If there’s one thing I like to do, it’s reading. Reading for me is simply the best way to get all the who’s, why’s, where’s, whereabout’s & the how’s. You can choose to when you want to consume the information, so you can take a break and process in between, and in general a book gives you much more context to certain processes then any other means of entertainment or information. For me, a good historical and informative book is entertainment. If there are two books I’d like you to read, it’s Amsterdam & New Amsterdam, by Russell Shorto.
Amsterdam – A history of the World’s most liberal city by Russell Shorto
Before you fly to Amsterdam, order this book and read it. It will deeply enhance your knowledge and experience before visiting Amsterdam. The book starts with an interview of Frieda Menco. Frieda survived in hiding for four years during nazi occupation, played with Anne Frank as a young girl in their shared Amsterdam-South neighborhood and was imprisoned with the Frank family at Kamp Westerbork and Auschwitz-Birkenau, and made it to the age of 94. All in one lifetime. Just reading the first sentences have stuck with me forever and it was a promising opening of what was to come. I haven’t since discovered another read about Amsterdam explaining it’s influence in the world in such a clear narrative.
The book doesn’t describe Amsterdam as a cityguide, it does dive deep into it’s development from Dam square as a market place and turning into a freehaven within Europe. The book describes Amsterdam more as a cultural phenomenon, as an idea, as the symbol of liberalism. All people living in Western countries, are liberals and Shorto argues that Amsterdam is the birthplace of liberalism and the enlightment, where individual freedom and capitalism, were born.
An island at the center of the world –
the epic story of Dutch Manhattan & the forgotton colony that shaped America
In European English, a cookie is called a biscuit, in Dutch it’s called a koekje or koekie. Santaclaus, an old man in a strange suit giving gifts and sweets to children -unless they’ve been naughty- comes from the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas. To Dutch people, Sinterklaas and Santaclaus are cousins, or twin brothers. The system of a county sheriff comes from the system of schepenen. Wallstreet is named after the walstraat and the first stocks in a company were developed in Amsterdam and New York is nowadays the largest stock exchange in the world.
In short, American culture and history have been deeply influenced by the city of Amsterdam through New Amsterdam, which later changed in the New York City. The cities Amsterdam and New York, have much more in common than the eye could see.
Reading ‘An island at the center of the world’ is an interesting read for anyone honestly. But every New Yorker, North American and European should read it. It shed lights on how deeply interconnected many of our worlds actually are and thereby the book opposes many of the current political forces in the world.
What I found astoundingly fascinating about this book, is that Shorto studied unresearched seventeenth century Dutch archives, which he found in the New York Library. Shorto has studied these extensive archives, written in Old-Dutch, extensively and opened up a whole new universe, opening up new knowledge about the early New Amsterdam colony and the trans-atlantic ties.
The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto explains how the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam shaped the foundations of modern New York. The book shows that key American values—tolerance, free trade, cultural diversity, and personal freedom—originated in the Dutch Republic and were carried across the Atlantic in the 17th century.
Shorto brings to life the voices of early settlers, especially Adriaen van der Donck, offering an insider’s view of the colony. He demonstrates that even after the English takeover, Dutch ideas continued to influence the city’s character and development. Ultimately, Shorto argues that New York’s global, open, and entrepreneurial spirit is undeniably rooted in its Dutch past.
Discover more Amsterdam insights in my Amsterdam guide.
Written by Ralph Deckers
Local Amsterdam Guide & Historian – Dutch Cultural Journeys
