Faction in New Amsterdam
Published 26 juli 2011 | 
In the seventeenth century the people of the most densely populated area in Europe would become the leading nation in the world.The Dutch Golden Age brought Flemings, Walloons and immigrants in the Dutch Republic enormous wealth and prosperity. At first the East India Company brought the Dutch the valuable commodities from the Eastern hemisphere. To expand this success the West India Company was founded and chartered by the States General to make a claim in the Americas and regulate slave trade in Africa. The Dutch colonies at the Delaware, Connecticut and Hudson rivers were quite prosperous and flourished under free trade. This essay will focus on the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam which is now widely known as New York City. When between 1624 and 1626 the Hudson River valley was taken by the Dutch, Deacon Pierre Minuit founded New Amsterdam at the estuary of the Hudson at Manhattan. New Amsterdam was intended to become, as a part of New Netherland, a mere reflection of the mother country in terms of trade, religion and the state. Continue reading
Leave a commentIndifference Towards Allies
Published 11 mei 2011 | 
Map of the New Caledonia colony at the Isthmus of Darien. Original from 1699. Reprinted in 1729.
The French and Indian war from 1754 until 1763 is perhaps one of the last significant conflicts on the North American continent in which Native tribes played a significant and decisive role. It was the ultimate struggle for the dominion of the lands that once were freely in possession of the original inhabitants of the Americas. The European colonial powers saw in the native tribes and confederacies essential allies in their war for the continent. The acknowledgement of the importance of natives in the battle for survival in the harsh conditions of the New World was already present in the early days of European colonialism. From Spanish conquistadores in Florida to the Scottish at the isthmus of Darien, all had to find a way to cope with the natives living on the lands in order to establish a flourishing colony.
1 CommentThe Age of Reason
Published 1 april 2011 | 
De afgelopen weken heb ik mij verdiept in een boek dat ook wel de bijbel van de atheïsten wordt genoemd. De geuzennaam die dit boek gekregen heeft is wat mij betreft onterecht aangezien Thomas Paine wel in een creatie gelooft. In zijn boek “The Age of Reason” verwerpt hij echter alle instituties die door het geloof zijn voortgebracht, omdat ze gebaseerd zijn op niet te verifiëren en vaak frauduleuze geschriften.
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