During the 17th century, Europe was undergoing expansive social, cultural, and economic growth known as the Dutch Golden Agein the Netherlands. Nations vied for domination of lucrative trade routes around the globe,

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Chartered trading companies
The immediate and intense competition among Dutch trading companies in the newly charted areas led to

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New Netherlanders were not necessarily Dutch, and New Netherland was never a homogeneous society. Governor Peter Minuit was a Walloon born in Germany who spoke English and worked for a Dutch company. The term New Netherland Dutchgenerally includes all the

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In March 1664, Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland resolved to annex New Netherland and "bring all his Kingdoms under one form

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New Netherland grew into the largest metropolisin the United States, and it left an enduring legacy on American cultural and political life, "a secular broadmindedness and mercantile pragmatism" greatly influenced by the social and political climate

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• Archdeacon, Thomas J. New York City 1664–1710. Conquest and Change (1976).
• Bachman, V.C. Peltries or Plantations. The Economic Policies of

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South River and New Sweden
Apart from the second Fort Nassau, and the small community that supported it, settlement along the Zuyd Rivierwas limited. An attempt by

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