A Description of New Netherland

Adriaen van der Donck, Charles T. Gehring, William A. Starna, Diederik Willem Goedhuys

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN:
  9780803210882
• eBook ISBN:
  9780803219397
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Early American History
• Index: History

This new edition and original translation of a tract by Dutch settler and lawyer van der Donck makes more widely accessible a document crucial for understanding the history of Dutch colonization in North America. . . . This document is an important primary source for students and researchers in colonial Dutch history, the settlement of New York and North America more generally, and the understanding of Indian cultures in the Northeast. —J. Mercantini, Choice 

This edition of A Description of New Netherland provides the first complete and accurate English-language translation of an essential first-hand account of the lives and world of Dutch colonists and northeastern Native communities in the seventeenth century. Adriaen van der Donck, a graduate of Leiden University in the 1640s, became the law enforcement officer for the Dutch patroonship of Rensselaerswijck, located along the upper Hudson River. His position enabled him to interact extensively with Dutch colonists and the local Algonquians and Iroquoians. An astute observer, detailed recorder, and accessible writer, Van der Donck was ideally situated to write about his experiences and the natural and cultural worlds around him.

Van der Donck’s Beschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlant was first published in 1655 and then expanded in 1656. An inaccurate and abbreviated English translation appeared in 1841 and was reprinted in 1968. This new volume features an accurate, polished translation by Diederik Willem Goedhuys and includes all the material from the original 1655 and 1656 editions.

The result is an indispensable first-hand account with enduring value to historians, ethnohistorians, and anthropologists. 

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Publication History of Adriaen van der Donck’s A Description of New Netherland
• A Description of New Netherland
• The Country
• Where New Netherland Is Situated
• When and by Whom New Netherland Was First Discovered
• Why This Territory Was Named New Netherland
• The Dutch, the First Possessors of New Netherland
• The Limits of New Netherland and How Far They Extend
• Of the Coast, Foreshore, and Seaports
• The South River
• Of the North River
• Of the Fresh River
• Of the East River
• Of the Various Waters and Their Shapes
• Of the Formation and Soil of the Land
• Of Wood and Vegetation
• Of the Fruit Trees Brought Over from the Netherlands
• Of the Vineyards
• Of Vegetables Generally
• Of the Flowers
• Of the Medicinal Herbs and Indigo
• Of Agriculture and Field Crops
• Of the Minerals and the Kinds of Earth and Stone
• Of the Paints and Dyes
• Of the Animals in New Netherland
• Of the Wild Animals
• Of the Avifauna, Aquatic and Terrestrial, and First the Raptors
• Of the Terrestrial Birds
• Of the Aquatic Birds
• Of the Fish
• Of the Poisons
• Of the Wind
• Of the Air
• Of the Seasons
• Of the Manners and Extraordinary Qualities of the Original Natives of New Netherland
• Their Bodily Shape, and Why They Are Called Wilden
• Fare and Food of the Indians
• Of the Dress and Ornaments of Men and Women
• Their Houses, Castles, and Settlements
• Ways of Marriage and Childbirth
• Of Suckling, and the Relations between Men and Women
• Ways of Burial, Lamentation, and Mourning
• Their Festivities and Special Gatherings
• How Human Beings and Animals First Came to That Country
• Of the Different Nations and Languages
• Of Money and Their Manufacture of It
• The Innate Character and the Pastimes of the Indians
• Their Bodily Care and Medicine
• The Farming, Planting, and Gardening of the Indians
• Special Account of Their Hunting and Fishing
• Distinctions of Birth, Rank, and Quality
• Of Their Warfare and Weapons
• Of Their Administration of Justice and Penalties
• Of the Universal Law of Nations
• Of Gifts and Offerings
• Of the Indians’ Government and Public Policy
• Their Religion and Whether They Can Be Christianized
• Of Their Sentiments regarding Hope of Afterlife
• Of the Knowledge of God and the Fear of Devils
• Their Thoughts on the Creation and Propagation of Mankind and Animals in the World
• Of the Nature, Amazing Ways,and Properties of the Beavers
• A Conversation between a Dutch Patriot and a New Netherlander concerning the Condition of New Netherland
• Appendix
• Notes
• Index