City was directly descended from the commercial orientation of New Amsterdam. Ask your students to make connections between fur, trade, the establishment of these cities, and the economic motivations of Dutch settlement.
No 5
Longe Isleland
A description of the towne of Mannados or New Amsterdam : as it was in September, 1661, lying in lattitude 40 de. and 40 m., anno domini 1664
"The Duke's Plan" of New York, 1664
Reproduced from the original in the British Museum.
Specimen illustration from 'A history of the United States and its people.' by Elroy McKendree Avery
