400 Years of Dutch-American Stories

 

The Holland Society is pleased to share the following stories written by experts and produced by the Dutch National Archives.

This is a monthly series with stories from the rich history shared by the American and the Dutch people. Authors from both countries will present various stories of their own choosing, from a wide variety of perspectives, in order to provide the full of triumphs and heartbreaks, delights and disappointments that draw from hundreds of years of shared history. Not all stories will be ‘feel-good history’. While the relations between the Dutch and the Americans have for the most part been stable and peaceful, the shared history contains some darker moments as well. Acknowledging that errors have been made in the past does not take away from the friendship but, rather, deepens it.

As we come to the end of this blog series, Jaap Jacobs takes a look at previous commemorations of Dutch-American friendship. An exploration of what shaped these events leads to the question of how to commemorate New York’s Dutch history and Dutch-American friendship in 2024 and beyond.
#26 When did it all begin?
During the Second World War, a Dutch-Jewish family had to go into hiding to avoid deportation to Germany. When the war was over, they emigrated to the United States.
#25 Recollections and Reconnections: War History as Family History
In early New Netherland and New Amsterdam new arrivals, Black and white, tried to recreate the world they had left. As historical sources are scarce and incomplete, historical interpreter and culinary historian Lavada Nahon uses deep empathy and imagination to depict the sensory world of the enslaved.
#24 Sight, Sound, Touch, and Taste: Africans Sensing the Dutch in New Netherland
In 1704 and 1716, two young men from Boston, Jonathan Belcher and Jacob Wendell, wrote down their experiences of visiting the Dutch Republic.
#23 Hurley and its History: Historical Views Changing over Time
In 1704 and 1716, two young men from Boston, Jonathan Belcher and Jacob Wendell, wrote down their experiences of visiting the Dutch Republic.
#22 The Dutch Republic through Bostonian Eyes
#21 A Sabre for Eisenhower: Forging Transatlantic Bonds for the Twentieth Century
#21 A Sabre for Eisenhower: Forging Transatlantic Bonds for the Twentieth Century
#20 Wilhelmina Douglas Hawley and the Artists’ Colony in Rijsoord
#20 Wilhelmina Douglas Hawley and the Artists’ Colony in Rijsoord
#19 Dutch-American Stories: Fellow Founding Fathers - Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp and Thomas Jefferson
#19 Dutch-American Stories: Fellow Founding Fathers – Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp and Thomas Jefferson
#18 Breaking Free from a Girls’ Boarding School? American Mass Culture and the Roaring Twenties in theNetherlands
#18 Breaking Free from a Girls’ Boarding School? American Mass Culture and the Roaring Twenties in theNetherlands
#17 Lady Liberty as Muse: An Inspired Dutch Writer and Her Love for the United States of America
#17 Lady Liberty as Muse: An Inspired Dutch Writer and Her Love for the United States of America
During the Second World War, the English secret service did not trust the German-born Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, son-in-law of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Yet he was wildly popular among the Dutch population suffering under the Nazi yoke. So much so that he could get away with a few missteps.
#16 A Dutch Prince, His American Jeep, and Two Female Passengers
#15 Edward Winslow: Anglo-Dutch-American Pilgrim
#15 Edward Winslow: Anglo-Dutch-American Pilgrim
#14 Rising from the Ashes: The Afterlife of a Phoenix
#14 Rising from the Ashes: The Afterlife of a Phoenix
# 13 Jane Addams and Aletta Jacobs at the Women’s Congress in The Hague
# 13 Jane Addams and Aletta Jacobs at the Women’s Congress in The Hague
#12 Sojourner Truth: Enslaved Woman of a Dutch-New York Family
#12 Sojourner Truth: Enslaved Woman of a Dutch-New York Family
#11 Growing Up Dutch in Iowa
#11 Growing Up Dutch in Iowa
#10 Dutch American Perspectives
#10 Dutch American Perspectives
#9 Sweet Prospects and a Bitter Experience: The Adventures of Gerrit Boon and Jan Lincklaen
#9 Sweet Prospects and a Bitter Experience: The Adventures of Gerrit Boon and Jan Lincklaen
#8 On the First Dutch Translation of the U.S. Constitution
#8 On the First Dutch Translation of the U.S. Constitution
#7 Johnny Goes Dutch
#7 Johnny Goes Dutch
#6 The Tale of the White Horse: The First Slave Trading Voyage to New Netherland
#6 The Tale of the White Horse: The First Slave Trading Voyage to New Netherland
#5 John Romeyn Brodhead’s Hunt for History
#5 John Romeyn Brodhead’s Hunt for History
#4 Mass Murder on Manhattan
#4 Mass Murder on Manhattan
The small colonial town that the Dutch founded in North America was called New Amsterdam. We now know it as New York City. The story of how the name evolved has many twists and turns and is, in fact, a tale of war and peace.
#3 New Amsterdam: “What’s in a Name”
#2 Mayken's World
#2 Mayken’s World
#1 The Patron Saint of New York
#1 The Patron Saint of New York