The first larger emigration wave from the Netherlands took place in the seventeenth century. A new colony was established in the Americas, which was called the New Netherlands. After a rough start, this colony attracted emigrants from all over Europe.

Age of exploration

The seventeenth century was an age of exploration. European nations sent expeditions around the globe to claim new regions with their natural resources for their countries. The Dutch republic was no exception. Dutch traders sent ships to the spice islands in Asia and made great profits. As early as 1602, the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) was established to exploit the new-found richess.

The journey to Asia, though highly profitable, was long and dangerous. One of the problems was that the ships had to go through unfriendly waters where English, Spanish or Portuguese ships were on the lookout. The four nations were battling with each other over dominion of the Asian territories. For this reason, the Dutch East India Company was desperately seeking a shorter, safer route.

Henry Hudson

The VOC was disappointed by his findings because he hadn't found a shorter route to Asia. Other entrepreneurs heard his stories and did see a way to make a profit, because Hudson had met native Indians that were willing to trade beaver furs. There was a large market for fur in the Netherlands so several merchants sent ships to the areas to trade with the native Indians.

A new colony

This all changed in 1621, when the Dutch West India Company (West-Indische Compagnie, WIC) was established. They gained the monopoly for all trade in the Americas. The WIC established Fort Orange, which today is called Albany. In 1626, a treaty was made with the Indians which allowed the Dutch to build a colony here. The Indians were given goods with a value of 60 Dutch guilders in return. On this island, Fort Amsterdam was established (later called New Amsterdam, which is known as New York today).

Fort Amsterdam

Because the WIC had a monopoly on fur trade, not many people were interested to go to the new colony. Most of the new colonists were fortune seekers with rough temperaments. They came from all over Europe. This made the budding settlements difficult to rule.

Nearby, the English were establishing thriving colonies. The main difference between the English and the Dutch colonies was that the English created permanent settlements, while the Dutch colonies were more intended as trading posts. Most of the Dutch colonists were traders, only interested in furs. In the early days of the New Netherlands, it was hard to feed everyone because there simply weren't any farmers so much of the food had to be brought from the Netherlands.

To encourage settlement, the WIC abolished the fur monopoly in 1639 and made it more attractive to settle in the new colonies. This worked, and more and more people emigrated. New Amsterdam grew and in 1643 a stone church was built. However, the relationships with the Indians became more and more tense. From 1640 on, the colonies and the Indians were often at war with each other. This lasted until a peace agreement between the Dutch and the Indians was signed in 1645.

In 1647, a new governor was appointed: Peter Stuyvesant. When he arrived he found the 'people gone wild and without discipline'. He worked hard to turn that around. Under his leadership, New Amsterdam got town rights in 1652. He ordered that a wall be built around the town. The path going along that wall was called the 'Walstraat' (Wall Street). The rest of the colony flourished as well. New settlements were established, like Breukelen (Brooklyn), Nieuw-Haarlem (Harlem), Heemstede (Hempstead) and Vlissingen (Flushing). Entire families emigrated to the New World, which was a good sign because that meant people thought it was safe.

New Amsterdam was granted a charter in 1653, as the result of the petition by Adriaen van der Donck who had travelled back to the Netherlands requesting more rights for the colonists. By 1660, New Amsterdam had grown to 350 houses and about 1500 inhabitants. The new arrivals were struck by the fact that the city looked so Dutch, with gabled houses and mills. It even had its own post office, so people didn't have to depend on travellers to bring their mail.

Nieuw Amsterdam or New York in 1664

Taken over by the English

Although the Dutch colony was growing, it wasn't nearly as prosperous as the English settlements. The English didn't officially recognize the Dutch colony, saying 'We know of no New Netherlands unless you can show us a Royal Patent by His Majesty'. In 1664, the English King Charles II gave the New Netherlands to his brother, the duke of Albany and York. In August of that year, an English fleet went to New Amsterdam to claim the colony. Because the fort hadn't been maintained and the Dutch were so outnumbered by the English, the town was too vulnerable to put up a fight. New Amsterdam was surrendered to the English.

The Dutch surrender New Amsterdam to the English

In 1665-1667, the English and Dutch were at war once again. This was was ended by the Peace of Breda where it was agreed that the New Netherlands would remain English, while the Dutch would get Surinam.

In the New Netherlands, every day life didn't change that much. The names were angliced, New Amsterdam became New York and Fort Orange became Albany. But the towns remained very much Dutch in character. Many of the people kept on living there, including Peter Stuyvesant. The churches were still serviced by Dutch ministers and answered to the Dutch church council. Dutch was still taught in the schools and spoken in church until late in the 18th century. People from the Netherlands continued to emigrate to New York, although their numbers were smaller than during the New Netherlands era.

When the large emigration wave of the nineteenth century started, the new emigrants were surprised to find people who knew their language and religion. The old Dutch families helped the new families in finding their way in the new country.

Last week, my friend Mary Risseeuw from Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and I gave a presentation at the International Congress for genealogical and heraldic Sciences in Maastricht. The title was "We're all fresh and healthy. Emigration from the Netherlands to the United States in the 19th century. The slides are now available online.

I've just added a Dutch genealogy store to the site. In this store, visitors can buy books, DVDs and prints about Dutch genealogy, history and culture. I've selected publications that I think would benefit somebody researching his Dutch roots. The store is powered by Amazon. This website receives a commission for all sales, enabling this website to remain free.

Have you ever wondered why first names seem to run in Dutch families for generations? In the Netherlands, people used to name their children after family members. This way, first names can stay in the family for centuries.

The best known example of naming children is when a child is named after it's grandparent. But other forms of naming are possible too.

For the nineteenth and twentieth century, the civil registration is the primary genealogical resource. All the births, marriages and deaths (BMD) were recorded. Usually, only using the civil registration you can compile a 'backbone' of a pedigree that goes back to the late 1700's.

Friesland is one of the northern provinces in the Netherlands. It borders on the province of Groningen in the east, Drenthe and Overijssel in the South, the IJsselmeer in the west and the North Sea in the north.

The capital city of Friesland is Leeuwarden. The largest towns are:

• Dokkum
• Sneek
• Bolsward
• Drachten
• Heerenveen
• Wolvega
• Franeker
• Harlingen

Jan Willem Wieberdink was born in Aalten on 4 September 1834 as a son of Garrit Jan Wieberdink and Janna Geertruid Heinen. On 2 September 1864, he married Johanna Hendrika Jentink on her 24th birthday. She was born in Aalten as wel, on 2 September 1840 and was a daughter of Arend Jan Jentink and Geziena Fukkink.

After World War II was over, many people wanted to start a new life across the ocean. Five years of war had destroyed the Dutch economy, and it would take years to recover. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, many Dutch people emigrated to Australia, Canada and the United States.