"Taking Manhattan," Russell Shorto

 

Sydney M. Williams

 

Burrowing into Books

Taking Manhattan, Russell Shorto

August 2, 2025

 

“New York came into being not organically, but through a purposeful act,

which involved the stitching together of two cultures and traditions into something new.”

                                                                                                                                                Russell Shorto (1959-)

                                                                                                                                                Taking Manhattan, 2025

 

Empires come and go. In 1600 the Spanish and Ottoman Empires were Europe’s strongest. But early in the 17^th Century the Dutch Empire, as a maritime and economic force, achieved its “Golden Age.” And Britain was on the cusp of becoming the world’s largest empire.

 

In 1624, Cornelis Jacobsz May led the first settlers to what would become New Amsterdam. Twenty-three years later, in 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was appointed Director-General of New Netherland, a sizable chunk of coastal North America, with New Amsterdam as its principal city. In mid 17^th Century, New Amsterdam had a population of about 1,000. Despite its small size, its location – near the mouth of the Hudson River and with both inner and outer harbors providing protection – made it a central trading post: furs from the interior, tobacco from Maryland, and slaves from Africa. In 1664, three British warships, captained by Richard Nicolls, sailed into New Amsterdam’s outer harbor. A few months later, without a shot being fired, a transfer-of-power document was signed. What made this remarkable was that between 1652 and 1674 England and the Netherlands were involved in the Anglo-Dutch Wars, consisting largely of naval battles fought in the English Channel, with both sides vying for control of colonial possessions and trade routes. We learn this history through Russell Shorto’s captivating book, Taking Manhattan.

 

As well as explaining the founding of Manhattan and placing that founding in the context of forces then at work in Europe and in North America, this is a story of two men: Richard Nicolls and Peter Stuyvesant. Though not of the nobility, Nicolls was well-connected. “From the cradle (born in 1625), he was intimately connected to the Stuarts.” That was especially true of his relationship to the future James II. During Cromwell’s Protectorate (1653-1658), Richard Nicolls was a confirmed Royalist.    

 

While Peter Stuyvesant (born about 1612) was duty-bound to serve both the Dutch Republic and the Dutch West India Company, he felt a loyalty to the people of New Netherlands and, especially those on the island of Manhattan. Mr. Shorto writes: “Here in the New World, where people were just a bit freer and less encumbered by tradition than in the homeland, that combination of forces had fashioned a different kind of system and settlement. This wasn’t the Dutch Republic. It was unlike Winthrop’s Connecticut. It was a far cry from Boston or Plymouth...If this paradoxical kind of city, with its mishmash of peoples, faiths, and languages and its remarkably efficient approach to business could somehow be preserved...might that be a kind of victory?”

 

In Taking Manhattan, we learn that what mattered most to New Amsterdam’s inhabitants was that they be allowed to keep their property and businesses. And that is what Nicolls wanted as well. Mr. Shorto writes: “He wanted not only the territory but the society they had developed there. He wanted the secret sauce, and they knew the recipe.” Today, New York City, with immigrants from all over the world, is the most assimilated city in the world and the one with the largest economy. Its origins make for fascinating history.