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Dutch New York

Washington Irving, Gibbet Island, and Jersey City

My post from last summer examined the connection between Washington Irving, America’s first international author and a connoisseur of Dutch culture, and the village of Communipaw—a part of contemporary Jersey City. This post has proven to be my most read piece with visitors from around the globe, illustrating the power and the possibility of culture—whether…

The Peach Tree War

My blogging has been sporadic during the past several months, and my attention has wandered far afield from my original subject of Jersey City. This post marks an intellectual return to the forgotten Dutch empire on the banks of the Hudson River. Following the Pavonia Massacre, hostilities between Dutch colonists and the surrounding Native American…

New Netherland in the Public Schools … in New York

A fellow history blogger (follow link for the story) reported that the New York State Social Studies curriculum is placing a greater emphasis on the period of Dutch colonial history in that state. A three-day workshop will be offered for educators at the New York State Museum (a fun place, by the way) in Albany,…

Book Review: Dutch New York

2009 marked the 400th anniversary of the explorer Henry Hudson sailing the Hudson River. In that year, the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York organized an exhibition on the Dutch colonial experience in the Hudson River Valley and the lasting influence of the Dutch on economics, politics, and culture in the region.