Editing New Amsterdam (section)

====Dutch return====
{{Main|Governors Island}}
The mouth of the [[Hudson River]] was selected as the ideal place for initial settlement as it had easy access to the ocean while also securing an ice-free lifeline to [[Fort Nassau (North River)|the beaver trading post]] near present-day Albany. Here, Indigenous hunters supplied them with pelts in exchange for European-made trade goods and [[wampum]], which was soon being made by the Dutch on [[Long Island]]. In 1621, the [[Dutch West India Company]] was founded. Between 1621 and 1623, orders were given to the private, commercial traders to vacate the territory, thus opening up the territory to Dutch settlers and company traders. It also allowed the laws and ordinances of the states of Holland to apply. Previously, during the private, commercial period, only the law of the ship had applied.

On May 20, 1624,<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2024 |title=The Battery: Walloon Settlers Memorial |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/battery-park/monuments/1647 |website=NYC Parks}}</ref> the first settlers in New Netherland arrived on Noten Eylandt (Nut or Nutten Island, now [[Governors Island]]) aboard the ship ''Nieu Nederlandt'' under the command of [[Cornelius Jacobsen May]], who disembarked on the island with thirty families to take legal possession of the New Netherland territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyharborparks.org/explore-vtour-nat/virtual-new-amsterdam.html |title=The New Amsterdam Trail – A Virtual Tour |author=Mixit Productions |work=nyharborparks.org |access-date=June 26, 2015}}</ref><ref name=NYCPR>{{cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=7712 |title="Battery Park". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved on September 13, 2008 |publisher=Nycgovparks.org |access-date=2010-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504065356/http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=7712 |archive-date=May 4, 2009}}</ref> The landing on Governors Island in 1624 brought with it the "legal and cultural DNA" of the Republic of the United Netherlands, including progressive values such as freedom of conscience and tolerance, which were foundational to the culture of early New Netherland. Compared to many parts of Europe at that time, New Netherland embraced a relatively progressive philosophy of inclusion, allowing various nationalities, religions, and races to coexist. The ideals of popular sovereignty and free trade formed the backbone of this diverse society, setting it apart from other colonial powers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shorto |first=Russell |title=The Island at the Center of the World |date=2005 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4000-7867-7 |location=Westminster}}</ref> However, despite these advanced ideals, the colony also engaged in practices that reflected the broader colonial context, such as the mistreatment of Indigenous populations and the introduction of slavery in 1626. These actions show that while the early settlers were ahead of their time in embracing tolerance, they were also part of the colonial systems that perpetuated injustice and exploitation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacobs |first=Jaap |title=The Colony of New Netherland: A Dutch Settlement in Seventeenth-Century America |date=2009 |publisher=Prometheus Bert-Bakker |isbn=978-90-04-12906-1 |edition=1st |location=Leiden / Boston |publication-date=March 19, 2009 |page=33 |language=}}</ref> The WIC ordered engineer and surveyor Crijn Fredericxsz for the construction of [[Fort Amsterdam]].<ref name="fort1"/> A fortification was completed in 1626.<ref name="fort1">{{cite web |title=Amsterdam, fort (New York) |website=Atlas of Mutual Heritage |date=Dec 1, 2022 |url=https://www.atlasofmutualheritage.nl/nl/page/7101/amsterdam-fort-new-york |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208065258/https://www.atlasofmutualheritage.nl/nl/page/7101/amsterdam-fort-new-york |archive-date=February 8, 2023}}</ref>

The families were then dispersed to [[Fort Wilhelmus]] on Verhulsten Island ([[Burlington Island]]) in the South River (now the [[Delaware River]]), to Kievitshoek (now [[Old Saybrook, Connecticut]]) at the mouth of the Verse River (now the [[Connecticut River]]) and further north at [[Fort Nassau (North River)|Fort Nassau]] on the Mauritius or North River (now the [[Hudson River]]), near what is now Albany.

A fort and [[New Amsterdam's windmills|sawmill]] were soon erected at Nut Island. The [[New Amsterdam's windmills|windmill]] was constructed by Franchoys Fezard and was taken apart for iron in 1648.