New Amsterdam
On September 8th 1664, Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam, the capital of New Netherland, to an English naval squadron under Colonel Richard Nicolls.
Stuyvesant had hoped to resist the English, but he was an unpopular ruler, and his Dutch subjects refused to rally around him.
Following its capture, New Amsterdam’s name was changed to New York, in honor of the Duke of York, who organized the mission.
The colony of New Netherland was established by the Dutch West India Company in 1624 and grew to encompass all of present-day New York City and parts of Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. A successful Dutch settlement in the colony grew up on the southern tip of Manhattan Island and was christened New Amsterdam.
To legitimatise Dutch claims to New Amsterdam, Dutch governor Peter Minuit formally purchased Manhattan from the local tribe from which it derives it name in 1626. According to legend, the Manhattans, Indians of Algonquian linguistic stock, agreed to give up the island in exchange for trinkets valued at only $24.
However, as they were ignorant of European customs of property and contracts, it was not long before the Manhattans came into armed conflict with the expanding Dutch settlement at New Amsterdam. Beginning in 1641, a protracted war was fought between the colonists and the Manhattans, which resulted in the death of more than 1,000 Indians and settlers.
In 1664, New Amsterdam passed to English control, and English and Dutch settlers lived together peacefully. In 1673, there was a short interruption of English rule when the Netherlands temporary regained the settlement.
In 1674, New York was returned to the English, and in 1686 it became the first city in the colonies to receive a royal charter. After the American Revolution, it became the first capital of the United States.
This Day In History
I just can’t imagine Frank Sinatra singing a song named “New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam”.
Posted by swabby429 | September 8, 2012, 02:12Governor Fletcher, the first governor of New York, had a pirate friend named Thomas Tew. They exchanged “presents.” I am sure Tew was buying safe haven in New York Harbor and Fletcher was buying insurance against piracy. And so – – – the standard anti-ethical heritage of the State of New York was born. I found this while doing some research for one of my blogs. It was in an old “History of something or other” book. Nice post. Thanks for the great history.
Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky | September 8, 2012, 03:50I always love all the posts you do! I feel like I’m getting training to go on Jeopardy someday!
Posted by serialprincess | September 8, 2012, 16:54Reblogged this on Technically Speaking and commented:
How the “Big Apple” got its Name.
Posted by Kenneth Robson | September 10, 2012, 15:43happy birthday to THE city
Posted by pdlyons | September 16, 2012, 03:05