Nieuw Amsterdam / New Amsterdam View

View of New Amsterdam, between 1650 and 1654. Original title: De Stadt Nieuw Amsterdam gelegen op het Eyland Manhattans in Nieuw Nederland (English: The City New Amsterdam located on the Island Manhattan in New Netherland). Colored pen drawing by unknown artist. Source: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library), collection of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen.

This is one of the earliest drawings of New Amsterdam. At this time, the city was the center of the Dutch colony in North America under Governor Pieter Stuyvesant.

The following features support the stated dating: The windmill (k) was described in a 1649 letter from a colonist as being in a state of disrepair; at that time it was said to have only two wings. This exact condition, which is not depicted in any other known view of New York, is recorded on this drawing. The landing stage was built in this form in 1648-1649, and a brick pier was not constructed until 1654. The houses around the warehouse of the company (Compagnies packhuys = "C") are important for the dating. Building permission for the house on the left was granted in 1650. The building on the right belonged to Augustin Herrman (ca. 1621–1686), one of the city's leading merchants and citizens, between 1645 and 1651.

References and enlargements are below. More: Maps of NYC - 17th Century ►