Dutch-American Heritage Day

"In love of liberty and in the defense of it, Holland has been our example."
-- Benjamin Franklin

The Irish, African, English, French, Polish, German, Italian, Chinese and Spanish (phew!) influences on American cultural life and history are well known. But do citizens of the USA ever think of the Dutch contributions to their country? November 16th is Dutch-American Heritage Day. I'm not necessarily of a nationalistic temperment, but I'm damn proud of my roots, so today I'll be hanging out the Stars and Stripes and the "Nederlandse Driekleur" (Dutch tri-colour) from my porch.

Coincidentally, Queen Beatrix is celebrating 'Statia Day' on the island of St Eustatius, where that first salute took place. Today the Queen ends her 16-day visit to Aruba and the Netherland Antilles.

On November 16th, Dutch-American Heritage Day, 8 million Americans of Dutch descent celebrate their heritage and the contributions they and their ancestors have made to the economic, social, political, and cultural life of the United States.

The Dutch began their relations with America in 1609, when Captain Henry Hudson of the Dutch East India Company sailed up the present-day Hudson River looking for a shorter route to Asia. Although Hudson did not find his route, Dutch traders began to exploit the riches of this wild country and in 1614 established Fort Nassau (near Albany), the second European settlement in America. A few years later, the Dutch Governor Peter Minuit bought Manhattan Island for 60 guilders, the famous $24 bargain.

A large portion of the eastern U.S., stretching from New Jersey and Delaware through New York and from Connecticut and Long Island to central eastern Pennsylvania, was settled by the Dutch in the early-1600s. The area was once known as New Netherland, and many places--Schuylkill, Catskill, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Harlem, Wall Street, Coney Island, to name but a few---trace their names from this Dutch period. Over the next two centuries, several waves of Dutch emigrants settled in the United States and, today, most Dutch-Americans are concentrated in ten states: New York, Michigan, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Washington, Texas, Ohio and Illinois.

Linked by traditions of intellectual and democratic freedom, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to recognize formal diplomatic relations with the United States in 1782. These relations have never been interrupted, and thus the Netherlands can boast the world's longest record of continuous friendly relations with the U.S. Benjamin Franklin once wrote: "In love of liberty and in the defense of it, Holland has been our example."

Many prominent Americans have been of Dutch origin including three presidents: Martin van Buren, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In November 1991 the U.S. Congress and President Bush proclaimed November 16 as Dutch-American Heritage Day (hereafter DAHD). November 16th was selected because on that day in 1776 Dutch forces on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius returned the salute of the American brig-of-war "Andrew Doria," thereby making the Netherlands the first country to officially salute the flag of the newly-independent United States.