New Netherland

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/new-netherland

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the capital of New Netherland?New Amsterdam (later became New York City)
2. When was New Netherland built?Officially established by the Dutch West India Company in 1621
3. What is the population (1674)?Estimated 8,000 to 9,000 inhabitants (excluding Native Americans)
4. What is the primary economic activity?Fur trade, particularly beaver pelts, and general transatlantic commerce
5. What was New Netherland and why did the Dutch build it?New Netherland was a Dutch colony started in 1621 by the Dutch West India Company. It was created to trade fur and compete with the English and French.
6. Where was New Netherland located?It stretched from the Delmarva Peninsula up to Cape Cod, covering parts of what are now New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with posts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Dutch West India Company: A chartered company established in 1621 to manage Dutch colonial activities in the Americas and Africa, including New Netherland.
Fur Trade: The commercial exchange of animal furs, primarily beaver pelts, for European goods, forming the economic backbone of New Netherland.
New Amsterdam: The capital and principal port of New Netherland, strategically located on Manhattan Island, which was surrendered to the English in 1664 and renamed New York.
Treaty of Westminster (1674): A peace treaty that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War and formally transferred ownership of New Netherland from the Dutch Republic to England.