It’s one of the most foundational questions we could ever ask on this show — how did New York City get its name?
You may know that the English conquered the Dutch settlement of New Netherland (and its port town of New Amsterdam) in 1664, but the details of this history-making day have remained hazy — until now.
Russell Shorto brought the world of New Amsterdam and the early years before New York to life in his classic history The Island At The Center of The World.
His new book Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America functions as a sequel of sorts, revisiting the moment when New Amsterdam ceased to be — and New York was born.
Shorto joins Greg and Tom for a very spirited discussion of international warfare, displaced princes, frantic letter writing and ominous warships in the harbor.
At the end of this story, you will not only know how New York — the city, the state, the whole place, from Buffalo to Long Island — got its name, you will know the exact forgotten historical figure who gave it that name.
