Russell Shorto and Stephen McErleane on the days when New York City was New Amsterdam (6/21/19)
For over 40 years in the 17th century, the Dutch controlled the settlement that is now called New York City. And their influence didn’t stop there. Newly translated documents from that era indicate that modern American culture may be more firmly rooted in Dutch New Amsterdam than it is in the Plymouth Colony of New England. Russell Shorto is the author of “The Island at the Center of the World” and “Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City.” He also wrote the June 17 article in the New York Times Travel section entitled “In the Hudson Valley, a Drive Back in Time.” Stephen McErleane is the Director of the New Netherland Institute. Through a partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the institute is currently hosting a series of 11 lectures, each at a different scenic New York locale including the Hudson Valley and the Capital Region. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Russell Shorto and Stephen McErleane discuss the Dutch side of our national history and the unique society that flourished when New York was New Amsterdam.