New Netherland and the Global Marketplace
The Transportation of Goods and People Across the
Atlantic Ocean
Lesson Procedures
Essential Question: What was New Netherland’s role within a larger global network of trade in goods and bound labor (both slaves and indentured servants)? Grade 7 Content Understandings, New York State Social Studies Standards: This lesson is appropriate for use in teaching the seventh-­‐grade unit titled European Exploration and Colonization of the Americas. Students will explore the economic and social effects of exploration and settlement in America and Europe, focusing on New Amsterdam as a regional center of trade. They will study the geography of trans-­‐Atlantic trade. They will learn about coerced and free migration to New Netherland, analyzing the differences between indentured servants and slaves. Common Core Standards: Reading Standards Students will cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of the assigned texts and the essential question. Speaking and Listening Students will engage in collaborative discussions with diverse partners on the topic of New Netherland’s role in the global economy; in group discussions, they will build on others’ ideas and express their own clearly. Writing Standards Students will write informative/explanatory texts. They will use domain-­‐specific vocabulary and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information to develop and support their arguments. Historical Context: New Netherland Institute
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In the early 17th century, the Netherlands was the most important commercial nation in Europe, and the city of Amsterdam was the country's trading hub. In North America, New Amsterdam, the Dutch colony’s major trading port, linked Europe, Africa, South and Central America, the Caribbean, and the North American colonies. Furs, tobacco, and food stuffs, such as grain and meat, were the most important products of New Netherland. These products were shipped to Europe in exchange for a variety of consumer goods such as iron tools, cloth, wines, and weapons. They were also shipped to the Caribbean for salt, sugar, dyewood, and horses. Shells from the Caribbean—as well as from Long Island—were used to make wampum beads or sewant. These shell beads were valued and used like money. Dutch trading vessels also brought to New Netherland indentured servants from Europe and slaves from Africa and the Caribbean. Unlike slaves, indentured servants signed contracts with their masters setting out the terms and length of their service. Activities: Document Analysis: Ship Manifest, Nieuwer Amstel Individually or in small groups, students will read and analyze a Dutch ship manifest, a record of the goods on the ship Nieuwer Amstel. They will record which items were traded and analyze why these items were important to colonists in New Netherland using the chart on Worksheet 1. Once the students have completed their worksheets, the teacher will ask them to share their answers with the class. The teacher will then lead a discussion on how these items were used by Dutch sailors and settlers. Students should revise their t-­‐charts as they learn more about trade in New Netherland. Note: Sugar and molasses were sweeteners. Salt was used to preserve meat and particularly fish. (The production of pickled herring was a major Dutch industry.) Lemon juice was used in food preparation and preservation; it also helped prevent scurvy. When ground up, the wood of a Campeche tree (dyewood) formed a stable yellow fabric dye. In New Netherland, conch shells were used to produce wampum or sewant. These were shells beads that served as a form of currency in New Netherland, particularly in the fur trade between Indians and Dutch settlers. The furs shipped from New Castle to New Amsterdam were later processed into felt hats and leather and fur goods by artisans in New Netherland or the Netherlands. Afterward, the teacher should lead the class in mapping this trade route from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to St. Cristoffel (St Kitts); Curaçao; New Amstel (now New Castle, Delaware); New Amsterdam (now New York City); and finally, back to Amsterdam. See Map 1. New Netherland Institute
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Document Analysis: Indentured Servant Contract The teacher should hand out Worksheet 2. This worksheet reproduces a contract describing the duties and compensation of an indentured servant, Clara Matthijs, who traveled from the Netherlands to New Netherland to work for Jonas Bronck. In addition to teaching students about the importation of one form of bound labor, this exercise is designed to build vocabulary and improve reading comprehension. Before handing out the worksheet, the teacher should explain that many female immigrants to New Netherland came to work as servants for wealthy settler families. In this case, Clara agreed to work for Jonas Bronck, a wealthy Dane who settled in New Netherland and owned a large farm near what is now the Bronx River, so named in his honor. As they read, students should circle any unfamiliar terms and write them down in the appropriate box on Worksheet 2. Using contextual clues from the contract, they should provide a possible definition for each term. They will also answer the following document-­‐
based questions at the bottom of the worksheet: o When and where was this contract drafted? By whom? o What was the purpose of this contract? o Who was Jonas Bronck? o Who was Clara Matthijs? o What does this contract require Clara to do? o What does this contract require Jonas to do? o Do you think this contract was fair? Why or why not? o Would you like to be an indentured servant in New Netherland? Explain your answer. o Why do you think both Clara and Jonas agreed to the terms of the contract? After the students have completed their worksheets, the teacher should lead a discussion of the reading, including any difficult words. This is an opportunity for the teacher to introduce students to the differences between indentured servitude and slavery. Document Analysis: The Slave Ship, Gideon The teacher should hand out Worksheet 3. This worksheet reproduces a summary of an affidavit by the captain and mate of the slave ship, Gideon. In addition to introducing students to the global slave trade, this exercise is designed to build vocabulary and improve reading comprehension. The teacher should ask students to read the affidavit before introducing them to the concept of Triangular Trade in the context of the trans-­‐Atlantic slave trade—focusing particularly on the deadly Middle Passage. (For more on the trans-­‐Atlantic slave trade, see New Netherland Institute
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the Schomburg Center’s website, http://www.inmotionaame.org/migrations/landing.cfm?migration=1) Then the teacher should lead the class in a map exercise, indentifying the places where the crew and human cargo of the Gideon stopped on their voyage from the Netherlands to New Netherland: Sao Jorge da Mina in Elmina, Ghana; Loango (now Landana, Angola); Cayenne in French Guiana; Curaçao; New Amsterdam (now New York City). See Map 2. Students should then read the affidavit a second time, circling any unfamiliar terms and writing them down in the appropriate box on Worksheet 3. Using contextual clues from the contract, they should provide a possible definition for each term. They will also answer the following document-­‐based questions at the bottom of the worksheet: o When and where was the affidavit created? o What was the purpose of this affidavit? o How many slaves did the Gideon start with from Loanga? o How many slaves arrived at Curaçao? Of these slaves, how many were in a “deliverable state”? o Why was the state and delivery of the slaves so important to the West India Company? o What do you think happened to the slaves? Why did so few survive? After the students have completed their worksheets, the teacher should lead a discussion of the reading, including any difficult words. Again, the teacher should encourage students to think of the differences between indentured servitude and slavery. (By contrast to the slaves, Clara chose to leave her home and to work for Jonas Bronck in New Netherland.) Culminating Activity: Students, individually or in small groups, will design a poster depicting New Netherland’s place in the global network of trade in goods and bound labor. These posters might include maps, drawings, and words and/or phrases that clearly demonstrate students' understanding of the essential question. (The teacher should determine the specific assessment criteria for design.) After completing the posters, students or groups will present their work to the class for general discussion and conclusions about the essential question. New Netherland Institute
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