Going Dutch: A Visit to New Netherland

Introduction

 

The Return of the Experiment by Len Tantilo

Your mind drifts off as your teacher talks about the Dutch here in America. You picture moving windmills, clean scrubbed town streets, gorgeous tulips, the clacking of wooden shoes....

Suddenly you are standing in front of a wooden timbered square building with the sun in your eyes as it rises behind a river beyond. The trees on the hills opposite you have changed color and are starting to lose their leaves. October is slipping away.

Where are you? You look up a wide street climbing a hill behind you and see houses with narrow ends facing the street. Each has a fence outlining the lot, and small barns or sheds in back yards. You recognize the scene from some paintings you've seen in school. You're in Dutch America, New Netherland! And the large river you see must be the Hudson, or as the Dutch called it, the North River.

How did you get here?

You shake off your confusion. Who cares? Here's a chance to learn about the Dutch and get a good grade!

That is, if you can get back. But, hey, you'll worry about that later.

About the New Netherland Institute

For over three decades, NNI has helped cast light on America's Dutch roots. In 2010, it partnered with the New York State Office of Cultural Education to establish the New Netherland Research Center, with matching funds from the State of the Netherlands. NNI is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. More

The New Netherland Research Center

Housed in the New York State Library, the NNRC offers students, educators, scholars and researchers a vast collection of early documents and reference works on America's Dutch era. More

 

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By supporting NNI you help increase awareness of the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland and its legacy in America.