Dutch New York

Pictured: Historian Barry Lewis

Credit: thirteen.org

Historian Barry Lewis takes us back in time to rediscover the first European settlers in New York — the Dutch.

With the arrival of Henry Hudson in 1609 to the end of Dutch rule and subsequent “Act of Surrender” to England in 1664, this program brings the early history of New York City, Albany and places in between to life. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of Hudson’s epic journey to the river that bears his name, Dutch New York airs Monday, November 16 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV (DT21.1/cable1011/cable11). The broadcast coincides with NY400, a week-long, city-wide celebration of Dutch culture in New York.

Historian Barry Lewis, takes viewers to key locations around New York – from Wall Street to the Bronx, the East river to the outer boroughs, and upstate to Albany and Cohoes Falls – to offer insight into how Dutch ideals in politics, religion and trade shaped the people and island of what would become New York, into one of the most influential and thriving cities among the American colonies. Dutch New York features interviews with experts including Dr. Charles Gehring, Director of the New Netherlands Project, Dr. Eric Sanderson from The Mannahatta Project, and historian Dr. Joyce Goodfriend from the University of Denver.

The program also examines the dynamic between the early Dutch settlers and the indigenous Peoples of Mannahatta as they established trade relations – first in beaver pelts, then in the famous purchase of the Island itself for $24.