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for ‘goods worth 60 guilders’, or 24 dollars for New Yorkers – that turned this otherwise ordinary letter into a famous historical document. (more…)