New Amsterdam Historical Fiction Journals

The New Amsterdam study is an exploration of multiple perspectives and multiple identities as they come together on a small island (Mannahatta) during a short window of time (1609 to 1664). Usually the BNS New Amsterdam study is hands-on and full of field trips. This year has been very different, so the children relied on videos, Zoom discussions, read alouds, and texts to create their mental image of New Amsterdam. This was no easy task and they tackled it with their customary enthusiasm and good cheer. We are so proud of them!

The New Amsterdam study came after the Eastern Woodland study which comprised the first half of the school year. After looking closely at the first peoples of our area, we started to study the conflicts that arose as Dutch settlers and other Europeans came to this area. We focused most of our time on the period after New Amsterdam became a bustling trading port. From 1626 to 1664, New Amsterdam was inhabited by a mix of Dutch settlers, enslaved and free Africans, Jewish refugees, and Quakers (with the Lenape and other Native peoples continuing to live close by).

The New Amsterdam Historical Fiction Journals Project were created to bring together each student's learning during this first-ever Remote New Amsterdam study.