Throw Back Thursday 1654: The First Rosh Hashanah in North America
On September 12, 1654 the first Rosh Hashanah services in the North America were held in New Amsterdam. That’s right, we’re headed to the Stuyvesant administration.
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17 Historical Theaters in NYC’s Times Square
NYC’s Times Square has become one of the most famous theater districts in the world. Take a look at 17 of the area’s historic theaters, some of still standing, while others were lost to development.
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10 Things the Dutch Introduced to NYC and America from Bowling to Santa Claus to Democracy
10 things the Dutch introduced into American culture through its tiny island outpost in NYC from cookies, Santa Claus, democracy, bowling, doughnuts and more
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New Amsterdam’s Gay Scene: The Queer Case of Harmen van den Bogaert in Early NYC
Harmen van den Bogaert was the first death due to sexual preference in Dutch New Amsterdam and his harrowing escape and capture was recorded in a journal.
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Today in NYC History: In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant Takes the Reins in New Netherland
Peter Stuyvesant arrives in New Amsterdam as the new Director General of New Netherland. Image via allposter.com
New Amsterdam in the early 1640s was a mess. Trash was strewn about the muddy streets, drunken sailors and farm animals ambled about, and New Netherland’s small population was huddled up in Manhattan after a bruising war …
MoreToday in NYC History: How The Dutch Actually Bought Manhattan (The Long Version)
The Castello Plan of New Amsterdam, via Wikimedia Commons
On May 4, 1626, Peter Minuit arrived in New Amsterdam as the new director from the Dutch West India Company. Minuit was in his early 30s, and had been sent to diversify the trade coming out of New Netherland, then almost exclusively animal pelts. Minuit means …
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Today in NYC History: A 1643 Massacre of the Lenape Almost Dooms New Amsterdam
During the late 1630s, New Netherland was being encroached on all sides. The Dutch-led Pavonia Massacre in turn sparked revenge by the Algonquin tribes.
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Today in NYC History: Residents of New Amsterdam Win Recognition from the Dutch Government in 1653
New Yorkers have been agitators and disrupters from the start, even back when New Amsterdam was just a small settlement on the tip of Manhattan. On this date February 2nd in 1653, New Amsterdam was officially declared a municipality by the Dutch government.
During the 1620s, New Amsterdam was set up as a trading …
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On This Day in NYC History, December 2: 1657 Legislation Banned Household Goods as a Method of Payment for Liquor
On this Day in NYC History: December 2nd, 1657, the Nieuw Amsterdam City Council enacted legislation banning household goods as mean of payment for alcohol.
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