From the Director's Desk

Dear Friends,

The last months have been busy for us at the New Netherland Institute.  In May, we had our Slavery in New Netherland and the Dutch Atlantic World conference, which brought together scholars from the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States for two days of wide-ranging conversation on the history of slavery.  A few weeks later, we hosted a gala at the Fort Orange Club in Albany to celebrate Charles Gehring’s fifty years of translating Dutch documents, a truly outstanding achievement, and to mark the four hundredth anniversary of the founding of the city of Albany.  Thank you to everyone who joined us for both events, which had sellout crowds.

And there is still more to come before the year’s end.  On September 21^st, we will be hosting a conference with the Albany Institute of History & Art, Dutch Albany in History & Art, that will bring together experts on the history, art history, and material culture of Albany. 

We can’t do all of this (and more!) without your financial support.  If you are interested in sponsoring the conference, establishing named fellowships to support the study of New Netherland, or working with us on our ongoing efforts to identify Dutch language materials in New York after 1664, please be in touch. 

Warmly,

Deborah Hamer

Executive Director

On Saturday, September 21, 2024, we will be holding a conference with the Albany Institute of History & Art.  Join us for Dutch Albany in History & Art, a day of discussion of the art and material culture of New Netherland and Dutch New York and the history of Albany.  

With the openings of two new exhibitions at the Albany Institute, Delights of the Senses: Seventeenth Century Dutch Art and Life Featuring Paintings from the Leiden Collection and People of the Waters that are Never Still: A Celebration of Mohican Art and Culture, it is the perfect opportunity to explore the latest research on these topics.

More details and a registration page will follow.

Image: Rutger Jacobsen Window, Attributed to Evert Duyckinck, ca. 1656. From the Collection of the Albany Institute of History & Art.

If you've read Russell Shorto's The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America, and you're looking to read more about New Netherland or delve into specific topics, visit our revamped recommended books page for suggestions.  

On their recent visit to the United States, the New Netherland Institute's Dennis Maika and Deborah Hamer and the New Netherland Research Center's Charles Gehring had the chance to meet their royal majesties.  They discussed fifty years of translation and the importance of women in New Netherland. Photo Credit: Chelsea Teale.

Thanks to the generosity and commitment to this organization of people like you, NNI has been around since 1986. We believe you share an interest in exploring and preserving the history and legacy of the seventeenth-century Dutch colony of New Netherland. Your support and encouragement will enable us to continue to reveal and publicize this often-overlooked chapter of the American story. We encourage you to keep us in mind as you consider your donations s

There are several ways to donate:

Through the NNI website or through PayPal

Write a check made out to the New Netherland Institute, and mail it to NNI at P.O. Box 2536, Empire State Plaza Station, Albany NY 12220-0536.

For information, email us at nni@newnetherlandinstitute.org or call 518-992-3274.

I thank you now for your willingness to help us fulfill our unique and important historical work.

Sincerely,

Marilyn E. Douglas, President