Dutch people have had a continuous presence in New York City for nearly 400 years, being the earliest European settlers. New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists in 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653.[1] Because of the history of Dutch colonization, Dutch culture, politics, law, architecture, and language played a formative role in shaping the culture of the city. The Dutch were the majority in New York City until the early 1700s and the Dutch language was commonly spoken until the mid to late-1700s.[2]
Many places and institutions in New York City still bear a colonial Dutch toponymy, including Brooklyn (Breukelen), Harlem (Haarlem), Wall Street (Waal Straat), The Bowery (bouwerij (“farm”), and Coney Island (conyne).[3]
Wyckoff House in Brooklyn, 2007.Saint Nicholas Day event held in 1892 by the Saint Nicholas Day Society in 1892.Congregation Shaaray Tefila, 127 West 44th Street. Henry Fernbach, arch. (1869).
The New York Dutch Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art features historical artifacts from Dutch homes in New York.[4]
The term "Knickerbockers" comes from a name assumed by Washington Irving in writing his work "Knickerbocker's history of New York", published in 1809. The title was used as an advertising scheme to announce the book, and since then the descendants of the Dutch in New York have been called "Knickerbockers."[5]Knickerbocker, or "knickers" refers to the breeches that the Dutch settlers would wear.
The African American Pinkster Committee of New York (AAPCNY) along with the African Burial Ground National Monument hold an annual pinkster celebration in New York City. Originally a Dutch Christian holiday celebrating Pentecost, pinkster has subsequently evolved into a primarily African-American holiday incorporating elements of Angolan, Congolese, and other African culture.[6]
The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York is a charitable organization whose membership is composed of men who are descended from New York's early inhabitants, many of whom can trace their ancestry back to the earliest colonial Dutch settlers.[7]
The Wyckoff House, an historic house in Brooklyn's Canarsie neighborhood, is the oldest surviving example of Dutch frame architecture in the United States, dating to 1652.[8]
^"Wyckoff House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2021-05-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
