New York State Test Prep Social Studies 5 (Grade 4) Encounters with People from Europe, Africa, and the Americas

Fort Orange, 1635

     The New Netherland Dutch were Europeans who came to America between 1624 and 1664. They settled in what today is part of New York State, Delaware, and New Jersey. Only about half of the colonists who settled in this area were Dutch. Other settlers came from various countries in Europe; Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, England, Ireland, and Scotland.   They settled near the Atlantic coast and along the bank of the Hudson River on land that belonged to the Dutch West India Company, a wealthy fur trading business in the Netherlands. The colony they settled became known as New Netherland. Since the land was controlled by a Dutch company and ruled by the Dutch government, those who settled there became known as the New Netherland Dutch.
     The Dutch West India Company brought over colonists from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Some brought their families, while others came alone. There were farmers, tradesmen, carpenters, soldiers, and hired laborers. They had come from many places and had a variety of skills and talents, but they all came to work together in the new Dutch colony.
     “Forts” such as Fort Orange pictured above, were built by the Dutch West India Company as trading posts for fur trading with the Native Americans. These trading posts were built of wood and surrounded by high stockades. Soldiers, hired by the Dutch West India Company, were stationed at the posts. Some of the farmers and carpenters employed by the trading company also lived in cabins within the fort’s walls.
colony: a place ruled or governed by a distant country
stockades: a fence or wall built of wood for the purpose of protection

Directions: Base your answers to the questions below on the above information and your knowledge of social studies.

1. What was the business of the Dutch West India Company? ___________

_________________________________________________________

2. Why were the colonists called the New Netherland Dutch when many of

them came from countries other than the Netherlands? _______________

_________________________________________________________

3. Why would the Dutch West India Company whose business was fur trading, hire soldiers for a trading post? Why would they hire farmers?

_________________________________________________________