The New York Dutch, also known simply as Dutchmen (), were a cultural group native to New York and New Jersey found along the old borders of New Netherland; these American Hollanders were known collectively as the Holland Dutch (Hollandse Duitsers). The ancestors of the New York and Jersey Dutch were the New Netherlanders, the settlers of New Netherland.
Although the Holland Dutch comprised the majority of the New York Dutch, they also included a number of Palatine Dutch (Pälzisch Deitsche) from the Rhenish Palatinate of the Holy Roman Empire. The Pennsylvania Dutch are culturally related to the New York Dutch, and many Pennsylvania Dutch have New York Dutch ancestry.
Etymology
Dutch in the English language originally referred to all Germanic language speakers. The English settlers referred to the Dutch language spoken by the Holland Dutch of New York and New Jersey as Low Dutch (Dutch: laagduits), and the Dutch language spoken by the Palatine Dutch in Pennsylvania and New York as High Dutch (German: hochdeutsch). Below is a quote from the Boston Gazette on October 8, 1795, mentioning a speaker of high and low Dutch:
The term "Knickerbockers" comes from a name assumed by Washington Irving in writing his work "Knickerbocker's history of New York", published in 1809. The title was used as an advertising scheme to announce the book, and since then the descendants of the Dutch in New York have been called "Knickerbockers."
Knickerbocker, or "knickers" refers to the breeches that the Dutch settlers would wear at their knee level.
Holland Dutch history
Early history
In 1602, the Dutch government chartered the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC). It sent explorers under the command of Henry Hudson, who arrived in 1609 and mapped what is now known as the Hudson River. Their initial goal was to find an alternative route to Asia, but they found good farmland and plenty of wildlife instead.
Oldest Dutch settlement
The earliest Dutch settlement was built around 1613; it consisted of a number of small huts built by the crew of the Tijger (Tiger), a Dutch ship under the command of Captain Adriaen Block which had caught fire while sailing on the Hudson in the winter of 1613. The ship was lost and Block and his crew established a camp ashore. In the spring, Block and his men did some explorations along the coast of Long Island. Block Island still bears his name. Finally, they were sighted and rescued by another Dutch ship and the settlement was abandoned.
17th-century migration
Dutch trade in the New York area led to the establishment of trade posts as early as 1613. Permanent settlers arrived in 1617 at what is now Albany, New York. New Amsterdam was settled in 1625. In 1629, Dutch officials tried to expand the northern colony through a plan that promised "Liberties and Exemptions" to anyone who would ship fifty colonists to America at his own expense. Anyone who did so would be allowed to buy a stretch of land along the Hudson River from the Dutch West India Company of about twelve miles, extending as far inland as the owner wanted. The landowners were called patroons and had complete jurisdiction over their domains as well as extensive trading privileges. They also received these rights in perpetuity. That was a form of feudalism, which had vanished in the Dutch Republic but was introduced in North America. The Patroonships were not a success; by 1635, the Dutch West India Company had bought back four of the five patroonships originally registered in Amsterdam.
The Native Americans were no longer consulted or offered/asked to sell their lands. The Dutch were confronted with a new phenomenon, Native American raids, since the local tribes had now realized that the Dutch were not simply visitors but people set to settle their land.
The Dutch realized that they had gone with the wrong approach as they offered great privileges to wealthy, not poor, citizens. It was not until 1656 that the Dutch state abandoned its passivity and decided to actively support New Netherland. The Dutch state issued a proclamation, which stated that "all mechanics and farmers who can prove their ability to earn a living here shall receive free passage for themselves, their wives and children".