The Worlds of the Seventeenth-Century Hudson Valley

Essays by eleven prominent scholars provide the latest insights into the seventeenth-century history of the Hudson Valley and its environs.

Essays by eleven prominent scholars provide the latest insights into the seventeenth-century history of the Hudson Valley and its environs.

This book provides an in-depth introduction to the issues involved in the expansion of European interests to the Hudson River Valley, the cultural interaction that took place there, and the colonization of the region. Written in accessible language by leading scholars, these essays incorporate the latest historical insights as they explore the new world in which American Indians and Europeans interacted, the settlement of the Dutch colony that ensued from the exploration of the Hudson River, and the development of imperial and other networks which came to incorporate the Hudson Valley.

Jaap Jacobs is Honorary Lecturer at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and the author of many books, including The Colony of New Netherland: A Dutch Settlement in Seventeenth-Century America. L. H. Roper is Professor of History at the State University of New York at New Paltz. His books include The English Empire in America, 1602–1658: Beyond Jamestown.

"The Worlds of the Seventeenth-Century Hudson Valley is an essential work for anyone teaching or studying the English and Dutch colonial endeavors in the region in question. It successfully blends synthetic introductory pieces with a variety of specialized topics, such as religious toleration and Iroquois diplomacy. It serves as a great introduction not only to the history of the seventeenth-century Hudson Valley but also to the most current trends in its historiography." — H-Net Reviews (H-War)

"…embraces the diversity of experiences embedded in the history of the Hudson Valley … raises many provocative questions in an accessible and engaging manner. If this wide-ranging collection is any indication, those teaching and studying the seventeenth-century Hudson Valley will continue to have much to do until the next centennial." — The AAG Review of Books

"…a welcome addition to the field of New Netherland studies and the larger field of Atlantic World history." — Hudson River Valley Review

"This volume brings together … scholarship with authors who show that the Europeans were only some of the people that shaped the development of the Hudson Valley. It thus successfully places New Netherland in an Atlantic context. That makes this volume a valuable addition to the available studies on the colony that resulted from Hudson's explorations." — Low Countries Historical Review

"…succeeds admirably in presenting a broad picture of the region from different perspectives. It can serve as a good first introduction to the region's Early Modern history, or as a way to stock up on new vantages and ideas for professionals in one particular field." — Itinerario

"This well-conceived volume illuminates the various contexts of life in the seventeenth-century Hudson Valley. Both laymen and specialists will gain new insights from the twelve essays, which reveal everything from the European background of tolerance and inter-imperial strife to the significance of wampum and the role of a Native model of inter-group relations that shaped Iroquois ties with the Dutch." — Willem Klooster, author of Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History

"A perfect tribute to the Hudson Valley's unique history and how it changed forever in the decades following Henry Hudson's 1609 voyage! The essays in this rich collection capture the complex, interconnected world experienced by those who lived in the Hudson River Valley in the seventeenth century, a place at the crossroads of four continents, an area contested by three emerging empires, a valley where Munsee, Mahican, and Mohawk interacted with European cultures. Both professional historians and those new to the field will be intrigued by the wide variety of topics. This collection by an esteemed group of historians makes an outstanding contribution to both New Netherland and Atlantic history." — Dennis J. Maika, New Netherland Institute