New Amsterdam Yesterday and Today, The NACH Newsletter
Vol.6, No.2
FIRTH H. FABEND, EDITOR
ESME E. BERG, PRODUCTION EDITOR
Welcome to the Spring, 2023, NAHC Newsletter!
This newsletter publication is our 15th and dates back to the inaugural Volume 1 published in 2017
Letter from NAHC President and Executive Director
Dear NAHC Patrons, Donors, and Friends,
NAHC’s 2023 public programming opened in January with a fascinating program centered around the Little Ice Age in the Dutch North Atlantic. Environmental historian Dagomar DeGroot and historical geographer Chelsea Teale explored how weather, climate, and societal responses to these factors impacted life in the Dutch North Atlantic from Europe to Eastern North America and how relevant this was to today’s climate change concerns.
The Little Ice Age Program was the first in a series of seven NAHC programs and events planned for 2023. On Tuesday, March 28, NAHC presented “Debating the Role of Women in the Dutch Golden Age” with the New-York Historical Society’s Center for Women’s History. This program, moderated by Valerie Paley, Founding Director of the Center for Women’s History, featured Deborah Hamer, Director of the New Netherland Institute, and Susanah Shaw Romney, Associate Professor of History at New York University. The trio explored the social role of women in New Netherland, Brazil, and elsewhere.
On Tuesday, May 16, Fine Arts Dealer, Christopher Bishop will present a talk on a long-lost Jan Lievens portrait, this in conjunction with the Netherland Club. For this event we have partnered with the Netherland Club of New York. Tuesday, June 6, will take NAHC donors and contributors to northern Central Park where author Sara Cedar Miller will conduct a guided tour of Central Park’s Dutch Harlem.
On June 13, Professor Frans R. E. Blom will speak on the Vrooman Letters, 17th century correspondence that reveal everyday life in New Netherland. This engaging program is sponsored by NAHC donor Sandra Lazo, at Columbia University’s Deutsches Haus
On October 11, NAHC will present the Camerata Trajectina in a concert narrated by Professor Jaap Jacobs at the Morgan Library. The Camerata is a unique Dutch early music ensemble that explores the rich music heritage of the Low Countries, dating from the Middle Ages into the early 1600s.
NAHC’s scheduled seventh program of 2023 is a November discussion featuring Dennis Maika and two other historians concerning the Dutch Atlantic slave trade, with particular emphasis on New Amsterdam. Details to follow.
In addition to these informative and entertaining programs, NAHC has recently made substantial progress with its important Mapping Early New York project, including the addition of a 1670 map of neighboring New England. This project is led by current NAHC Trustee and Project Manager Toya Dubin.
Finally, we want to thank you once again for your continuing support through your annual contributions and gifts. It is this support that enables us to provide such a diverse and broad array of programs, talks, and newsletters. If you are not yet a contributor, we ask that you please consider becoming a member this year.
On behalf of the entire NAHC Board of Trustees, thank you for your continuing support.
Michael Cavanaugh and Esme Berg
