Origins of New York

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1624 the first Dutch settlers arrived on Manhattan and established New Amsterdam, what is now New York. We hear about life in that Dutch colony and meet some of the very first New Yorkers. Don's guest is Andrea Mosterman, author of Spaces of Enslavement: A History of Slavery and Resistance in Dutch New York.

To find out more about how the Sail4th 250 parade of tall ships will help celebrate America’s birthday on July 4, 2026, visit https://www.sail4th.org.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It is May 1624.
0:05.0	A three-masted Dutch ship, a Carrick, fresh from a transatlantic voyage, glides into a vast sheltered harbor.
0:13.0	The ship rises on the tide, its towering spars reaching skyward, sails billowing with promise.
0:20.0	Aboard are the first settlers sent to establish a colony called New Netherland.
0:26.6	All around them stretches an overwhelming expanse of nature, deep glistening waters,
0:32.6	winding coves, back channels, and endless unspoiled shoreline.
0:45.0	Forested islands are draped in grapevines, wild plums, hazelnuts, strawberries, and tall grasses.
0:51.5	The settlers gaze upon this wondrous panorama, and imagine hopefully that these quiet waters will soon team with fishing boats, the shores be cultivated with crops and livestock, all serving a town thriving with gardens and busy streets.
1:01.9	Of course, little could they know how the future would eventually unfold on this island called Manhattan.
1:08.4	That tranquil harbor one day giving rise to a skyline of steel and glass,
1:14.5	a waterfront bristling with global commerce.
1:18.0	What is so still in this moment will one day become the roaring cacophony, known as New York.
1:40.2	Music known as New York. Hello all. It's Don Wildman here. Welcome to American History Hit.
1:44.0	I wanted to begin this episode with the image of a ship making its way from Europe to the new world.
1:50.5	To remind us that from its earliest days as a European settlement, New York's harbor and waterways have shaped the city, making it thrum with the energy of commerce and the hope of people
2:02.0	arriving by ship to seek their fortunes and freedom. That energy has in turn driven the
2:08.4	growth and success of the United States. So it's fitting that a centerpiece of the nation's
2:13.2	250th birthday celebrations in 26 will be a spectacular parade of tall ships and naval vessels
2:20.7	through New York Harbor, accompanied by a flotilla of smaller vessels.
2:25.5	For more information about the Sailforth 250 parade, check out the link in the show notes.
2:32.0	Today's episode is all about the very earliest days of New York when it was not
2:36.2	called New York at all, but rather New Amsterdam. Devoted listeners may recall that we covered
	...

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