Much like English colonists in Virginia, however, the Dutch settlers did not take much of an interest in agriculture, and focused on the more lucrative fur trade. In the lower Hudson Valley, where more colonists were setting up small farms, Native Americans came to be viewed as obstacles to European settlement.

Colonists arrived in New Netherland from all over Europe. Many fled religious persecution, war, or natural disaster. Others were lured by the promise of fertile farmland, vast forests, and a lucrative trade in fur. Initially, beaver pelts purchased from local Indians were the colony’s primary source of wealth.

There were many reasons why European colonists chose to settle in New Netherland. Many fled political and religious persecution. Others hoped to improve their condition by owning their own land or by participating in the fur trade. Some came as servants.

In 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch re-conquered Manhattan with an invasion force of some 600 men. But they gave it up the following year as part of a peace treaty in which they retained Suriname in South America. “They thought that was going to be worth more,” Fabend said.

The winter of 1609-1610 in Jamestown is referred to as the “starving time.” Disease, violence, drought, a meager harvest followed by a harsh winter, and poor drinking water left the majority of colonists dead that winter.

Why were the Dutch unable to establish a permanent colony in what became New York? *Dutch colonist were employees not colonist. What caused chaos during the settlement of New Jersey?

The Pilgrims and Puritans came to America to practice religious freedom. In the 1500s England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and created a new church called the Church of England.

Why was New Netherland founded? It was founded because Henry Hudson was looking for the northwest passage, and while he was out there, he claimed a lot of land for the Dutch. The Dutch wanted to make alliances with the Native Americans for the fur trade. The Iroquois helped them.

Why did the Dutch surrender New Netherland to the English? The English king, Charles II, believed that New Netherland belong to England. Based upon this, he gave the land to his brother, James, Duke of York. James sent ships to New Amsterdam and demanded that the Dutch surrender.

“The starving time” was the winter of 1609-1610, when food shortages, fractured leadership, and a siege by Powhatan Indian warriors killed two of every three colonists at James Fort. From its beginning, the colony struggled to maintaining a food supply.

New Netherland settlements. Mismanagement and under-funding by the Dutch West India Company hindered early settlement, as well as misunderstandings and armed conflict with Indians. Liberalization of trade, a degree of self-rule, and the loss of Dutch Brazil led to exponential growth in the 1650s.

The Dutch lost New Netherland to the English during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1664 only a few years after the establishment of Wiltwyck. Along the West Coast of Africa, British charter companies clashed with the forces of the Dutch West India Company over rights to slaves, ivory, and gold in 1663.

But they quickly outgrew it, and by 1626 had founded New Amsterdam on the southern tip of nearby Manhattan Island. For safety purposes, the families elsewhere in the colony also moved to New Amsterdam following a war between the Mohawk and Mahican Indians that the Dutch became involved in on the losing side.

Hudson did not find the so-called Northwest Passage, but he explored the river bearing his name. The Dutch established settlements in what it called New Netherland. It purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans in 1626 and renamed it New Amsterdam.