Welcome readers and fellow fans of 17^th century Dutch! It seems appropriate to open this blog by showcasing a work that inspired my interest in 17^th 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.