American bourgeois historians, when studying the colonial period of US history, usually emphasize the "exclusivity" and "democracy" of the development of the English colonies in North America. The situation in the English colony of New York, which until 1664 was Dutch and was called New Netherlands, is also idealized. Dutch settlers of the 17th century represent the democratic tradition in the history of the United States1 . In some works, the New Netherlands even appears as a kind of colonial idyll . However, the real facts of history refute this picture.

The first European to visit the bay of what is now New York in 1524 was the Florentine navigator J. da Verrazano, who was in the service of King Francis I of France .3 But the colonization of what is now New York State was begun at the turn of the seventeenth century by Dutch merchants, who quickly realized the profitability of the fur trade they were conducting with the Indians .4 In September 1609, the captain of the ship "Crescent", an Englishman G. Hudson, who was in the service of the Dutch East India Company, visited North America on the banks of the river, which was later named after him. He was looking for a strait connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the seas bordering India and China. The captain did not find the strait, but this failure was compensated by a successful trade with the Indians, from whom " knives and various trinkets could be bought... animal skins " 5, valued in Europe for their weight in gold. Through deception or direct violence against the Indians, the Hudson sailors filled the hold of the Crescent Moon with furs in a month.

Shortly thereafter, the Amsterdam merchant I. La Mer sends his ships to

1 Raesly E. Portrait of New Netherland. N. Y. 1945, pp. 2, 331 - 333; Kenney A. Stubborn for Liberty. The Dutch in New York. Syracuse (N. Y.). 1975, pp. 13 - 150.

2 Janvier Th. The Dutch Founding of New York. N. Y. 1903; Earle A. Colonial Days in Old New York. Port Washington. 1962; Hults D. New Amsterdam Days and Ways. The Dutch Settlers of New York. N. Y. 1963.

3 Schuyler Van Rensselaer M. History of the City of New York in the 17th Century. Vol. 1. N. Y. 1909, p. 1; "Mannahatin". The Story of New York. N.. Y. 1925, p. 4; History of the State of New York. Vol. 1 ; Port Washington (N. Y.). 1962, p. 142.

4 Condon Th. New York Beginnings. The Commercial Origins of New Netherland. N. Y. 1968, pp. 7 - 8.

5 Narratives of New Netherland, 1604 - 1664. N. Y. 1909, p. 25.

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New World. In 1613, the skippers A. Blok and Kh. Christiansen on the Hudson River near present - day Albany, the first Dutch fortification in North America was built-Fort Nassau, which became a trading post. On October 11, 1614, the States General of the Netherlands granted the union of 13 merchants of Amsterdam and Hoorn the right to trade with America. This association, which lasted until 1618, was called the Company of New Netherlands. It is replaced by the Dutch West India Company, recognized by the government on June 3, 1621, which was granted a monopoly right to trade and colonize the lands it discovered from the west coast of Africa to America inclusive .6 In fact, the business of the company was run by the merchant elite of Amsterdam 7 .

At the request of the merchant P. Curtin in November 1623, the board of the company allowed A. Thienpont, the skipper of the ship Curtin, to go with 30 Walloon families to New Netherlands. The "Assembly of the 19" (as the West India Company's leadership was called) developed "Temporary Laws" for these colonists, which became the first set of rights for New Netherlands: colonists were exempt from paying for moving to the colony; there they were allocated plots of land; the company was obliged to supply the settlers with goods for two years; all colonists ' activities were strictly regulated. it was regulated. In May 1624, the first colonists landed on the banks of the Hudson River. One part of them settled along the coast of the Delaware River, the other - in Fort Orange (on the site of present-day Albany, the capital of the state of New York). In April 1625, 42 more colonists arrived in the colony, bringing 8 livestock .

In 1626, P. Minuit, who was appointed the first general director of the colony, bought cloth, knives, and trinkets from the Manhatan Indians in exchange for a total value of 60 guilders, or $ 24. in modern currency) Manhattan Island, where the construction of a new fort began, which became the location of the colony's capital - New Amsterdam 9 . From the earliest days of its existence, the New Netherlands brought an unprecedented income to the West India Company. As early as 1624, 1,500 beaver and 500 otter skins sent from the colony were valued at 28,000 guilders . The value of furs exported from the New Netherlands in 1632 was 140,000 guilders .11 The cost of setting up colonists was recouped by a lucrative trade .12 The small population of this colony compared to the English possessions in America was explained by the fact that there was not such an influx of settlers to New Netherlands13 as in the English colonies, where the process of so-called initial accumulation was rapidly developing.

The founders of the Dutch colony considered New Netherland primarily as a place of profitable trade. But gradually, agriculture also developed here. In 1626, one of the contemporaries, describing the activities of the settlers, reported that they sowed wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, canary seed and beans. In the same years, between New Amsterdam and the East River, the first six large farms of 60 morgen (125 acres) each were built, owned by the richest people in the colony. In 1639 there were 30 such farms in Manhattan, and in 1647 there were 50 farms in the entire colony .14
The social structure of the colony begins to take shape. The top rung of the ladder was occupied by the owners of large farms, rich merchants and shipowners. Then there were those who worked as managers and supervisors in the farms of rich landowners. The most numerous category was the so-called free colonists, who were obliged to live only in a certain place for six years. At the end of the first two years, they were required to:

6 Foundations of Colonial America. Documentary History. Vol. 2. N. Y. 1973, pp. 737, 739 - 747.

7 Andrews Ch. The Colonial Period of American History, Voi. 3. New Haven. 1937, p. 75.

8 The Documentary History of the State of New York. Vol. 3. Albany. 1850, pp. 35 - 36; Narratives, pp. 75., 79 - 80.

9 Narratives, pp. 84, 87; Foundations. Vol. 2, p. 755; Shepherd W. The Story of New Amsterdam. Port Washington. 1970, p. 11.

10 The Documentary History. Vol. 3, p. 37; Narratives, p. 78.

11 Narratives, p. 82.

12 History of the State of New York. Vol I, p. 273.

13 The Documentary History. Vol. 3, pp. 38, 44; Narratives, pp. 82, 88.

14 Nurenberg T. The New York Colony. Lnd. 1969, pp. 15 - 16, 19; Narratives, p. 104; The Documentary History. Vol. 1. Albany. 1849, p. 689.

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yield and offspring of livestock should be given to the company 15 . The lowest rung was occupied by those who did not have land and worked for hire, as well as artisans. According to the records of the colony council, the majority of immigrants were artisans-masons, blacksmiths, carpenters, tanners, etc .16
There was a shortage of workers in the colony. One of the letters said: "Here it is impossible to get even for money neither horses, nor cows, nor workers... The colony needs at least another 10 to 20 farmers with horses, cows, and servants. " 17 In 1626, the first 11 Negro slaves were brought from the Dutch West Indies. Some of them received land for which they had to pay 22.5 bushels of wheat, peas and beans worth $ 8 annually. If the Negro could not pay this rent, he remained a slave. In 1648, the company, under pressure from the colonists, allowed them to conduct a slave trade with Brazil (where the Dutch colony was also located), and from 1652 - to bring slaves from Angola. But the colonists refused this time, preferring to buy the Negroes of the West Indian colonies who were already used to working on the plantations. Since 1654, Curacao Island has been a permanent supplier of slaves to New Netherlands. In 1664, one of the ships brought here about 300 Negroes at once 18 . Less numerous than slaves was the category of so-called indentured servants, who were hired to work for landowners and merchants for one or two years for payment, food and housing. But the labor of Negroes and indentured servants was not so widespread here as in the English colonies. 19
The New Netherlands was heterogeneous in its national composition. In 1643, the French missionary and. Jougs counted up to 500 people of various nationalities and religious beliefs who spoke 18 languages .20
Expressing the interests of wealthy merchants, the States-General granted a "Charter of Liberties and Privileges"to the patrons of New Netherland on June 17, 1629. Members of the West India Company were granted the right to settle, at their own expense, for a period of four years, any (except Manhattan Island) piece of land in the New Netherlands by 50 colonists. The person who organized the settlement became its patron with great powers, up to the creation of their own magistrate and administrative apparatus. 21 Such patrons were co-owners of the total capital, which consisted of five shares, two of which belonged to K. Van Rensselaer, an Amsterdam jewelry merchant who by the 1640s had not only the patrons ' capital, but also their land in his hands. Their settlement was slow. In Rensselaerwick, by 1651, there were only 16 homesteads22 . By 1664, only the Van Rensselaers retained the land in the colony (200 tenants lived on it), the rest of the European members of the company were forced to give up their possessions in America.

By the middle of the 17th century, a system of administration of the colony was formed. It was headed by a director and a board appointed by company 23. The leading role belonged to the director, who ruled the colony autocratically and often abused his official position, which caused complaints from the colonists. So, at Director V. Van Twiller (1633-1638), who was engaged in land fraud, had the richest farm; directors W. Kieft and P. Stuyvesant, thanks to the fur trade and the sale of alcohol and firearms to the Indians, made huge fortunes. The documents of the New Netherlands cite facts that speak of outright robbery, unprecedented deceptions and violence committed by the Dutch and the British" over the indigenous inhabitants of the country. So, appointed in 1633 as the company's commissioner at Fort Orange, G. Hontom lured the Mohawk leader to his place by deception and demanded og for him.-

15 New York Historical Manuscripts. Vol. 1. Baltimore. 1974, pp. 2 - 4, 6.

16 The Documentary History. Vol. 3, pp. 52 - 63.

17 Narratives, pp. 130, 131.

18 Goodwin M. Dutch and English on the Hudson. A Chronicle of Colonial New York. New Haven. 1921, pp. 25 - 27; McManus E. A History of Negro Slavery in New York. Siracuse (N. Y.). 1966, pp. 4 - 6, 11.

19 New York Historical Manuscripts. Vol. 1, pp. 282 - 284; Trelease A. Op. cit., p. 83.

20 Narratives, pp. 253, 259.

21 Select Charters and Other Documents Illustrative of American History, 1606 - 1775. N. Y. 1899, pp. 43 - 49; Narratives, pp. 90 - 96; Documents of American History. N. Y. 1938, pp. 19 - 20.

22 Andrews Ch. Op. cit. Vol. 3, p. 83.

23 History of the State of New York. Vol. 1, pp. 249 - 251, 269 - 286.

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a random ransom. After receiving it, Hontom brutally killed the prisoner. Documents of the Secretary of the New Netherlands include: Van Tien-hoven has eyewitness accounts of Dutch violence against Native American women 24 .

Predatory activities of settlers - both the Dutch and the English (who had already received land patents there since the 1630s) caused resistance from the aborigines. In response, the colonists in 1640 - 1645 launched a war with the Indians. The Dutch dealt mercilessly with the Indians. Only in March 1644, during a raid by the Dutch and English led by J. R. R. Tolkien. Underhill, the "hero" of the Pequot War in 1637, killed about 700 Indians .25
In the midst of the fighting, Director Kieft, who needed the support of the colonists, allowed them to elect the first representative institution in the history of New Netherlands. First, it included 12 people. But when they tried to solve other issues besides the Indian question on their own, Kieft broke them up and appointed eight colonists as members of the new representative institution. The war took its toll on the colony's finances, and in 1644 Kieft obtained the consent of eight representatives to collect the first taxes. Then he himself introduced new taxes, despite the protest of eight 26, which were then dispersed. The colonists sent a complaint to the metropolis, and Kieft was withdrawn.

In May 1647, a new director, Stuyvesant, a former governor of Curacao, arrived in the colony. In August 1647, he allowed the inhabitants of several settlements to elect 18 representatives, of whom he then appointed nine as an advisory body. Only the "most important and richest persons" were elected: 27 merchants, burghers, and rich farmers. However, when they tried to send representatives to Holland in 1649, the director suspended their activities and arrested the originator of the papers. "Nine husbands" wrote a protest. In the end, Stuyvesant was forced to give New Amsterdam, which had 120 houses and 1 thousand inhabitants, "big and small burgher rights". The first received 20 people, the second-238. The first category included those who paid a one-time fee of 50 guilders; the second category included those who paid 20 guilders each .28
Stuyvesant imposed trade restrictions in favor of wealthy merchants, allowing only those who owned at least 2,000 guilders ' worth of property in the colony to trade .29 In addition, the director of the colony signed the Hartford Agreement on the border of the English and Dutch colonies in 1650, patronized privateers who robbed Spanish and French ships, and expanded the company's possessions by seizing the Swedish colony on the banks of the Delaware River in 1655 .30 Under Stuyvesant, the territorial expansion of the Dutch was mainly carried out by ousting the Indians. This provoked armed resistance from the Native American tribes, which lasted until May 1664. The" civilizing " activities of Europeans in the New Netherlands (looting of land and natural resources, the spread of drunkenness and disease, wars) led to the fact that the number of indigenous people was catastrophically reduced. If in 1600 12 thousand Algonquins and 5500 Iroquois lived in this territory, then after a little more than two decades there were 1 thousand and 2200 of them, respectively .

As early as the 1650s, conflicts between New England and New Netherlands became more frequent over border lands, and English colonists on Long Island rebelled against the Dutch administration and declared their territory part of Connecticut. In March 1664, the English King Charles II, taking advantage of the difficult situation of the Netherlands, granted his brother James Stuart, Herzo-

24 Trelease A. Indian Affairs in Colonial New York. The 17th Century. Ithaca - N. Y. 1960, p. 51; New York Historical Manuscripts. Vol. 1, p. 177.

25 Slezkin L. Yu. At the origins of American history. Massachusetts, Maryland, 1630-1642. M. 1980, pp. 171-178; Narratives, pp. 282-284; Release A. Op. cit., p. 83.

26 Foundations. Vol 2, p. 1216.

27 Smith W. The History of the Province p f New York. Vol. 1. Cambridge (Mass.), 1972, p. 15; Van Der Donck A. A Description of the New Netherlands. Syracuse (N . Y.). 1968, p. 135.

28 Foundations. Vol. 2, pp. 995 - 1004; Narratives, pp. 293 - 354; McKee S. Labor in Colonial New York, 1664 - 1776. N. Y. 1935, pp. 32 - 33; Foundations. Vol. 2, pp. 1403 - 1407.

29 Foundations. Vol. 2, pp. 1260, 1261.

30 Ibid., p. 776; Janvier Th. Op. cit., p. 135; Foundations. Vol. 2, pp. 766 - 767, 770 - 772, 777 - 783, 790, 792.

31 The Documentary History. Vol. 1, pp. 60- 64; Trelease A. Op. cit., pp. 5, 16, 326.

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New York and Albany, part of the land with very uncertain borders between the Delaware River and the Connecticut River (i.e. , the territory of the Dutch colony) 32, and on September 8, 1664, the English squadron of R. Nichols forced the Dutch authorities of New Amsterdam to capitulate. The inhabitants of the colony did not oppose the conquerors, and the citizens of New Amsterdam even demanded that Stuyvesant sign the terms of surrender proposed by the British. By 1664, the population of the colony was concentrated in New Amsterdam (1.5 thousand people) with Long Island, Esopus (100 people) and Beverwik (200 people) with Fort Orange. Subsequently, they were named New York, Kingston, Albany 33 . On the territory of the Dutch colony of New Netherlands, three English cities later appeared-New York, New Jersey and Delaware (now states). The traditions, economic, political, cultural and everyday features of the Dutch settlers ' way of life in the 17th century influenced the formation of the modern American nation.

The history of New Netherland is one of the examples of those "idyllic processes" that Karl Marx called "the dawn of the capitalist era of production":" The history of Dutch colonial economy - and Holland was a model capitalist country of the XVII century - gives us an unsurpassed picture of treachery, bribery, murder and meanness " 34 . These words reflect the essence of the history of the Dutch colony in North America.

32 History of the State of New York. Vol. 2. Port Washington (N. Y.), 1962, pp. 54 - 57; Select Charters, pp. 136 - 138.

33 Kirn Sung Bok. Landlord and Tenant in Colonial New York. Manorial Society, 1664 - 1775. Chapel Hill. 1978, pp. 4 - 5.

34 K. Marx and F. Engels Soch. Vol. 23, pp. 760, 761.

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