In America today, any test taken on Colonial New York only requires three points of knowledge. First, an Englishman, Henry Hudson, discovered it (never mind that he was working for the Dutch) in 1609. Secondly, some enterprising Dutchman bought (stole) Manhattan from the natives for $24. Third, it didn't really amount to much as a colony until another Englishman, the Duke of York, took over. What is found when taking a closer look at these Dutch years in Manhattan is that they have had much more influence on American life than we have learned in our Anglo-centric history books.
The Art of the Deal
While that famous $24 dollar price tag for the most valuable piece to real estate in the world seems unbelievable, it is important to note that this figure is quoted from the 19th century and is apples to todays oranges. Valued at 60 Guilders in Dutch currency, it was half a year’s wages for a Dutch soldier. It is also significant to remember that the Dutch only inhabited this "wilderness" island, from present-day Wall St. south. Finally, it must be understood that in every early transaction of this kind with the Native Americans, the initial amount was only considered a down payment on a future defensive services mortgage. In all actuality, these colonists paid a very heavy price. Many times they made their mortgage payments with their lives while defending their Native American bankers whose deed always came with a perpetual right of way assigned to the seller.
America’s First District Attorney
Another Dutch contribution to the American identity is a little known attorney named Adriaen Van der Donck. In 1641, after graduating with a degree in Roman-Dutch law from Leiden University, he took a job as the American Sherriff and “District” attorney for the Van Rensselaer family on their feudal holdings near Fort Orange (Albany, NY). This young attorney had been educated in all of the liberty and political freedom of Holland's values and soon tired of being a rich man’s rubber law stamp. He decided to head south to Manhattan. He soon became embroiled in local politics there and gave America its first written declaration against tyranny. He organized a petition, which he eventually argued himself before the High and Mighty court in Amsterdam, for the removal of the corporate governor, Peter Stuyvesant. In his place, Van der Donck almost succeeded in placing a republican government that would have been a full member of the Dutch Republic. The only reminder of his valiant effort is a city named for the man who began the first farm there. The place became known as The Squires or in the Dutch vernacular “Jonkheer’s (Yonkers) Farm”.
