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Interpreting the Evidence

Manifest of Cloth Loaded at Curacao for New Netherland, July 20, 1661

  • Documents in this Activity:
  • Historical Eras:

    Colonial America (1630s - 1760)

  • Thinking Skill:

    Historical Analysis & Interpretation

  • Grade Level:

    Middle School
    High School
    College University

  • Topics:

    Colonial America
    Community
    Dutch
    Industry
    Transportation

  • Primary Source Types:

    Written Document

  • Regions:

    New York State

  • Creator:

    NYS Archives Partnership Trust Education Team.

  1. Load Manifest of Cloth Loaded at Curacao for New Netherland, July 20, 1661 in Main Document Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Document Description
Manifest of cloth loaded at Curacao for New Netherland, July 20, 1661.
Historical Context
The dominant role of the Dutch in the formation of a global trade network began with a series of events which took place in the early 17th century. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was formed as a means of maximizing trade in the East. Seven years later, in 1609, an English explorer named Henry Hudson claimed a portion of the North American continent for the Dutch. Eventually, the Dutch West India Company was chartered in 1621 in an effort to expand Dutch trading opportunities to the Americas.
With an official investment in expanding trade westward, the Dutch began their domination of the transatlantic trade. Dutch trading ports were established along the South American coast, on Caribbean islands, and in the North American Dutch colony of New Netherland. The combination of these new trading ports with the established trading ports in the East gave the Dutch a vast network of global trade.
For more context on the cloth trade, visit the Gotham Center for New York City History.
https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/contiguous-cloth-textiles-and-the-slave-trade-in-new-netherland
Essential Question
How did the system of transatlantic trade meet the basic needs of different Dutch colonial regions?