Directors of New Netherland
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This is a list of directors, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch province of New Netherland (Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch) in North America. Only the last, Peter Stuyvesant, held the title of Director-General. As the colony grew, citizens advisory boards – known as the Twelve Men, Eight Men, and Nine Men – exerted more influence on the director and thus affairs of province.
There were New Netherland settlements in what later became the US states of New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, with short-lived outposts in areas of today's Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. The capital, New Amsterdam, became the city of New York when the New Netherlanders provisionally ceded control of the colony to the English, who renamed the city and the rest of the province in June 1665.
During the restitution to Dutch rule from August 1673 to November 1674, when New Netherland was under the jurisdiction of the City of Amsterdam, the first Dutch governor, Anthony Colve, was appointed.
List of directors
From 1624–1664
| Portrait | Director or director-general | Took office | Left office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornelius Jacobsen May (fl. 1600s) | 1624 | 1625 | Explored Delaware Bay, New York Bay, Hudson River. Established base at Nut Island (Noten Eylandt) and outposts including Fort Nassau on Delaware River. Cape May was named in his honor. | |
| Willem Verhulst (or van der Hulst) (fl. 1600s) | 1625 | 1626 | Initiated construction of Fort Amsterdam on southern tip of Manhattan Island, and Fort Wilhelmus on the Delaware River. Unpopular with the colonists, he was quickly replaced. Adrian Jorisszen Tienpoint was his deputy | |
| Peter Minuit (1580–1638) | 1626 | 1631 | Purchased the island of Manhattan from Native Americans on May 24, 1626 for 60 Dutch guilders worth of goods. | |
| Sebastiaen Jansen Krol (1595–1674) | 1632[citation needed] | 1633 | ||
| Wouter van Twiller (1606–1654) | 1633 | 1638[citation needed] | Previously a Dutch West India Company warehouse clerk, used family connections to the Rensselaer family to gain appointment purchased Nut Island (Noten Eylant), later called Governor's Island from Canarsee tribe for two axeheads, a string of beads and iron nails Lost the colony's claim of the Connecticut River valley to New England settlers Pushed back encroaching Virginia settlers who tried to settle Delaware River valley | |
| Willem Kieft (1597–1647) | 1638[citation needed] | 1647[citation needed] | Attempted to drive out Lenape tribe. Attacks on Pavonia and Corlears Hook, led to Kieft's War. Fired by the Dutch West India Company in 1647. Died at sea near Swansea, Wales on September 27, 1647 while returning to Amsterdam aboard the Princess Amelia. | |
| Peter Stuyvesant (c.1612–1672) | 1647[citation needed] | 1664 | Authorized charter for Communipaw and Bergen (now Jersey City) in 1660. New Amsterdam, Pavonia, and Staten Island attacked by the Munsee during the brief Peach War (1655) obtained victory the Esopus Wars against the Lenape and Esopus tribes Surrendered New Netherland to the English. Also the director of Curaçao (1642–1664) |
Restoration of the colony, 1673–1674
In 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch were able to recapture New Amsterdam (renamed "New York" by the English) under Admiral Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and Captain Anthony Colve. Evertsen renamed the city "New Orange." Evertsen returned to the Netherlands in July 1674, and was accused of disobeying his orders. Evertsen had been instructed not to retake New Amsterdam but instead to conquer the English colonies of Saint Helena and Cayenne (now French Guiana). In 1674, the Dutch were compelled to relinquish New Amsterdam to the English under the terms of the Second Treaty of Westminster.
| Portrait | Governor | Took office | Left office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Colve (1644–1693) | 1673 | 1674 | Colve's authority was brief, starting with the taking of New York, but ended on 10 November 1674 to implement the provisions of the Treaty of Westminster, which restored the colony to the English. News did not reach the New World of the treaty's terms until late in the year. The new English governor Edmund Andros only arrived in November 1674. |