The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America

Summary (from the publisher): When the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappear into myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and a cartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed: 12,000 pages of its records–recently declared a national treasure–are now being translated. Drawing on this remarkable archive, Russell Shorto has created a gripping narrative–a story of global sweep centered on a wilderness called Manhattan–that transforms our understanding of early America.

The Dutch colony pre-dated the “original” thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these two strong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture. The Island at the Center of the World uncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective on our own.

Review: This fascinating work of non-fiction details the origins of what became New York City. The modern history of Manhattan began life as the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam and was characterized by its multiethnic population and emphasis on free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom, values which the author argue helped shape what was to become New York City. In 1664, the colony was surrendered over to British hands and over time the Dutch origins were obscured. In this history, Shorto calls on recently translated records from the original colony to finally shed light on this forgotten chapter in New York City's history.

The book begins with the story of the European discovery of what was to become New Amsterdam, by one Henry Hudson in the early 1600s. Eventually, the commander of the new settlement, Peter Minuit, purchased Manhattan Island from local Indians for "sixty guilders worth of goods" or "twenty-four dollars." "The idea that the center of world commerce, an island packed with trillions of dollars' worth of real estate, was once bought from supposedly hapless Stone Age innocents for twenty-four dollars' worth of household goods" (49-50) is so unbelievable that it's little wonder that this detail is one of the few from the Dutch period that has survived in recent memory. Much of the book is spent focused on the conflict between a prominent young lawyer, Adriaen van der Donck and the colony's director Peter Stuyvesant. This clash helped shape the future of the colony as well as the values that would be preserved in modern New York.   

Shorto's work is well written; he takes pain to paint a visual picture of the world whose history he is describing, such as his depiction of seventeenth century Amsterdam: "There was the squeal of caroming sea birds and the slap of oars; a stew of smells: cabbage, frying pancakes, the miasma of canals" (25). However, it is Shorto's attention to detail and thoroughness that sometimes was also a hindrance to enjoying this work; at times the book dragged and felt like it had meandered into serious segues in the name of trying to fully explain all European forces at work behind the colony. At times the book felt like a very long read about political movements in Europe at the time that, while relevant, took me away from my true interest in New Amsterdam. 

In sum, this book provided absorbing insight into important cultural history of today's New York City. While the puritans and pilgrims of the colonies are frequently documented and seen in popular culture, the bawdier and more inclusive colony of New Amsterdam was largely hidden from view until now. It was also fascinating receiving tidbits of information about Dutch traditions that have been passed down into American culture through New Amsterdam inhabitants. For example, bakers in New Amsterdam were fond of  making "koeckjes" or sweet cakes. "It is pronounced 'cook-yehs.' Literally, little cakes. […] It's because the first Manhattanites called them that Americans would never eat biscuits, but cookies" (270).

Stars: 4