The name Stuyvesant can be found everywhere in New York City. — in the names of neighborhoods, apartments, parks and high schools. Peter Stuyvesant, the last director-general of New Amsterdam, is a hero to some, a villain to others — and probably a caricature to all.
What do we really know about Peter Stuyvesant?
In their last days in Amsterdam (before heading to other parts of the Netherlands), Tom and Greg spend their time getting to know Peter Stuyvesant, thanks to their special guest Jaap Jacobs, the author of a forthcoming biography on the elusive and controversial figure.
And outside the mayor’s residence in Amsterdam’s exclusive Gouden Bocht (Golden Bend), they meet up with Jennifer Tosch of Black Heritage Tours (with tours in New York and Amsterdam) to investigate the story of New Amsterdam and the Dutch slave trade.
PLUS They stroll around New Amsterdam on a dark, stormy evening. No really! Well, it’s the village of Marken where one can find the closest approximation of what New Amsterdam looked like.
AND A few more myths are dispelled. What actual date should New York City mark as its anniversary — 1624, 1625, or 1626? Did a letter describing the so-called ‘purchase of Manhattan’ from the Lenape actually come from New Amsterdam? And was New Amsterdam, in fact, even its real name?
LISTEN NOW: FINDING PETER STUYVESANT
Inside the Cafe de Schrierstoren. Delicious food!
Inside the Royal Palace, a constellation-like map on the floor reveals the extent of the Dutch empire.
Setting up in the ‘Golden Bend’ in front of the Mayor’s house.
Cafe Mooy in Amsterdam
Images of Marken, the island village that has many traits similar to New Amsterdam.
Over on Patreon, we released a series of daily shows while on the streets of the Netherlands. You can check out those shows — and the many other benefits of being a Bowery Boys patron — by supporting the show at Patreon.
FURTHER LISTENING
The first two parts of Amsterdam/New Amsterdam — Empire of the Seas and The Radical Walloons
Interview with Russell Shorto, author of The Island At The Center of the World
The Lenape and other native peoples of the New York/Hudson Valley region would be both trading partners and adversaries of the Dutch, who claimed to have ‘discovered’ the land those people already lived upon.
The story of religious freedom during the New Amsterdam/Peter Stuyvesant plays a major role in this episode which features a visit to the John Bowne House:
Our original two-part series on New Amsterdam: