Adriaen van der Donck’s Beschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlant
Welcome readers and fellow fans of 17th century Dutch!
It seems appropriate to open this blog by showcasing a work that inspired my interest in 17th century Dutch, on a subject that remains near and dear to my heart. Adriaen van der Donck wrote his 1655 book, Beschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlant, a description of New Netherland, while exiled in the Dutch Republic. He had been denied passage back to his newly adopted homeland by the colony’s West India Company administrators after going over their heads to complain about their management of the colony.
Van der Donck’s book was first published in 1655, and divided into 4 chapters. It provided physical information about the country and the Dutch claim to it, described the indigenous peoples living there, discussed the beavers as the colony’s main commodity, and ended with a fictitious conversation as a kind of modern FAQ for prospective settlers. Historians have often labeled the book an immigration tool, especially in light of the fact that increasing population of New Netherland was a frequently expressed goal of Van der Donck’s. While this is likely an accurate assessment of Van der Donck’s motivation to write, at the same time, the book reads like the longing for a faraway love. For Van der Donck, the publication seems to have served a dual purpose. It allowed him to get the word out about the potential opportunities in New Netherland and, at the same time, acted as an outlet for his homesickness. The book sold out the first year and was reprinted in 1656, attracting colonists to New Netherland in the years that followed. Tragically, Van der Donck died in 1655, too soon to see the success of his work. But, if you would like to experience Van der Donck’s passion for New Netherland through his engaging writing style, I encourage you to dive into his 17th-century Dutch text!
Beschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlant has been relatively recently re-translated into English in the book, A Description of New Netherland, edited by Charles Gehring and William Starna and translated by Diederik Goedhuys (University of Nebraska Press, 2010). Not only would I recommend Van der Donck’s Description outright for a glimpse of the colorful 17th-century colony, if you use his Dutch text for translation practice, you could check your work against the translated book. I have provided some of the Dutch text in the section on paleography, but Google Books has the full printed text of the 1656 edition. Success!