Beverwijck: A Dutch Village on the American Frontier, 1652-1664 [Paperback]

Janny Venema (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2003

Paints a detailed picture of everyday life in an early American community.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Beverwijck explores the rich history and Dutch heritage of one of North America's oldest cities—Albany, New York. Drawing on documents translated from the colonial Dutch as well as maps, architectural drawings, and English-language sources, Janny Venema paints a lively picture of everyday life in colonial America.

In 1652, Petrus Stuyvesant, director general of New Netherland, established a court at Fort Orange, on the west side of New York State's upper Hudson River. The area within three thousand feet of the fort became the village of Beverwijck. From the time of its establishment until 1664, when the English conquered New Netherland and changed the name of the settlement to Albany, Beverwijck underwent rapid development as newly wealthy traders, craftsmen, and other workers built houses, roads, bridges, and a school, as well as a number of inns. A well-organized system of poor relief also helped less wealthy settlers survive in the harsh colonial conditions. Venema's careful research shows that although Beverwijck resembled villages in the Dutch Republic in many ways, it quickly took on features of the new, "American" society that was already coming into being. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

Beverwijck explores the rich history and Dutch heritage of one of North America's oldest cities-Albany, New York. Drawing on documents translated from the colonial Dutch as well as maps, architectural drawings, and English-language sources, Janny Venema paints a lively picture of everyday life in colonial America. In 1652, Petrus Stuyvesant, director general of New Netherland, established a court at Fort Orange, on the west side of New York State's upper Hudson River. The area within three thousand feet of the fort became the village of Beverwijck. From the time of its establishment until 1664, when the English conquered New Netherland and changed the name of the settlement to Albany, Beverwijck underwent rapid development as newly wealthy traders, craftsmen, and other workers built houses, roads, bridges, and a school, as well as a number of inns. A well-organized system of poor relief also helped less wealthy settlers survive in the harsh colonial conditions. Venema's careful research shows that although Beverwijck resembled villages in the Dutch Republic in many ways, it quickly took on features of the new, "American" society that was already coming into being. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (September 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791460800
• ISBN-13: 978-0791460801
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Albany's Dutch Ancestry Comprehensively Explored, April 25, 2004

By 

Rocco Dormarunno (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beverwijck: A Dutch Village on the American Frontier, 1652-1664 (Paperback)

Finally, a look at the other 17th century Dutch city on the Hudson. With the recent glut of books on the history of New York City (which, personally, I can't get enough of), it is refreshing to take a break and read about the history of the state's capitol, Albany--Beverwijck, as it was known way back when. In Janny Venema's "Beverwijck: A Dutch Village on the American Frontier, 1652-1664", Albany's Dutch years are finally given their just due. Venema's extensive research is evident in just about every paragraph, and is conveyed in a way that most historians strive: fluidly, logically, and at a modest pace. This 500+ page book reads remarkably quickly, much to the author's credit.

Many of the issues and personalities that shaped the development of New Amsterdam are echoed here: skirmishes with the natives; desperate moments when it seemed the place would implode; the ubiquitous Peter Stuyvesant; struggles with vice, etc. But what I found surprising is Venema's theme that Beverwijck was just as tolerant of races, just as much a springboard of modern America's ethics as was New Amesterdam. The Brooklyn guy inside me bristled at first, but the evidence is overwhelming.

I hope others will pick up this study, as it provides an indispensible look at a time and place that has been unnecessarily overlooked.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Concise, but too much, April 25, 2004

By 

M. Buisman (Amstelveen, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beverwijck: A Dutch Village on the American Frontier, 1652-1664 (Paperback)

This book is the definite book on the colony of Beverwijck, which would later become Albany in New York State. Veneme pays great detail to pretty much all the aspects of life in this frontier town. The dress, indian relations, healthcare, poor care, trade, important people. It gives a very good insight into how life was lived in the 17th century in both Holland and New Netherlands.

the detail and conciseness is also what is the matter with this book. It's good to use as reference and to look for things mentioned before, but because of the many details it is not always easy to get an overall view. The research done was great (it's a dissertation) but makes it at times unreadable. There are for example over 120 pages of notes in the back of the book.

It's a very good example of total-history, very interesting to get a good view of life in that age, but not something you would pleasantly read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Albany, July 4, 2007

By 

Gail Stuart Rowe "G. S. Rowe" (Greeley, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beverwijck: A Dutch Village on the American Frontier, 1652-1664 (Paperback)

Janny Venema gives her readers a close and rewarding look at Dutch life in early America. Her description of Beverwijck's founding and development offers important glimpses of that village's social, economic, political, and religious life. Her research is deep, her writing clear, and her findings valuable. This is among the very best of early American town studies.