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A Dutch-American is an inhabitant of the United States with full or partial Dutch ancestry. The Dutch were one of the earliest Europeans who made their way to the New World. In 1614 the first Dutch settlers arrived and founded a number of villages and a town called Nieuw Amsterdam on the East Coast, the latter would become the future world metropolis of New York. According to the 2000 United States Census, more than 5 million Americans claim total or partial Dutch heritage. Today the majority of the Dutch-Americans live in California, New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Migration The first Dutch people to come to the America were explorers and arrived in 1609 and mapped the Hudson River on the ship De Halve Maen. Their initial goal was to find an alternative route to Asia, but found good farmland and plenty of wildlife instead. In 1614, Fort Nassau was built where present day Albany, New York is. In 1624, Fort Nassau was replaced with Fort Orange, the first permanent settlement in the New Netherlands. One year later, Fort Amsterdam was built on Manhattan Island. The next year, the Dutch purchased the island from the local Indians for the equivalent of $24. By this time there were about 1,500 Dutch settlers in America. By 1664, the New Netherlands' population was over 6,000. Although the New Netherlands was Dutch, only about half the settlers were ethnically Dutch and Manhattan grew increasingly multicultural. The rural areas, however, remained overwhelmingly Dutch for over two centuries. In 1664, the English seized the colony and renamed it New York. Initially the Dutch lived in colonies owned by the Dutch republic. Due to various wars with England and the English expansion in North America the Dutch eventually traded their colonies in North America around 1664, with the British for the Surinam in South America, which they considered more profitable. There were few immigrants from 1700 until the 19th century, when large numbers of Dutch farmers, forced by high taxes and low wages, started immigrating to America. They went to the Midwest, especially Michigan, Illinois and Iowa. In the 1840s Calvinist immigrants desiring more religious freedom immigrated. Large numbers of Dutch people immigrated to form communities in Wisconsin beginning a pattern of emigration to northeast Wisconsin that would last until the early twentieth century. By 1900, the number of U.S. residents born in the Netherlands exceeded 105,000. Of these, over 50,000 were in Michigan, about 22,000 in Illinois, and 10,000 in Iowa. In the next decade, all these settlements grew, thanks to the arrival of another 30,000 immigrants, and, of course, the growing numbers of American-born children and grandchildren. It also is estimated that, by 1927, as many as 40,000 Dutch people had immigrated to northeast Wisconsin. After 1917, the forces of Americanisation proved irresistible, as the youth spoke English, but relished their Edam cheese, banquet, rusks, rye bread, and currant bread, washed down with cold water. Even today, the Dutch language can occasionally be heard and several Dutch-founded communities still hold heritage events, such as Tulip Festivals and the Kermis. The period 1929-1945 saw little immigration of Dutch people to the United States, the Great Depression greatly lowered the chances of employment and during World War II the Netherlands were occupied by Nazi-Germany. After the war there was a wave of emigration, which lasted until the late 60s. Dutch traditions The Dutch introduced their own folklore, most famously Sinterklaas (Similar, but not the same as "Santa Claus") and created their own as in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Wermuth 2001 Dutch-American Heritage Day As of 1991, November 16th is "Dutch-American Heritage Day". On November 16, 1776, a small American warship, the Andrew Doria, sailed into the harbour of the Dutch island of St. Eustatius in the West Indies. Only 4 months before, the United States had declared its independence from Great Britain. The American crew was delighted when the governor of the island, ordered that his fort's cannons be fired in a friendly salute. The first ever given by a foreign power to the flag of the United States, it was a risky and courageous act. Indeed, angered by Dutch trading and contraband with the rebellious colonies, the British seized the island a few years later. The Dutch recaptured the island in 1784. Dutch-American Friendship Day April 19th is the Dutch-American Friendship Day, which remembers the day that John Adams, the second president of the United States, was received by the States General in The Hague and recognized as Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America. It was also the day that the house he had purchased at Fluwelen Burgwal 18 in The Hague was to become the first American Embassy in the World. Religion The beginnings of the Reformed Church in America date to 1628. By 1740, it had 65 congregations in New York and New Jersey, served by ministers trained in Europe. Schools were few but to obtain their own ministers they formed "Queens College" (now Rutgers University) in 1766. In 1771, there were 34 ministers for over 100 churches. Until 1764, in at least three Dutch churches in New York City, all sermons were in Dutch; Theodore Roosevelt reports his grandfather's church used Dutch as late as 1810. Numbers Between 1820 and 1900, 340,000 Dutch immigrated from the Netherlands to the United States of America. In the aftermath of World War II, several tens of thousands of Dutch immigrants joined them, mainly moving to California and Washington State. In several counties in Michigan and Iowa, Dutch-Americans remain the largest ethnic group. Nowadays, most Dutch-Americans (27%) live in California, followed by New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 United States Census, more than 5 million Americans claim total or partial Dutch heritage Not included among Dutch Americans are the Pennsylvania Dutch, a group of German Americans who settled in Pennsylvania in the colonial era and whose name is a corruption of the word "Deutsch", meaning "German". Famous Dutch-Americans There are many Americans who have (partial) Dutch heritage, among them 3 presidents of the United States: | ||||||||
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