American History Tellers - Dutch Manhattan - Pirates and Prostitutes | 3

Episode Date: September 18, 2019

New Amsterdam was a desperate place. For the first decade of its existence, the Dutch city on the tip of Manhattan Island served as a haven for pirates, prostitutes and smugglers. That was because the West India Company, which ran New Amsterdam, insisted on controlling all trade — something it simply couldn't manage effectively. Finally, in 1640, the Company gave up its monopoly, and what had been a rag-tag, Wild West kind of town quickly took on the hallmarks of Dutch capitalism. Trading firms in Amsterdam opened branch offices on Manhattan, and business boomed. Merchants traded in everything from furs to tobacco to Caribbean sugar and salt. Soon, Manhattan became a brash, free-wheeling pioneer settlement where visitors could hear some 18 different languages — at a time when the city’s population numbered only about 500. The ingredients were in place for an American success story utterly unlike the English colonies to the north. Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's the spring of 1638. You're an Englishman from Virginia, just arrived in New Amsterdam, the tiny Dutch city perched at the tip of a wilderness island called Manhattan. As you step off the boat, you encounter a raucous crowd on the waterfront. People of different nationalities hollering in a variety of languages. They're gathered around a woman.

She's holding up a broomstick which has notches cut into it. Standing next to you in the crowd is a huge, dark-skinned fellow. From his dress, you think he must be from some exotic place. You introduce yourself. How do you do, sir? My name is Thompson. I'm English, from Liverpool originally, but recently I've been in Virginia. The other man extends his hand. Anthony Vansali from Morocco. Have you come for the smuggling? I beg your pardon. Never mind. I see you're a man of business. New Amsterdam is a good place for profits. That's what I'm hoping. Some of my fellow Englishmen in Virginia told me to keep away from here. But I'm a practical man, and I know the Dutch are

great traders. I'm hoping I can do business. But what exactly is going on here? Van Sally nods towards the woman, who seems quite happy to be at the center of the fuss. That's Greet Reyniers. She's a local legend. The first prostitute in New Amsterdam, she calls herself. Now, of course, there are many, but she has her claim to fame. Hey, greet. This gentleman wants to know what you're up to. The woman looks at you and gives a welcoming smile. Well, how do you do, sir?

Maybe you'll be wanting to visit me sometime. And if that's the case, you should know that I expect prompt payment for services rendered. This gent here... She points at the angry man. Well, he refused to pay. I measure each of my customers on this broomstick here. She points at the angry man. Well, he refused to pay. I measure each of my customers on this broomstick here, and as you can see, this fellow comes up short in more ways than one. The crowd erupts in laughter.

The man at the center of the storm looks even more furious. He makes a move towards Grete with the back of his hand, as if to slap her. You feel a sudden burst of outrage at this, and you thrust yourself between them. Have you no shame, sir? If you harm this woman, you'll have me to deal with. The crowd ooze and awes at your brave words, but you start to wonder at the wisdom of your act. The man looks like he knows how to fight. He reaches for a knife in his belt. Just then, though, the Moroccan steps forward and wraps his huge arm around Greed's shoulder. She puts her arm around his waist and gives him a loving squeeze.

No, it's me you'll have to deal with. Nobody touches my love, not unless he's a paying customer. The crowd roars in laughter, and the angry man slinks away. You are left to wonder, what place is this? From the team behind American History Tellers comes a new book, The Hidden History of the White House. Each chapter will bring you inside the fierce power struggles, intimate moments, and shocking scandals that shaped our nation. From the War of 1812 to Watergate, Available now wherever you get your books. From Wondery comes a new series about a lawyer who broke all the rules. Need to launder some money? Broker a deal with a drug cartel?

Take out a witness? Paul can do it. I'm your host, Brandon Jinks Jenkins. Follow Criminal Attorney on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers, our history, your story. The raucous crowd that gathered at the waterfront in New Amsterdam was a window into what made early Manhattan distinctly Dutch. In the 1600s, what it meant to be Dutch, as opposed to English or Spanish, involved two innovations. One was free trade, the beginnings of the American form of capitalism. The other was toleration, putting up with people who don't worship the same way, who speak another language or rely on other customs. The two concepts first became rooted in Manhattan with a motley crew of new arrivals and would grow to shape the future of New York in profound and lasting ways.

This series is written by Russell Shorto and based on his best-selling book, The Island at the Center of the World. This is Episode 3, Pirates and Prostitutes. New Amsterdam was a company town, founded on the twin principles of religion and commerce. The city and the colon of New Netherland, which stretched from New England in the north to Virginia in the south, was begun by the Dutch West India Company. The primary force behind it had been a powerful businessman and religious firebrand named Willem Jusselinckx.

Even before the settlers arrived, he had several goals in mind for New Netherland. He believed that a North American colony could be a place where the best features of Europe could be rooted in a new society. These included advances in technology, in farming, shipping, map making. But Euselinks also pushed for a violent element essential to his business plan. He advocated for slavery in his utopia. Where some of his fellow Dutchmen believed human slavery went against God's commandments, calling it a theft of humans, this devout coloner thought Europeans had a right and duty to put other, so-called lesser humans, to productive work. Euselings also advocated for the colony on the grounds that it would be a base from which to continue the war

of independence the Dutch were currently fighting against Spain. In the previous century, the Dutch provinces had existed under the Spanish Empire. It was a good relationship for a time. Spain's empire needed the income from taxing the Dutch, and the provinces received the protection of the Spanish army. But as the empire weakened, Spain raised the taxes exorbitantly. At the same time, the Protestant Reformation was underway, and the Dutch rebuffed the Catholic monarchy. Eventually, the Dutch declared independence, setting off a long and bloody war. By the early 17th century, the once-great Spanish Empire was weakening. People like Euselinks felt it was the time to attack Spanish settlements in South and Central America,

a colony in North America could serve as a useful base. And of course, Euselinks wanted the new Netherland colony to make a profit, to add to the wealth of West India Company shareholders. Maybe most of all, though, he believed in Christian missionary work. He hoped that the colony would be a vehicle to spread the gospel among the heathen natives. He displayed a keen insight into what motivated the powerful backers of his enterprise and combined his ideas of religion, profiteering, and nationalism into a compelling pitch. He told his fellow West India Company directors, It is obvious that if one wants to get money, something has to be proposed to the people which will move them to invest. To this end, the glory of God will help some, harm to Spain with others,

with some the welfare of the fatherland. But the principal and most powerful inducement will be the profit that each can make for himself. So New Netherland would be about profit, but for Euselinks, it would have the underlying task of promoting the word of God. The problem for religious hardliners, though, was that they didn't have a monopoly on God. There was another force at work on the colonists on Manhattan, the concept of tolerance and especially toleration of different religions. As newcomers arrived on the shores of Manhattan, they brought more and more diverse backgrounds. The mix of people at the dock that day in 1638, when greet rain years showed off her broomstick,

reflected that policy of tolerance, and it contrasted with the pious objectives of the colony's founders, setting off a vigorous debate, both in Manhattan and in the home country back in Europe. Imagine it's 1638, and you're inside a church located along one of the oldest canals in the city of Amsterdam. You're a member of the Dutch Reformed Church Congregation, and right now, everyone is engulfed in a debate. The question is whether or not to allow other faiths to practice openly in Amsterdam. Your congregation is divided into those who tend to orthodoxy and those who believe in tolerance and humility. A large bearded man near the front, whom you know to be one of the orthodox leaders in your neighborhood, speaks up. There is only one truth, God's truth, and it must be obeyed. It follows, therefore, that by allowing Catholics or, heaven forbid, Jews to practice at will in

our city would be to invite the wrath of God. But your minister, a remonstrant, a believer in tolerance, argues against this. That is precisely what the Spanish inquisitors said when they were killing our countrymen. The Catholic armies thought they represented the will of God. Six decades ago, our leaders issued a decree. You all know the words. Each person shall remain free, especially in his religion, and no one shall be persecuted or investigated because of their faith. This is part of our law. Some dislike it, but we have a duty to support it. You want to believe in the wisdom of this policy of tolerance, embedded in the de facto Dutch constitution, but it is difficult.

You voice your objection. But Dominic, with respect, no other nation in Europe has such a policy. In England, France, everywhere there is a government, there is a state church, and a policy that only the state religion shall be tolerated. I search my soul when I find there is wisdom in this, for if a nation is to be strong, it must be united. Religion is such a force for division. Surely to tolerate other faiths openly would be dangerous. The minister responds calmly. The great theologian Sebastian Castelio put it well, I think. He said, many will be damned on judgment day because they killed innocent people, but nobody will be damned because he killed nobody. Tolerance is the way of Jesus. To which the Orthodox leader shoots back a

heated reply. By opening our doors to heathens, we have opened up the gates of hell. Our nation is collapsing around us. You have been, up until this moment, inclined to agree with him, but now you see a flaw in his logic. But that isn't true. Look around. Our cities are growing. We trade with all of Europe and far beyond. Our merchants buy Polish grain and sell it to the Italians. We ship Protestant products to the Catholics and vice versa. Our traders speak many languages and are familiar with other customs, and we profit from it. We have even begun a colony in North America, which, like our own city, hosts a mix of people.

Surely all that is a sign of God's favor. You've clearly touched a nerve in the congregation. Voices erupt in argument around you. Faces are filled with rage. But you begin to wonder whether your nation's leaders have stumbled onto a historic path of wisdom. Whether, against all previous logic, it might be possible for a nation to be tolerant of others, to allow a mix of religions and customs, and instead of being weakened by this diversity, to be strengthened by it. The debate that consumed the Dutch nation's emerging policy of tolerance carried over into its colony in America. All the same, the Dutch West India Company had no tolerance for competition

and maintained a strong monopoly on trade in the colony. Since no small-scale traders were allowed to do business, and since there was so much business to do in furs, in timber, and tobacco, New Amsterdam became a haven for all sorts. Anthony Vansali, the Moroccan, had been an admiral in the Turkish Navy before turning pirate. Word of the free-for-all nature of the Dutch port in North America reached his ears, and he showed up ready to do business or make trouble. Of course, he did both, smuggling goods in and out of the harbor, making a name for himself among the inhabitants, and becoming a regular in court.

Throughout the 1630s, he was charged with theft, cursing, and aiming his pistol at people he'd gotten into fights with. Greet Rainiers likewise heard of the possibilities of New Amsterdam and was intrigued. She had been a barmaid and prostitute in Amsterdam. One of her clients, a man named Van Twiller, must have told her of the adventure he was about to set off on. He had been chosen as the new director of the Dutch colony. The heads of the West India Company had become wary of Pieter Minuit, the man who had founded New Amsterdam, and sought a replacement. When Van Twiller showed up on Manhattan, Rainiers was at his side. She saw opportunity here and set herself up in business. Van Twiller, though, didn't last long as director.

He was shortly replaced by a man named Willem Kieft, but Rainiers stayed for good. Before long, Reet Rainiers and Anthony Van Sallie found one another. Against all odds, or because it was inevitable, they fell in love and got married. She continued to ply her trade and he his. They bought a house, and by all accounts, their life together was a happy one. There were still other ways that newcomers arrived in the Dutch colony. Maybe the most flamboyant was in March 1638, the same year the Dutch Reformed Church was having its boisterous debate on religious tolerance. That's when a Swedish warship appeared offshore.

Its destination wasn't Manhattan, but further south, the mouth of the Delaware River. The man in charge was decked out like a Swedish knight in full armor, and he was leading a party of Swedish soldiers who were intent on making New Netherland their home. But he wasn't a Swede. He was Peter Minuit, the man who had founded New Amsterdam. Because after Minuit, he had gotten into a dispute with the directors of the West India Company. He had been recalled to Europe. Once there, he learned that, like the English, the Dutch, the Spanish, and the French, the King of Sweden was eager to launch a new world colony. Minuit was a clever thinker, and he devised a plan that would put him back in charge of an American colony and at the same time give him some revenge on the Dutch company for firing him.

He had traveled the length of the east coast. He knew that the Dutch colony didn't have enough soldiers or settlers to populate the southern reaches of New Netherland. The whole Delaware River region was up for grabs. He laid out a plan, and the Swedes agreed to it. Thus, Minuit returned to New Netherland in high style. This time, he wouldn't rule the colony, but instead he took a bite out of it. As a result, the Dutch on Manhattan had not only to contend with the English in New England, who were napping at their heels, but a new colony planted squarely in their territory, New Sweden. 100 miles south of Manhattan on the shores of the Delaware River, it would bring a host of fresh immigrants and for the Dutch, a new problem. But for now, the settlers of New Netherland had to deal with pirates and slavery. the new book, The Hidden History of the White House. Each chapter will bring you inside the fierce power struggles, the world-altering decisions, and shocking scandals that have

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became the backdrop against which the little country rose to dominance in Europe. It helped bring about the Dutch Golden Age, during which the company became the center of revolutions in art, science, and commerce, and it formed the fabric of the colony of New Netherland. At home in the Dutch Republic, the population contained a mix of different nationalities. The nation turned that diversity to an advantage, traveling the world as shippers and making money. One byproduct of Dutch diversity was an increasingly mixed population on Manhattan, and the other Dutch innovation of the era, a new way of doing business,

was also in the DNA of the North American colony. This trait went back to the very beginnings of the Dutch people. Thanks to its geography, their corner of Europe was one of the last to be settled. It was flat, largely below sea level, and essentially one vast river delta, where three of Europe's great rivers drained into the sea. Thus, the settlers who migrated there in the Middle Ages found that each spring their crops were underwater, as the rivers changed course, or that the houses they had built on previously dry land were now flooded. But rather than move, they took the remarkable step of banding together as communities and building dams and dikes to

control the water. The backbreaking work had to be done by hand, and it required everyone's participation. Nobody could sit out. This in turn spawned a culture of collectivism. They called it the polder model, a way of building consensus, named after a polder, land reclaimed from the sea. Everyone in a given town came to meetings of the water board. Everyone decided on steps that had to be made, when to rebuild a dam, how to protect the town. And everyone took part, for otherwise they would all be underwater. And in this way, the Dutch reclaimed enormous amounts of land from the sea.

This new land wasn't previously owned by anyone, of course. So they divided it up among the people in each town. Everyone got a plot. And this set up a contrast with the, of course. So they divided it up among the people in each town. Everyone got a plot. And this set up a contrast with the rest of Europe. Elsewhere, it was the age of knights and castles, the feudal system, which was based on the ownership of large amounts of land by the nobility. And the feudal system was fixed. Everyone had their place and rarely moved out of it. A nobleman who owned great tracts of land would give birth to children and only they would inherit that land. A peasant gave birth to only more peasants.

The system didn't encourage people to search for opportunities to better themselves. But when the Dutch created new land and divided it up, they discovered that with land ownership came possibility. People began making their own money off their own plots, growing flowers or raising cows, making cheese, building houses, and selling them. They became innovators looking for new ways to profit. One innovation spawned another, and in the 1400s, they cornered the market on the herring industry. Until that moment, all the nations of northern Europe had fished the North Sea for herring. But the Dutch began experimenting with a new type of ship, a herring bus, which was kind of a floating factory, where teams of men worked in an assembly line, fishing, processing,

and packing the fish. They discovered a technique for preserving the fish, which meant they could travel further from shore and have bigger hauls. They even created modern means of marketing. They stamped their kegs Holland Herring as a way to advertise that theirs was the best so that customers would seek it out again. Dominance of the herring trade became the basis for going even further afield in search of profits. So in time was born the world's first modern corporation, the Dutch East India Company, which in 1602 became the vehicle for the invention of many of the defining concepts of capitalism, including shares of stock and shareholders. The East India Company built up massive profits by trading in

Asia, and that rush of wealth was fueling the Golden Age. But this new approach to doing business, this entrepreneurialism, wasn't initially a part of things on Manhattan. After the stunning success the East India Company had trading in Asia, another group of investors had created the Dutch West India Company. Its territory, the West Indies, encompassed everything from the west coast of Africa to the east coast of North America, the Caribbean, and South America. It would not only look for money-making opportunities in this vast sphere, but also for ways to harm the Spanish. In 1628, the company had great success on both fronts. One of its naval captains, Pete Hayne, managed to

capture a 16-ship flotilla off the coast of Cuba that was loaded with Spanish silver and gold. The bounty, worth 12 million Dutch guilders or one billion in today's dollars, flooded the country with wealth and raised the possibility of the West India Company matching the success achieved in Asia. But it didn't happen. Pete Hayne's success was never repeated. The West India Company founded New Netherland in order to do the same thing in the Americas that its sister company was doing in Asia, to make staggering amounts of money out of local products, but it just wasn't working. One reason was the West India Company's monopoly.

Nobody else could ship furs or tobacco out of Manhattan, and with the company rulers in Europe, their decrees about how to run the place took months to get to the island, and nobody on the ground was empowered to change bad policy. As a result, piracy started to become a way of life. One of New Amsterdam's prominent inhabitants, Willem Blauvelt, was a pirate who worked the waters off South America. Rather than imprison him as an outlaw, though, the town's leaders chipped in to back his voyages and divided the spoils. Meanwhile, as the company failed to make a profit from beaver pelts and tobacco, it turned to another commodity.

When company warships captured Spanish ships in the Caribbean and hauled them to Manhattan for processing, the Africans, who were prisoners on the Spanish ships, ended up in New Amsterdam. The West India Company officials, who were frustrated in other lines of commerce, shifted their attention to slavery. In time, the West India Company would become one of the dominant players in the slave trade, with outposts all along the West African coast. At this stage, the first slaves arrived as captured cargo from Spanish ships.

West India Company privateers, or pirates for hire, roamed the Caribbean in search of prey. When they captured an enemy ship, they brought it into port in New Amsterdam, and some of those vessels had imprisoned Africans aboard. The company decided to claim them as property, and they were put into service on Manhattan. Slowly, slavery evolved. In the 1630s and throughout the lifetime of the Dutch colony, the concept was fluid. Some white settlers owned slaves. Some considered that the relationship was like indentured servitude back in Europe. After a certain period of years, the enslaved African was freed. There was also a policy called half-slavery, in which the enslaved person

was allowed an amount of freedom but was still obligated to work for the owner when called upon. There were also free Africans living on Manhattan, who owned property and farmed it. But no matter what their status, most Europeans viewed Africans as fundamentally inferior and treated them as such. Imagine it's January 1641, and you are an enslaved African from Angola. You've lived on Manhattan for 15 years, working as a slave to the company. Right now, you're standing in freezing weather outside the fort, shivering with cold, fright, and anger. Not long ago, one of your fellow enslaved Africans was killed. Nine slaves, including you, were accused of killing the man. Now Willem Kieft, the director, stands before you all,

and much of the town's population is in a big circle around you watching the spectacle. Kieft addresses all nine of you. Since no one confesses to the crime, we will let the Almighty point to the truth. Kieft holds out his hand. There are nine sticks in it. Each of you take one. One by one, the others pull out sticks. They are all the same size.

When it's your turn, you pull, and it's shorter than the others. The crowd erupts. The Almighty has spoken. Prepare the gallows. Big Manuel is the murderer. I didn't do it. This isows. Big Manuel is the murderer. I didn't do it. This is wrong. I've served the company for years. Two stout soldiers grab you and drag you to the gallows.

They wrap not one, but two ropes around your neck and haul you up the ladder. You know who committed the crime, but you won't tell. You think of your home in Angola, of your capture years ago by the Portuguese, of your sail to the Spanish, then being captured by a Dutch ship and brought here. You catch a quick glimpse in the crowd of your wife and child. You just have time to shout out to them, I love you!

And then they pull out the ladder from beneath you, and you're on the ground. Look around, dazed. The crowd is shouting. Not one, but both ropes broke. The crowd chants that this is a sign from God. Director Keefe looks annoyed, but he nods. Indeed, God has shown the way, and you are free to go. You blink and scan the crowd. Your wife rushes to you and holds you in her arms. Tears fill your eyes. Your life has been one long series of remarkable twists and turns. And this is the strangest of all. Your life here on Dutch Manhattan will continue.

People will talk about fate. They will also go on about Dutch tolerance. What a special thing it is. But you already know how hollow that notion is. Maybe it applies to white Europeans, but not to you. Now you have some grim thoughts about Dutch justice, and about Willem Keeft, the man who is administering it here. The enslaved residents of New Amsterdam lived alongside everyone else.

They went to church with the other residents, and despite their inferior status, they had some rights in the Dutch system, which they exercised. Manuel Garrett, the man who survived his hanging, once sued a Dutchman who hadn't paid him for work he'd done, and won. Five years after the hanging episode, he won half freedom with ten other enslaved Africans, and was given land north of the city, living out his life as a farmer with his family. But he may not have forgiven Willem Keefe for using lots to sentence him to be hanged. His animosity was shared by others as well.

Keefe was making enemies among his townspeople, both black and white, and not long after arriving. He had no experience that would prepare him for running a colony in the wilderness and managing its diverse population. He had had several business ventures and failed at all of them, but he had good connections and may have gotten the job through nepotism. Perhaps as a defense mechanism, Keefe responded to complaints with increasing harshness and haughtiness. He took to referring to himself not as company director, but as a prince. And to the growing irritation of the residents,

he began shielding himself from criticism with a dark pronouncement. The prince is above the law. Dracula, the ancient vampire who terrorizes Victorian London. Blood and garlic, bats and crucifixes. Even if you haven't read the book, you think you know the story. One of the incredible things about Dracula is that not only is it this wonderful snapshot of the 19th century, but it also has so much resonance today. The vampire doesn't cast a reflection in a mirror,

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to take advantage of free-trading Dutch ways, the West India Company gave up its monopoly. It would no longer insist on handling all shipping to and from the colony. Thereafter, things changed quickly. The number of ships coming into the port tripled. The heads of firms in Amsterdam sent their sons to New Amsterdam to set up branch offices. Dirk de Wolf, a merchant in the home country, started a business in which he shipped manufactured goods, rugs, bowls, cutlery, furniture, and clay pipes, where it would be years before factories would be set up to make such things. The settlers bought them, and his agent on the island shipped

back to him furs and tobacco, which he resold in Europe. Before this venture, DeWolf had made a comfortable living. But now, thanks to the Manhattan trade, he became rich enough to buy a fancy house on the Herengrecht, Amsterdam's most fashionable canal. The change was even greater for the Manhattanites. Now that it was legal, everyone took part in the main activity of the place, trading. Whether you were a barmaid, a farmer, or a carpenter, you invested in shipments of goods being sent to Europe. The change also meant that people developed a different relationship to work. Where in the old country you tended to be known for one thing, you were a miller, or a sailor, or a chandler who made candles and soap, here people

had their fingers in many pies. A tailor also grew tobacco. Someone who spent most of the time as the skipper of a Hudson River boat was a part-time baker, selling bread and sweet rolls to the people of New Amsterdam. Partly because of this, the guild system of Europe did not take hold in the colony. Work became more freelance-based. You looked out for your own interests. Everyone was trying to make a buck, or a gilder, or a doubloon. Currency was actually another arena in which the colony was making it up as it went. Most people paid debts in furs, or in Indian wampum, polished beads made from

seashells. In all sorts of ways, despite the boost that had come from opening up trade, Manhattan was still a wild place. Imagine it's 1643, and you were a French priest walking dazedly through the streets of New Amsterdam. Some years ago, you traveled from France to Canada to convert the natives there. You had some success among the Hurons, but at a Mohawk village further south, you were tortured almost to death. You managed to escape and made your way to the nearest Dutch settlement on the Hudson River. From there, you befriended a Dutchman

named Arend van Curler, and he took you to Manhattan. Now you stroll its streets together, and you remark on the bustling little village you find yourself in. I had heard of this place, but I had no idea it was so lively. With the gabled houses and that little canal, you'd almost think you were in Holland. That is exactly the idea.

We're trying hard to replicate the old country. The gables, the taverns, the beer. Especially the beer. You feel a stiff breeze coming off the harbor, and it prompts you to reflect. You know, someday this place could even surpass Europe. You feel a stiff breeze coming off the harbor, and it prompts you to reflect. You know, someday this place could even surpass Europe. There's surely no harbor there to match this. The vastness of America never ceases to amaze me.

You turn your attention to the streets you are walking on, and the types of people. That's true what they say of this place. Look, Arabs and Turks, Africans and Europeans. Just a bewildering mix. And from the looks of it, there are more than a few who need instruction in the ways of Jesus Christ. At last count, there are 18 languages spoken in New Amsterdam. How can it flourish amid such confusion? Your host laughs. Oh, I wondered that myself. I make my home up north, upriver in Rensselaerwyck. So being here in New Amsterdam is as much of a marvel to me as it is to you. But they do say it flourishes, not despite of the confusion, but because of it.

Each of these people you see here has connections to their native land and uses them to make deals. Every far-flung trade helps the city to prosper. Before you can remark on this, you hear a terrible cry. It sounds to you like someone is being tortured. You have two fresh memories of your own cries at others' cruel hands. So you start to rush down the street, hoping to stop the violence. But Van Curler grabs your arm. No, those cries are greet Rainier's. The Moroccan is inside with her. She's in labor.

Will she be all right? Well, very likely, yes. And the child will be loved and well cared for. Ben Sally came to the colony as a pirate and a smuggler. And greet came as a prostitute. But they fell in love and married. Bought their own farm and cattle and a house in town. Yet, yet, yet she still plies her trade. Oh,

so the Moroccan may not be... No, we will just have to look for a resemblance to know. This is a godless place. Of course it is. This is Manhattan. Fifteen years after Peter Minuit had laid out its streets, New Amsterdam was beginning to flourish. It was making the most of its Dutchness, the relative tolerance forged in the home country and its way with trade. Sugar and salt from the Caribbean, timber, tobacco and furs from the interior,

manufactured goods from Europe. The Manhattanites bought shares of every shipment and steadily profited. A new church went up outside the fort on the street that looked out on the ships anchored at the harbor. People did deals with each other, bought tracts of forest on Manhattan, and began clearing them for farming. One settler bought a sloop from another, agreeing to pay 500 guilders for it. It got so lively that some people had enough of the hubbub. So they sold their New Amsterdam homes, bought land on Long Island, and retreated for the quiet life of the country. New Amsterdam was becoming a place where a unique society was

forming. And yet, while the Dutch settlers in America were finding success, the West India Company was foundering. It kept losing money despite its willingness to engage in slavery. Hauling human beings around the world against their will was an expensive undertaking. Yet the company continued ramping up its slaving business in West Africa, the Caribbean, and Brazil. At the same time, slavery made many people rightfully uncomfortable. Some Dutch leaders railed against the practice as an immoral one that would bring God's wrath upon them. Money made from selling human beings, said one, was a curse. Others, who were more practically inclined, said the problem was not that slavery was immoral, but merely unprofitable.

They urged the company to focus on salt and sugar and to follow its military directive of attacking Spanish ships. Meanwhile, another more immediate threat loomed. One day, one of the most prominent settlers, David DeVries, whose estate was on Staten Island, made a terrible declaration. On the 1st of September, my men on Staten Island were killed by the Raritan Indians. The survivors told the Indians that we would come to avenge them. De Vries and his men armed themselves and prepared to track and kill. But the chief of the tribe, a man named Passham, did not want things to escalate, and he took steps.

Later, De Vries wrote, Passham came into the fort at New Amsterdam. In great triumph, he wrote, bringing a hand hanging on a stick and saying that it was the hand of the chief who had killed our men, that he had taken revenge for our sake because he loved the Dutch, who were his best friends. Pasham had dealt with the Indian who had killed the Dutchman, and he meant this grim gesture as a token of goodwill. He and his people had peaceful and mutually profitable dealings with the colonists. For years, they had traded furs and received in return guns, gunpowder, knives, kettles, and other items of great value to them.

The chief wanted no trouble. But the affair cast a pall on the people of New Amsterdam. As time went by, they may have lulled themselves into thinking that they had successfully recreated European society. Horses pulled wagons along roads in New Amsterdam. Their homes had gabled roofs just like in Holland. People greeted each other in Dutch. They went to church. But this violence was a reminder that they lived on the edge of a vast alien continent where things were truly different than at home. To the people of

New Amsterdam, the severed hand luridly waving at them was terrifying. Many couldn't help but see it as an omen of things to come. Next week on American History Tellers, a decision to declare war on the Native Americans in the area around Manhattan brings horror to tribal villages and leads to declare war on the Native Americans in the area around Manhattan brings horror to tribal villages and leads to disastrous consequences for the settlers of New Amsterdam. Meanwhile, a newcomer brings hope for the future. From Wondery, this is American History Tellers. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free

on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. American History Tellers is hosted, edited, and produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Sound design by Derek Behrens. This episode is written by Russell Shorto. Edited by Dorian Marina. Edited and produced by Jenny Lauer Beckman. Our executive producer is Marshall Louis. Created by Hernán López for Wondery.

Richard Bandler revolutionized the world of self-help all thanks to an approach he developed called neuro-linguistic programming. Even though NLP worked for some, its methods have been criticized for being dangerous in the wrong hands. Throw in Richard's dark past as a cocaine addict and murder suspect, and you can't help but wonder what his true intentions were. I'm Sachi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. And we're the hosts of Scamfluencers, a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims, and what's left once the facade falls away.

We recently dove into the story of the godfather of modern mental manipulation, Richard Bandler, whose methods inspired some of the most toxic and criminal self-help movements of the last two decades. Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Scamfluencers and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid and Kill List early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Check out Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid and Kill List early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Check out Exhibit C in the Wondery app for all your true crime listening.