When the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664,the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappearinto myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and acartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colonyof New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages ofits records–recently declared a national treasure–are now beingtranslated. Drawing on this remarkable archive, Russell Shorto hascreated a gripping narrative–a story of global sweep centered on awilderness called Manhattan–that transforms our understanding ofearly America.
The Dutch colony pre-dated the “original” thirteen colonies, yetit seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan andmulti-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individualrights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive,young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in thesepages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political visionbrought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocraticdirector of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these twostrong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helpedshape American culture. The Island at the Center of the Worlduncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective onour own.
【作者简介】
Russell Shorto is a contributing writer at the New YorkTimes Magazine, and the author of two previous books: GospelTruth, about the search for the historical Jesus, and Saintsand Madmen, about psychiatry and religion. The hub of hisresearch for The Island at the Center of the World was theNew Netherland Project at the New York State Library, where thearchives of the Dutch colony centered on Manhattan are beingtranslated. He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with his wife andtheir two daughters.
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