The island at the center of the world

"Nadat de Kamer Amsterdam der West Indische Compagnie op 22 April 1625 last had
gegeven tot den aanleg van het Fort Amsterdam en tien bouweryen daarnevens heeft de koop van het Eiland Manhattan dien aanleg bevestigd welke de grondslag werd van de stad New-York"

This is the Dutch inscription on a monument in Battery Park memorizing the Dutch establishment on Manhattan.

I've been reading this great book by Russel Shorto called "The island at the center of the world". It's is a chronicle of the early years of Manhattan, when it was known as New Amsterdam in the relatively short-lived Dutch colony of New Netherlands. According to Shorto, this period in New York history is crucial to understanding the development and character of New York City and the United States. As the first "multi-ethnic, upwardly mobile society on America's shores ... Manhattan is where America began.

Shorto traces New Amsterdam's character, naturally, to Amsterdam and Dutch society. He points out that Dutch society was the most tolerant in Europe at the time, a place where dissidents and controversial thinkers could come to escape persecution. The book is filled with examples of this enlightened atmosphere, from philosophers like Descartes and Spinoza to the interesting fact that one-half of all books in Europe were published in the Netherlands. Fresh from the highly resented imperial rule of the Spanish, the Dutch were particularly sensitive to liberal notions of free-speech and self-determination. Furthermore, Shorto suggests that because New Amsterdam was a company town, and never intended to be a settlement colony, attitudes toward religious and national differences were put aside to a remarkable degree. Business is business, after all, and distractions were unwelcome in this market society.

New Amsterdam was not entirely a reflection of Dutch society, however. Indeed, Shorto points out that because Amsterdam was a pleasant place even for the poor, only the very lowest order of society could be convinced to populate the far-away outpost of New Amsterdam, and thus the city became populated with a particularly rough-and-tumble crowd. Through court records he brings to life some of these figures, and this time spent with various average residents is one of the more delightful aspects of the book. He recounts a lively atmosphere full of drunkenness, casual violence, and casual sex, all of which help to make the book entertaining to a popular audience. (courtesy of Michael Wescott's review on Amazon.com)