400 years of Dutch-American Stories


This blog is the first of a monthly series with stories from the rich history shared by the American and the Dutch people. Authors from both countries will present a range of stories, full of triumphs and disappointments that come with 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.


On the First Dutch Translation of the U.S. Constitution On the First Dutch Translation of the U.S. Constitution    |   By Michael Douma
There are a few topics that guarantee a historian an audience. Write a decent biography of Abraham Lincoln or James Madison, for example, and you are bound to have readers. Or, write something new and interesting about the Constitution and […]
November 21, 2022

Johnny goes Dutch Johnny goes Dutch    |   by Jaap Jacobs
When John Adams arrived in the Dutch Republic as the American envoy, he was accompanied by his two sons. They were both expected to attend school so as to further their education, but finding the right place turned out to […]
October 18, 2022

The Tale of the White Horse: The First Slave Trading Voyage to New Netherland The Tale of the White Horse: The First Slave Trading Voyage to New Netherland    |   By Dennis J. Maika
  The first direct shipment of enslaved Africans arrived in New Amsterdam in 1655. The voyage of the White Horse came in the wake of significant changes in the Dutch Atlantic. In this blog, American historian Dennis Maika outlines how […]
September 18, 2022

John Romeyn Brodhead’s Hunt for History John Romeyn Brodhead’s Hunt for History    |   by Jaap Jacobs
Over the centuries, numerous American visitors to the Netherlands produced travel accounts, filled with their fresh insights and observations as they viewed the familiar from a foreigner’s perspective. John Romeyn Brodhead is no exception, but he was not a regular […]
August 23, 2022

Mass Murder on Manhattan Mass Murder on Manhattan    |   By Mark Meuwese
Settler colonialism is not a story of friendly relations throughout. The confrontation with an unfamiliar other creates wariness and suspicion and often leads to violent outbursts in which noncombatants become innocent victims. Manhattan in the seventeenth century was no exception, […]
July 20, 2022

New Amsterdam: What’s in A Name? New Amsterdam: What’s in A Name?    |   by Jaap Jacobs
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 […]
June 20, 2022

Mayken’s World Mayken’s World    |   By Nicole Maskiell
On December 28, 1662, a woman named Mayken van Angola pursued freedom in New Amsterdam. She did not stand alone. Two other women—Susanna and Lucretia—stood with her and together, they petitioned the colonial government for their freedom. It was granted […]
May 24, 2022

The “Patron Saint of New York” The “Patron Saint of New York”    |   by Jaap Jacobs
The bonds that connect the American and Dutch peoples have been commemorated in various ways and at various levels. Dutch-American Friendship Day is a well-established annual event at the governmental level. In New York City, the historical memory of Petrus […]
April 19, 2022