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New York, Age 400, Looks Back to Holland

Exhibition features letter signaling founding of Manhattan

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 11, 2009 10:16 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Today is an unhappy date in New York, but tomorrow is a much more joyous anniversary—on Sept. 12, 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up the river that now bears his name, leading to the founding of New Amsterdam. The Dutch royal family will visit for the anniversary, and two historical exhibitions include major loans from the Netherlands. One includes the 1626 letter attesting that Dutch settlers had bought Manhattan from the natives for "the value of 60 guilders," famously converted to $24.

New Amsterdam: The Island at the Center of the World, on view at the South Street Seaport Museum, doesn't provide as much context as you might like, says New York Times critic Edward Rothstein. But it shows how New Amsterdam, unlike English colonies such as Jamestown, boasted diversity and a rollicking free market. That's not unlike the present day. New Amsterdam didn't endure, but the colony's Dutch roots had a "lasting impact on the character of New York."

View at New Amsterdam, a 1665 painting by Johannes Vingboons in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
"View at New Amsterdam," a 1665 painting by Johannes Vingboons in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.   (AP Photo/Rijksmuseum/Nationaal Archief, file)
Princess Maxima plants bulbs donated to New York City after the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Plaza and Pavilion, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 in New York.
Princess Maxima plants bulbs donated to New York City after the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Plaza and Pavilion, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima react during the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Plaza and Pavilion, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 in New York.
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima react during the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Plaza and Pavilion, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
A circa 1660 painting entitled The Costello Plan shows what was then New Amsterdam but is currently the lower end of Manhattan.
A circa 1660 painting entitled "The Costello Plan" shows what was then New Amsterdam but is currently the lower end of Manhattan.   (AP Photo/The Museum of the City of New York, file)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
OWLWOMANXXXX
Sep 12, 2009 1:49 AM CDT
have ancestors on both sides of this story...the ones that took (Dutch) and the ones that got took(Indians)
dax
Sep 11, 2009 3:30 AM CDT
"One includes the 1626 letter attesting that Dutch settlers had bought Manhattan from the natives for "the value of 60 guilders," famously converted to $24." ---- amazing R.O. I.
Lifestyle • US • World

 
New York City • New York • Netherlands • colonialism • Holland • Henry Hudson • exhibition • Dutch royal family • colonial America

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