File:AMH-6831-KB_View_of_New_Amsterdam.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
New Amsterdam
Sign in to save17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that became New York City
Key facts
- Dutch colony
- New Netherland
- Settled
- 1624 (402 years ago) ( 1624 )
- Conquered by the english
- 1664 (362 years ago) ( 1664 )
- Recaptured by the dutch
- 1673 (353 years ago) ( 1673 )
- Relinquished to the english
- 1674 (352 years ago) ( 1674 )
- Type
- Colonial government
- Body
- Council of Mayors , Schepen and a Schout
- Director general of new amsterdam
- Peter Stuyvesant ( Dutch West India Company )
- Land
- 94 km (36 sq mi)
- Highest elevation
- 122 m (400 ft)
- Lowest elevation
- 0 m (0 ft)
- Estimate 1664
- 2,500
- Rank
- 1st in New Netherland
- Demonym
- New Netherlander
- Time zone
- UTC−05:00 ( EST )
via Wikipedia infobox
~28 min read
Encyclopedic overview
New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam, pronounced [ˌniu.ɑmstərˈdɑm]) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading factory gave rise to the settlement around Fort Amsterdam. The fort was situated on the strategic southern tip of the island of Manhattan and was meant to defend the fur trade operations of the Dutch West India Company in the North River (Hudson River). In 1624, it became a provincial extension of the Dutch Republic and was designated as the capital of the province in 1625. New Amsterdam became a city when it received municipal rights on February 2, 1653.
By 1655, the population of New Netherland had grown to over 2,000 people, with a 1,500 majority residing in the city of New Amsterdam. By 1664, the population of New Netherland had risen to almost 9,000 people, 2,500 of whom lived in New Amsterdam, 1,000 lived near Fort Orange, and the remainder in other towns and villages.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “New Amsterdam” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.