By Anne Margot van der Baan

Last night we enjoyed the opening of the new exhibition Return to Manhattan: 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It was a lovely night, with mini hamburgers and popcorn served on platters decorated with fresh tulips, to accentuate New York City’s Dutch-American heritage.

We were excited about seeing the ‘birth certificate’ of New York, the Schaghen letter, in person because it plays an important role in the documentary we are making for Dutch television. This birth certificate - which is actually not a birth certificate but a letter from a representative of the States General,  Pieter Schaghen -  is the account of a ship sailing into the harbor of Amsterdam, returning from the faraway colony of New Netherland. Schaghen describes the content of the ship, and novelties such as the people’s upbeat spirit and the fact several women gave birth during their stay in New Netherland. But it is Schaghen’s mention of the purchase of Manhattan for ‘goods worth 60 guilders’, or 24 dollars for New Yorkers – that turned this otherwise ordinary letter into a famous historical document.

During our research for the documentary, we experienced that mentioning these 60 guilders to New Yorkers causes an immediate reaction. We met a broker for example who showed us a very small apartment worth over a million dollars. As we told her about first settlers living in pit dwellings, she laughed. ‘Nothing much has changed in 400 years’, she said, ‘New Yorkers are still living in the same conditions but paying a lot more than those 24 dollars!’

About the author
Anne Margot van der Baan is a researcher, working on the four part documentary series produced by IDTV Docs for AVRO Dutch Public Television. The documentary series will tell the story of New Amsterdam in the 17th century and how and if we can still see traces of that era in the city of New York in 2009. The documentary series is inspired by Russell Shorto’s book The Island at the Center of the World and Charles Gehring’s translations of the 17th century records of New Netherlands. The series not only portray the history of New Amsterdam, but also the City of New York in 2009 and investigate if there is anything left from the spirit of the Dutch. The series is directed by Roel van Dalen and hosted by Dutch writer Dirk van Weelden. For more information about the documentary series, please visit www.newyork400.avro.nl.

Last 5 posts by NY400

• NY400 events: The Rabbit and the Prince - October 13th, 2009
• Dutch Arts & Design: From Amsterdam to New York for Borough(ed) Stories - September 22nd, 2009
• NY400 Events: The New Amsterdam Bike Slam - August 31st, 2009
• NY400 Events: Preparing for Pioneers of Change - August 27th, 2009
• NY400 Events: Boulevard of Broken Dreams - August 26th, 2009

Tags: Charles Gehring, IDTV Docs, Netherlands, NY400, Russell Shorto, Schaghenbrief, Shared Values