New Netherland

New Netherland
Nieuw Nederland
1614–1667
1673–1674
Flag (1614–1652)
Seal[nb 1]
New Netherland map published by Nicolaes Visscher II (1649–1702)
StatusColony (Dutch colonial empire)
CapitalNew Amsterdam
Official languagesDutch[1][2]
Minority languagesLow Saxon, French, English, Algonquian, Delaware
Religion
Dutch Reformed[3]
Demonym(s)New Netherlander
New Dutch
Government
• Director
(List)
Establishment
• Establishment of the first settlers
1614
• Capture of New Amsterdam
August 27, 1664
• Treaty of Breda
July 23, 1667
• Reconquest of New Netherland
August 9, 1673
• Treaty of Westminster
February 19, 1674
Population
• Estimate
350 (in 1630)[4]
4,301 (in 1650)[4]
9,000 (in 1674)
CurrencyDutch rijksdaalder, leeuwendaalder
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Lenapehoking
Province of New York
Province of New Jersey
Province of Pennsylvania
Delaware Colony
Connecticut Colony
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Today part of

New Netherland (Dutch: Nieuw Nederland), also called the New Netherlands[5] was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.[6]

The colony was originally conceived by the Dutch West India Company (GWC) in 1621 to capitalize on the North American fur trade. Settlement initially stalled because of policy mismanagement by the GWC and conflicts with Native Americans. The settlement of New Sweden by the Swedish South Company encroached on its southern flank, while its eastern border was redrawn to accommodate the English colonies of an expanding New England Confederation.

The colony experienced dramatic growth during the 1650s and became a major center for trade across the North Atlantic. The Dutch conquered New Sweden in 1655 but, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, surrendered New Netherland to the English following the capture of New Amsterdam. In 1673, the Dutch retook the colony but relinquished it under the Treaty of Westminster (1674) that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

The inhabitants of New Netherland (New Netherlanders) were European colonists, Native Americans, and Africans imported as slave laborers. Not including Native Americans, the colonial population, many of whom were not of Dutch descent,[7][8][9] was 4,301 in 1650[4] and 8,000 to 9,000 at the time of transfer to England in 1674.


Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "The New Netherland Dutch". The People of Colonial Albany live here. February 2003. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  2. ^ Shorto, Russell (November 27, 2003). "The Un-Pilgrims". The New York Times (New York ed.). p. 39. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
  3. ^ Wentz, Abel Ross (1955). "New Netherland and New York". A Basic History of Lutheranism in America. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press. p. 6.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference popstats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Analysis: A Description of the New Netherlands". EBSCO Information Services, Inc. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  6. ^ "P. Geyl, Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse stam · DBNL".
  7. ^ Peter Eisenstadt, ed. Encyclopedia of New York State (Syracuse UP, 2005) p. 1051.
  8. ^ Scheltema, Gajus and Westerhuijs, Heleen. Exploring Historic Dutch New York, 2013.
  9. ^ Oliver A. Rink, Holland on the Hudson: An Economic and Social History of Dutch New York, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1986, p. 156.
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