New Amsterdam – The Beginnings of New York City
By Daniel Curry in 1853
For two decades following its discovery, the Dutch presence on the Hudson River, known as New Netherland, resembled more of a bustling trading outpost than a structured colony. Holland, during this era, was rapidly transforming into a mercantile powerhouse, and the burgeoning trade at New Amsterdam reflected this economic shift. By 1632, exports from the settlement had reached a noteworthy $57,000, indicating the growing significance of the region.
In 1629, a comprehensive plan to colonize the Dutch territories in America took shape in Holland. The Dutch West India Company, a prominent entity in overseas ventures, was granted the authority to establish colonies in New Netherland, subject to specific, accommodating conditions. The decree stipulated that any member of the company who could establish a settlement of at least 50 individuals, aged 15 and over, within four years of announcing their intention, would be entitled to occupy a substantial tract of land. This land grant would extend 16 miles along the seashore or the bank of any navigable river, or eight miles if occupying both banks, with an undefined reach inland.
Individuals who successfully established colonies under this provision were designated as "patroons." These patroons were entrusted with considerable power within their respective manors, functioning as both property owners and civil magistrates. This system aimed to incentivize the rapid colonization and development of New Netherland.
Under this system of colonization, the lands surrounding the bay and along both sides of the Hudson River were quickly claimed by ambitious members of the Dutch West India Company. However, the strategic island of Manhattan was judiciously reserved for the company’s exclusive use. To solidify their land claims, the patroons exerted significant efforts to attract the necessary number of colonists. Some colonists came directly from Holland, while others migrated from existing English colonies. To further encourage settlement, the patroons offered attractive conditions, and, mirroring the policies of the home government, the colonial authorities extended complete religious tolerance to all Christian denominations.
In 1633, the nascent colony of New Netherland received its first official governor dispatched from the Netherlands: Wouter Van Twiller. The scattered settlements and trading posts along the Hudson River were formally consolidated into a province of the United Netherlands. The newly appointed governor arrived with a contingent of 104 soldiers, a schoolmaster to educate the youth, and a minister to tend to the spiritual needs of the community. However, the lucrative trade with the indigenous tribes remained the dominant focus, and limited progress was made in attracting permanent settlers to the province. Despite this, Governor Van Twiller diligently addressed his public duties, overseeing several improvements to the infrastructure. The fort was reconstructed, complete with barracks for the soldiers. A church and parsonage were constructed to serve the religious community, and a residence was built for the governor. Mills and other essential structures were also erected to ensure the well-being of the settlement. The island of Manhattan was divided into farms, known as "boweries," and the governor established his own residence, along with a barn, brewery, and boathouse, on the "bowery" closest to the fort. Additional buildings were also constructed on some of the other company "boweries." The early development of New Amsterdam was closely tied to these agricultural endeavors.
Throughout Governor Van Twiller’s administration, the fledgling colony remained in a state of unease and apprehension. To the east, the English were steadily encroaching upon the company’s territory, while on the Delaware River, the indigenous tribes were waging a destructive war against the vulnerable settlements. The internal affairs of the government were equally turbulent. Persistent disputes arose between the government and the patroons regarding their respective rights, particularly concerning the coveted privilege of trading with the indigenous tribes, a monopoly that both parties sought to control. Despite these challenges, the governor was not oblivious to his personal interests. In collaboration with several others, he acquired a fertile tract of land on Nassau, now known as Long Island, from the indigenous population, upon which the new landowners proceeded to establish farms. He also acquired the small island just south of the fort, originally named Nutten Island due to its abundance of nut trees. However, owing to its ownership by Governor Van Twiller, it became known as Governor’s Island. Ultimately, the widespread discontent within the colony reached the attention of the company, and due to the nature of the complaints, it was deemed prudent to recall Governor Van Twiller after a four-year tenure. The governance of New Amsterdam was clearly a challenging undertaking.
The new governor, William Kieft, did not reach the colony until March 1638. Upon his arrival, he discovered that the company’s affairs had been severely neglected and the public property was in a state of disrepair. The buildings were decaying, the "boweries" or farms were unoccupied and depleted of their livestock, and the fur trade, the colony’s primary source of income, was dominated by private traders who conducted their business in an extravagant manner. Governor Kieft attempted to rectify these issues through orders and proclamations, but his efforts yielded only limited success. A small number of additional settlers arrived in the province during this period, and further land purchases were made from the indigenous tribes. However, the growth of the settlements remained modest.
Around this time, Peter Minuit, the former director of New Amsterdam, along with a company of Swedes under the patronage of Queen Christina, entered the Delaware River. They purchased a tract of land from the indigenous population on the western side of the bay and constructed Fort Christina. Governor Kieft was deeply displeased by this intrusion upon territory claimed by the Dutch West India Company. He repeatedly issued vehement protests, which Minuit disregarded, forbidding the establishment of the settlement. However, the Dutch governor deemed it unsafe to attempt to forcibly remove the intruders, and the power of Sweden in European affairs prevented the home government from intervening in the matter. Consequently, the small Swedish colony was allowed to continue its activities undisturbed.
The slow progress of the colony eventually prompted the directors of the West India Company to ease some of the strictness of their policies. The trade monopoly within the colony was modified to allow anyone who wished to participate, although only company ships could be used for transportation. Free passage was offered to anyone wishing to relocate from Holland to the colony, and emigrants were offered land, houses, cattle, and farming tools at an annual rent, along with clothing and provisions on credit. The authority of the patroons was defined and somewhat reduced. Any individual who brought six people to the colony would be granted 200 acres of land, and the towns and villages would be allowed to have their own magistrates. Additional provisions were implemented to regulate trade with the indigenous tribes and to address the religious and educational needs of the population.
These new arrangements attracted a number of emigrants from Holland, including some individuals with considerable wealth. Some English indentured servants, who had completed their terms of service in Virginia, also settled in New Netherland, along with Anabaptists and others who had been forced out of New England due to religious intolerance. These groups sought refuge in New Netherland’s relatively tolerant environment. The settlements expanded rapidly in all directions around New Amsterdam. In addition to the settlements at Wallabout and Flatlands on Long Island, another settlement was established in 1639 at Breukelen, which would later become Brooklyn. Staten Island and the region west of Newark Bay were granted to patroons, and settlements began to emerge there as well. While New Amsterdam only indirectly benefited from these improvements, its progress was slow but steady. According to an old chronicler, "A fine stone tavern" was built, and the "mean old barn" that had served as a church was replaced by a new stone building, constructed within the enclosure of the fort and funded partly by the company and partly by public subscription.
The foreign relations of New Netherland grew increasingly complex and problematic. The encroachments from the New England colonies became genuinely alarming, and to the south, the Swedes were firmly established in their position, threatening to completely exclude the Dutch from their possessions on the Delaware River. The growing importance of the colony of Rensselaerswyck (Albany) in the north, which began to exhibit a degree of independence, further contributed to the colony’s difficulties. However, these challenges were not the most pressing issues facing the governor. A more significant calamity threatened the colony from a closer and more implacable adversary.
The indigenous tribes in the vicinity of New Amsterdam grew increasingly resentful towards the white settlers due to a series of minor provocations stemming from the colonists’ carelessness and greed. In retaliation, the tribes committed acts of revenge that the colonists deemed to require government intervention. The Raritan, a tribe residing on the west side of the Hudson River, were the first to experience the force of the white settlers. Both sides suffered losses in the conflict, and the indigenous tribes readily accepted the offered peace terms. Shortly afterward, a Dutchman was killed by an indigenous person belonging to a tribe near Tappan Bay. The tribe protected the murderer, prompting the government to dispatch 80 men to punish them. Alarmed by the threatened invasion, the indigenous tribes promised to surrender the murderer. The expedition returned to New Amsterdam, but the promise was never fulfilled. A dispute subsequently erupted between the colonists and the Hackensack tribe, resulting in the murder of two white men. The chiefs offered wampum (sacred shell beads) as atonement, but the governor refused and demanded the surrender of the murderers. Just before this incident, the Tappan Indians, fearing an attack from the powerful Mohawk tribes, moved into the vicinity of New Amsterdam and mingled with the neighboring tribes, particularly the Hackensack. Soon after, these combined groups gathered in two encampments not far from the fort. While their intentions were not hostile, enemies of the indigenous tribes seized the opportunity in New Amsterdam and obtained an order from the governor, who was under the influence of wine at a holiday celebration, to attack them. The attack was completely unexpected by the indigenous population, and they offered little resistance. A horrific massacre ensued, resulting in the deaths of approximately 80 indigenous people, including elderly individuals, women, and children, who perished either in the conflict or were murdered in cold blood afterward. The sounds of the battle and the screams of the women and children could be heard at the fort. The following day, the war party returned to the town, bringing 30 prisoners.
These atrocities, along with similar acts that followed, incited the indigenous tribes to a fever pitch of anger. Eleven small tribes united to wage war against the Dutch, whose unprotected "boweries," scattered for miles around New Amsterdam, presented easy targets for the indigenous warriors. Numerous houses were burned, cattle were killed, men were slain, and several women and children were taken prisoner. The terrified and devastated colonists fled to New Amsterdam or sailed for Holland. Expeditions sent against the indigenous tribes achieved only limited success in subduing them, and internal strife and mutual accusations plagued the governor’s councils. Eventually, the indigenous tribes, weary of bloodshed, offered peace terms, which the colonists gladly accepted, providing a respite from the bloody and destructive conflict.
However, the peace was short-lived. A new alliance of seven tribes once again spread terror and devastation among the frontier "boweries." The settlements beyond Newark Bay and those on the western end of Long Island were destroyed, leaving only three "boweries" remaining on Manhattan Island. The colonists huddled in makeshift huts near the fort, which was in a dilapidated and barely habitable condition. They were short on provisions, and their cattle were at risk of starvation. A barrier was erected to the north of the town, which remained for half a century and is commemorated in the name of Wall Street. The following year, 1644, was marked by a costly and exhausting war with the indigenous tribes. The indigenous villages on Staten Island were burned, their crops were destroyed, but they evaded their pursuers. An expedition against a small village near Stamford yielded similar results. However, an expedition of nearly 200 men under the command of Captain John Underhill against a hostile band near Hempstead on Long Island resulted in the deaths of more than 100 indigenous people and the capture of others. The greatest slaughter occurred later in the season when a second expedition, under the same commander, was launched against the indigenous tribes in the vicinity of Stamford. The villages were burned to the ground, and a tremendous loss of life occurred, mirroring the horrors of the Pequot War.
Around this time, 130 soldiers arrived in the colony from the West Indies and were stationed in New Amsterdam. The indigenous tribes had suffered significantly during the summer and autumn, and soon ceased active hostilities and requested peace. Treaties were negotiated with the primary tribes during the following year, in which the indigenous tribes agreed to relocate a considerable distance from New Amsterdam and to refrain from approaching any of the settlements with their war parties. As a result, the colony was once again spared from the horrors of savage warfare.
These prolonged wars almost ruined the settlements surrounding New Amsterdam, which, at their conclusion, could muster barely 100 men. Only five or six of the 30 prosperous "boweries" remained, and everything bore the marks of ruin and disorder. Widespread complaints were voiced against the governor’s administration, prompting the directors to recall him. He departed for Holland on a vessel laden with furs valued at nearly $100,000. However, the vessel was wrecked off the coast of Wales, and approximately 80 people, including Governor Kieft, perished.
Kieft’s successor was Peter Stuyvesant, the former governor of the Dutch West Indies, a soldier by profession and a man of considerable ability and energy. The early years of his administration were marked by several significant concessions of popular privileges. The transportation monopoly previously held by the company was relinquished, and trade was opened to free competition, although New Amsterdam remained the only designated port of entry.
The population of the entire province of New Netherland at this time, in 1647, was no more than approximately 2,000 people, nearly half of whom resided within the patroonship of Van Rensselaer. New Amsterdam was a village of wooden huts with straw roofs and mud-and-stick chimneys, with numerous grog shops and establishments selling tobacco and beer. On the western end of Long Island were six plantations governed by a local magistracy, partly self-elected. However, New Amsterdam remained under the sole authority and policies of the governor. Around this time, Breukelen, or Brooklyn, received its first village charter.
In 1652, the inhabitants of New Amsterdam, through petitions to the authorities in Holland, obtained expanded municipal privileges. A board of magistrates, or city court, was established, comprising two principal magistrates and five civic officers, annually selected by the governor from twice the number nominated by the magistrates of the preceding year. A movement also emerged to establish a more popular form of government by convening a convention of two delegates from each village to address a threatened war with New England. However, the governor dissolved the convention as irregular, dismissing it as a New England invention with which he would have nothing to do.
For several years, Governor Stuyvesant was primarily engaged in managing the foreign relations of the colony. After lengthy negotiations, all disputes were resolved with the New England colonies to the east and the Swedish colony to the south, bringing a period of peace and stability to New Netherland. However, the Dutch governor did not achieve all of his objectives during these negotiations. Initially, he claimed both the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers as part of his province, but he secured peace only by relinquishing both rivers and their surrounding territories. The governor nearly lost his capital while involved in these negotiations with the neighboring colonies. Taking advantage of the absence of soldiers from the town, indigenous tribes launched an attack with 60 canoes, causing significant alarm and inflicting some minor damage. However, they dispersed and vanished upon the return of the troops.
The affairs of the colony began to improve. Settlers arrived from various locations, including Jews exiled from different parts of Europe and refugees from New England seeking religious freedom. New Amsterdam already had a population representing nearly every European country and religious belief. However, this tolerance in religious matters was not to the governor’s liking, as he disliked Lutherans and Quakers as much as his counterparts in New England. Nevertheless, he was overruled by his superiors in Holland, who mandated that the same tolerance that made the parent city a haven for the oppressed should also prevail in its namesake on the Hudson River. Therefore, despite his personal objections, the governor allowed them to remain in peace.
During this period, the Dutch West India Company focused primarily on the slave trade. Special permission was granted to certain merchants to send two or three ships to the coast of Africa to purchase slaves and promote the settlement of the country by importing them into New Netherland. Most of the slaves brought in this way remained the property of the company. After a certain period of labor, the more trustworthy and industrious slaves were granted small farms, paying a portion of their produce in return. This marked the early introduction of the African race into the colony’s population, and the system of African slavery became an integral part of its institutions, remaining a source of suffering and shame for nearly 200 years.
While the Dutch claimed the right to the land they occupied on the Hudson River, Great Britain had never acknowledged this claim. Instead, the entire region was claimed as part of the British kingdom. Several unsuccessful attempts had been made to assert this claim at various times. Soon after the restoration of Charles II, the entire territory was granted to his brother, the Duke of York, who immediately took steps to seize the colony. The Dutch were unaware of these transactions before the ships carrying the duke’s forces had set sail. Rumors of the impending invasion had reached New Amsterdam before the hostile fleet arrived, but no adequate preparations were made for the public defense. Governor Stuyvesant was prepared to fight the invaders or endure a siege, but his sentiments were not widely shared among the colonists. The Dutch cared little whether they were under Dutch or English rule, and the English, who made up nearly half of the population, favored the claims of their fellow countrymen. Consequently, after several days of negotiations, the entire colony was surrendered to the English on September 8, 1664, on terms that were acceptable to the inhabitants.
With the change in leadership came a change in name for the conquered colony. From that time onward, both the province and the main town were called New York, in honor of the duke who had become their proprietor and ruler. Despite the significant improvements under Governor Stuyvesant’s administration, the burgeoning city consisted of only a few narrow streets near the southern tip of Manhattan Island. While some impressive buildings were covered with tiles imported from Holland, most houses were thatched cottages.
Soon, the waterline was extended far beyond its original position, placing former outside streets a considerable distance from the water. The fort occupied the southernmost point, but it was not directly on the water’s edge due to a ledge of submerged rocks that made it inaccessible to watercraft. Within the fort were the governor’s residence, the public offices, and the Dutch Calvinist church. Between the fort and the beach was an irregular and unoccupied space used by the townspeople for outdoor activities.
Just above the fort was a triangular space with no specific purpose, available for public use. This was the "campus" where the men and boys of New Amsterdam engaged in field sports. Initially, it was used by the garrison soldiers for their drills, hence its name, the Parade. It also served as a cattle market, and in 1659, the town authorities issued an ordinance regulating the management of cattle offered for sale there. Later, it was enclosed and transformed into the Bowling Green, where residents played lawn bowls.
From the fort and beyond the triangular Bowling Green, a broad and straight road led towards the cultivated "boweries" further up the island. From the beginning, this was the town’s main street, although it was not a popular residential area due to its distance from the water. The Dutch called it "De Heere-straat," or Main-street. In 1665, when a census of all the houses in the town was conducted, this street had only 21 dwellings. The English renamed it Broadway. Passing along the south side of the fort, a street extended along the East River to the great swamp, where it turned northwards, leading to the "boweries." The Dutch called the western portion of this street "Perel-straat," and the more easterly portion "Hooghstraat," or High-street. This was a favorite residential area for the Dutch settlers, with approximately one-quarter of all the houses in the town located on this street at the time of the English conquest. To the east of the fort, a short distance away, was a small stream that ended in a deep, marshy inlet, just east of the rocky point of Manhattan Island. In the colony’s early days, this stream and inlet were excavated and converted into a drain and canal called "De Graft." Houses were later built along its banks, in the style of Amsterdam in Holland. As several smaller "grafts" had been created, this one became known as "De Heere Graft," or main canal. All vessels trading to New Amsterdam used this canal for loading and unloading. The customs house was located here, but the "graft" was of little interest to the government. Twenty dwellings were situated on its banks in 1665.
Immediately beneath the fort’s east wall, reaching down to the nearby water, a narrow street ran that seemed as old as the town itself. The Dutch called it "Winchel-straat," or Shop Street, and it was paved as early as 1658, before any other street, although it had only five houses. In later years, a battery called Whitehall was erected near the foot of this street, and the street was subsequently given that name. A street was opened leading eastward from the southeast corner of the fort, crossing "De Heere graft" by a bridge and ending in "De Hoogh-strata." The name Bridge Street was naturally given to it and has remained unchanged. Above this, abutting the east side of the fort, was another small street called "Brewer’s Street," as it was the location of Van Cortlandt’s brewery. It was later renamed Stone Street. Opposite the Parade, eastward, a drain was opened leading into the central canal, called "Beaverdrain." On the opposite side of the canal, another drain called "Prince’s" entered from the east. On the banks of these drains, the Dutch had built approximately thirty houses before the English conquest. Beaver Street would later occupy the space where these canals had been. Below the Beaver drain, and parallel to it, was a narrow and insignificant street called Marketfield Lane, along which eight dwellings were built. On the eastern side of the town was a street leading to and beyond the city wall, called "the Valley" by the Dutch and Smith’s Valley by the English, which later became William Street. Around twenty houses were located on this road when the town was captured by the English.
The total number of dwellings in the town at the time of the capture, including those outside the barrier, was less than 250, and the population was less than 2,000. Such was the renowned city of New Amsterdam when it became the capital of the Anglo-American colony of New York City.