Albany & New York City: Born as Dutch New Netherland

Before they were New York and Albany, they were Fort Orange and New Amsterdam—the twin anchors of the Dutch colony of New Netherland (1624–1664).

The Dutch Foundations

• 1614: Fort Nassau (first Dutch outpost, near present-day Albany) – failed due to flooding.
• 1624: Fort Orange established upstream—became the fur trade hub with Mohawk & Mahican nations. Evolved into Beverwijck (1652), then Albany (1664, English rename for Duke of Albany).
• 1625: New Amsterdam founded on Manhattan Island—administrative capital and Atlantic port. Became New York City (1664, English rename for Duke of York).

Why It Matters

The Dutch legacy persists in:

• Street names: Broadway (Brede Weg), Wall Street (Walstraat), Harlem (Haarlem), Brooklyn (Breukelen), Bronx (Bronck), Staten Island (Staaten Eylandt).
• Legal tradition: Dutch civil law influenced NY property/water rights.
• Tolerance: New Netherland's relative religious pluralism seeded NYC's diversity.
• Place names: Yonkers (Jonkheer), Kinderhook, Schenectady, Rensselaer—all Dutch.

Albany and NYC are the oldest continuously occupied European settlements in the original 13 colonies—both born Dutch, renamed English, grown American.