The Other States of America: History Podcast

Why is it only now that we are doing an overview of culture in New Netherland? The evolution of government, local government, and courts in New Netherland. It's not as dry as it sounds... there is genital mutilation, shot gun weddings and spies contained within. The Culture Series episodes are intended to fill in the small details that some may find interesting, you may skip the culture series episodes without missing out on the larger story.

Where is the line between Upstate and Downstate NY? Did the Dutch already determine the divide centuries ago? As the Northern part of New Netherland expands out of Rensselaerswyck and Beverwyck, the settlers who went south encountered an isolated tribe and xenophobia on both sides led to the Esopus Wars, a four year long series of blood feuds. The Settlers who went North-West and found Schenectady had relations of a very different kind with the friendly Mohawks.

Johan Rising takes the Dutch Fort Casimir on the Delaware, Stuyvesant prepares the largest invasion force ever seen on the Atlantic coast up to this point in history to retaliate, the Dutch West India Companies orders the complete assimilation of New Sweden. Is this it for the colony? 

Stuyvesant tries to rebuild New Netherland from the rubble left by Kieft, he creates Beverwyck which will one day become Albany NY, The Swedes take over a Fort and the English Plan the invasion to end New Netherland entirely...

New Sweden is unsteady after the disappearance of Minuit, however its' leaders are able to sweet talk and manipulate Willem Kieft, leader of New Netherland. Johan Printz becomes governor of New Sweden and perhaps the largest man in the Americas, but then Peter Stuyvesant takes commad of New Netherland and the two of them play a long game of Geo-Politcal Chicken over the Delaware river.

C.A. Weslager is the preeminent source of information for this podcast episode and every podcast episode on New Sweden

Policies change within the Dutch West India Company and Willem Kieft as the new director brings bloodshed to the colony and a dozen nearby tribes, those in Kieft's War, as it will  be known, see the worse atrocities ever committed in the colony.

One Addition: Kieft in a addition to dissolving the council of 12, also formed the governing body, which i neglected to mention in the podcast 

What does Peter Minuit, the former leader of the New Netherland Colony have to do with the founding of New Sweden? Who were the Swedes and who were the Finns of the 17th Century? New Sweden claimed territory in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland and yet only show up in your textbook as a footnote. 

The Iroquois League after a period of constant low level warring over blood feuds, trade and territory, break out with a string of runaway victories and utterly annihilate the political order of the Great Lakes Region. Was it all over beaver fur?

Let one investor's alcoholic nephew run the whole colony, what could go wrong? The Natives acquire guns, the colony loses the eastern quarter of it's territory, and almost loses the entire Southern Portion. Booze becomes a means of bribery, drinking contests escalate to indoor canon fire.

in 1634 a young man leaves Fort Orange to explore the Mohawk and Oneida Nations, his account is the earliest written record from within the world of the Haudenosaunee.  He tries to buy a pet bear, is tasked with driving out the devil and yet at the end he is the strangest character of all.