The island at the center of the world : the epic story of Dutch Manhattan and the forgotten colony that shaped America

From Publishers Weekly Drawing on 17th-century Dutch records of New Netherland and its capital, Manhattan, translated by scholar Charles Gehring only in recent decades, Shorto (Gospel Truth) brings to exuberant life the human drama behind the skimpy legend starting with the colony's founding in 1623. Most Americans know little about Dutch Manhattan beyond its first director, Peter Minuit, who made the infamous $24 deal with the Indians, and Peter Stuyvesant, the stern governor who lost the island to the English in 1664. These two seminal figures receive their due here, along with a huge cast of equally fascinating characters. But Shorto has a more ambitious agenda: to argue for the huge debt Americans owe to the culture of Dutch Manhattan, the first place in the New World where men and women of different races and creeds lived in relative harmony. The petitions of the colony's citizens for greater autonomy, penned by Dutch-trained lawyer Adriaen van der Donck, represented "one of the earliest expressions of modern political impulses: an insistence by the members of the community that they play a role in their own government." While not discounting the British role in the shaping of American society, the author argues persuasively for the Dutch origins of some of our most cherished beliefs and their roots in "the tolerance debates in Holland" and "the intellectual world of Descartes, Grotius, and Spinoza." Shorto's gracefully written historical account is a must-read for anyone interested in this nation's origins. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist As the song goes, "Even Old New York was once New Amsterdam." Unfortunately, for many Americans, that is the limit of their knowledge about the Dutch colony that was seized by the English in 1664. Shorto, author of two previous books and articles published in the New Yorker and the New York Times Mag azine, presents an outstanding and revealing chronicle of the Dutch presence on Manhattan Island. Much of his research is based on recently translated Dutch primary sources that have languished in archives in Albany. Written in elegant prose, this enthralling story provides original perspectives on several historical figures, including Henry Hudson, Peter Minuit, and Peter Stuyvesant. Shorto also highlights the contributions of Andriaen van der Donck, an energetic, charismatic man who played an integral part in creating a dynamic, diverse, and tolerant society that appears refreshing when compared to the neighboring Puritan-dominated colony in Massachusetts. This is an important work. Jay Freeman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved In A Landmark Work Of History, Russell Shorto Presents Astonishing Information On The Founding Of Our Nation And Reveals In Riveting Detail The Crucial Role Of The Dutch In Making America What It Is Today. In The Late 1960s, An Archivist In The New York State Library Made An Astounding Discovery: 12,000 Pages Of Centuries-old Correspondence, Court Cases, Legal Contracts, And Reports From A Forgotten Society: The Dutch Colony Centered On Manhattan, Which Predated The Thirteen Original American Colonies. For The Past Thirty Years Scholar Charles Gehring Has Been Translating This Trove, Which Was Recently Declared A National Treasure. Now, Russell Shorto Has Made Use Of This Vital Material To Construct A Sweeping Narrative Of Manhattan's Founding That Gives A Startling, Fresh Perspective On How America Began. In An Account That Blends A Novelist's Grasp Of Storytelling With Cutting-edge Scholarship, The Island At The Center Of The World Strips Manhattan Of Its Asphalt, Bringing Us Back To A Wilderness Island, A Hunting Ground For Indians, Populated By Wolves And Bears, That Became A Prize In The Global Power Struggle Between The English And The Dutch. Indeed, Russell Shorto Shows That America's Founding Was Not The Work Of English Settlers Alone But A Result Of The Clashing Of These Two Seventeenth Century Powers. In Fact, It Was Amsterdam, Europe's Most Liberal City, With An Unusual Policy Of Tolerance And A Polyglot Society Dedicated To Free Trade, That Became The Model For The City Of New Amsterdam On Manhattan. While The Puritans Of New England Were Founding A Society Based On Intolerance, On Manhattan The Dutch Created A Free-trade, Upwardly-mobile Melting Pot That Would Help Shape Not Only New York, But America. The Story Moves From The Halls Of Power In London And The Hague To Bloody Naval Encounters On The High Seas. The Characters In The Saga-the Men And Women Who Played A Part In Manhattan's Founding, Range From The Philosopher Rene Descartes To James, The Duke Of York, To Prostitutes And Smugglers. At The Heart Of The Story Is A Bitter Power Struggle Between Two Men: Peter Stuyvesant, The Autocratic Director Of The Dutch Colony, And A Forgotten American Hero Named Adriaen Van Der Donck, A Maverick, Liberal-minded Lawyer Whose Brilliant Political Gamesmanship, Commitment To Individual Freedom, And Exuberant Love Of His New Country Would Have A Lasting Impact On The History Of This Nation. Prologue : The Missing Floor -- Pt. I. A Certain Island Named Manathans -- The Measure Of Things -- The Pollinator -- The Island -- The King, The Surgeon, The Turk, And The Whore -- Pt. Ii. Clash Of Wills -- The Lawman -- The Council Of Blood -- The Cause -- The One-legged Man -- The General And The Princess -- The People's Champion -- An American In Europe -- A Dangerous Man -- Pt. Iii. The Inheritance -- Booming -- New York -- Inherited Features -- Epilogue : The Paper Trail. Russell Shorto. Originally Published: New York : Doubleday, 2004. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 352-372) And Index. In a riveting, groundbreaking narrative, Russell Shorto tells the story of New Netherland, the Dutch colony which pre-dated the Pilgrims and established ideals of tolerance and individual rights that shaped American history. "Astonishing . . . A book that will permanently alter the way we regard our collective past." — The New York Times When the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappear into myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and a cartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages of its records–recently declared a national treasure–are now being translated. Russell Shorto draws on this remarkable archive in The Island at the Center of the World , which has been hailed by The New York Times as “a book that will permanently alter the way we regard our collective past.” The Dutch colony pre-dated the “original” thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these two strong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture. The Island at the Center of the World uncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective on our own. When the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappear into myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and a cartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages of its records--recently declared a national treasure--are now being translated. Drawing on this remarkable archive, Russell Shorto has created a gripping narrative--a story of global sweep centered on a wilderness called Manhattan--that transforms our understanding of early America. The Dutch colony pre-dated the "original" thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these two strong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture. The Island at the Center of the World uncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective on our own. BONUS MATERIAL: This ebook edition includes an excerpt from Russell Shorto's Amsterdam