New Netherlands Project ~ Dutch-USA Legacy!

The Dutch landed in 1609 with Henry Hudson's exploration of his eponymous river. The resulting Dutch colony, first identified as New Netherland by Adriaen Block in 1614, extended from the Connecticut River to Delaware Bay. Unfortunately, the colony's spot between New England to the north and Maryland and Virginia to the south placed it square in English gunsights, resulting in full handover by treaty in 1674. This is fantastically relevant because...

"New Netherland represents about two-thirds of a century of Dutch activity in the important central region of the eastern United States. Here the influence of Dutch culture has persisted throughout the nineteenth century and beyond. The region's bustling commerce, cosmopolitanism, and tradition of individual freedom are rooted in its Dutch past."

This core appreciation remains currently critical because the essential ethos of America is also fundamentally Dutch -- the free and glorious aspiration for Liberty, Prosperity, and Vitality!