The Dutch colony of New Netherland encompassed the better part of four states, stretching from Connecticut, across New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. Crisscrossing this vast area was a network of river systems which allowed the Dutch to trade freely and easily with the many diverse regional native tribes for beaver and other highly valued furs. In the early years of the colony, from 1614 to the late 1640s, furs were gathered at the trading forts on the Hudson, Connecticut and Delaware Rivers. They were then shipped to the colony’s central settlement of Manhattan. As the fur trade diminished it was gradually replaced by the production of agricultural products, lumber, bricks and other essential items derived from the natural resources of New Netherland. The painting depicts a view of the tip of Manhattan as it may have appeared looking northeast across the East River, circa 1658. By that date New Amsterdam (New York City) had grown into a vibrant colonial town. The early structures of wood and thatch were being replaced by multi-level masonry buildings not unlike those seen on the streets of Amsterdam at that time.

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