In 1621, the Netherlands government gave a charter to the Dutch West India Company. The company established a permanent colony in America. The Dutch built the New Netherland Colony using Henry Hudson's maps and discoveries as a guide. The main purpose of the new Dutch colony was to make money.

New Netherland was a large colony that was situated just north of the Virginia Colony and south of the New England Colonies which were controlled by the English. The Dutch settlements included most of modern day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and other areas nearby along the east coast.

A FINANCIALLY STRONG & DIVERSE COLONY

The New Netherland Colony was a financial success. New Netherland made more money than any other colony in America. Many different types of people living in the colony led to many different types of businesses being started in the Dutch colony and people became financially successful. Some money was made from farming, but not very much. Most of the money people made in New Netherland came from trading, especially the fur trade with the Native American Indians.

New Netherland also had the greatest population diversity for its time, meaning that people from all over the world came to settle in New Netherland. The word diversity means that there is a variety of things or people and not everything or everyone is the same. The Dutch did not put any restrictions on who could move to their colony. Settlers came from many European countries including Germany, France, Sweden, Finland, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Other settlers came from as far away as Africa. Half of the population of New Netherland was not even Dutch!

Settlers came to New Netherland for many different reasons. Some came to make money, others came for religious freedom, while others came to escape war and other disasters. Before long, New Netherland had become the richest and most diverse colony in America!

NEW NETHERLAND BECOMES NEW YORK

The English and Dutch became rivals over their colonies in America. A rivalry is a situation where two groups are competing for the same thing. Both countries were trying to claim the Atlantic coast of America for themselves. England became jealous of the financial success of the New Netherland Colony and wanted to take New Netherland for itself. In fact, the English even tried to say that they had a claim to the land dating back to 1498. Tensions between the countries grew, and fighting eventually broke out in 1652, but it did not last very long as the Dutch were able to defeat the English.

By 1664, the two countries were technically at peace. But the King of England still wanted to get his hands on the New Netherland Colony that was located right between his other colonies in America. The King decided he would get his brother to help him take New Netherland. He decided he would give the Dutch colony of New Netherland to his brother, the Duke of York. The only problem was that the King didn't actually have possession of the New Netherland Colony. But he knew that his brother, the Duke of York would forcibly backed up his claim to the land by sending ships full of soldiers.

The King knew that it wouldn't be hard to take the colony away from the Dutch. Most of the people who lived there were not Dutch anyways and didn't have a lot of loyalty to the Netherlands anyways. The New Netherland Colony was also ruled by a very weak Governor who was hated by the people.

When the Duke of York's ships arrived in the harbors of New Amsterdam in 1664, the Dutch Governor of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant surrendered the colony to the English and it was renamed New York, after the King of England's brother, the Duke of York. The English had taken the colony without so much as a single shot being fired!

England had a new colony, or several new colonies. New Netherland would actually go on to become the four middle colonies of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey.