The Netherlands and Scandinavia in North America
A timeline listing key events from the arrival of the Norsemen to the departure of the Dutch.
Explore a text-based timeline tracing the early presence of Norse and Dutch explorers in the New World. From the first Norse landings in Vinland to the departure of the Dutch from New Netherland, this timeline highlights key moments that shaped the northern reaches of European colonization in North America.
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1000
Leif Ericsson explores the North American coast
Leif Ericsson, returning to Greenland from Norway, is driven onto the North American coast, which he explores and tries unsuccessfuly to settle.
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1555
Abdication of Charles V
October 25th.
Abdication of Charles V Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain in favor of his son Philip and brother Ferdinand; Philip II inherits control over the Low Countries, which include the Netherlands region.
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1566
Beeldenstorm: Iconoclastic fury
Calvinist destruction of Catholic images, one of several outbreaks of the destruction of religious images in 16th century Europe, begins in Flanders. Beeldenstorm, a Dutch term roughly translated as "statue storm," refers specifically to the destruction and defacement of Catholic images that spread through the Low Countries in the summer of 1566.
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1568
Dutch revolt against Spain begins
The revolt of the Protestant Seventeen Provinces begins against Philip II of Spain, an ardent Roman Catholic and sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands.
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1568
Dutch nobles beheaded at Brussels
June 5th.
Dutch nobles Egmont and Hoorn beheaded at Brussels for treason to the Spanish crown; their deaths provoke outrage throughout the Netherlands.
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1572
Capture of Den Briel
April 1st.
Dutch "Sea Beggars" capture the strategic city at the mouth of the Rhine and establish their first foothold on land, a turning point in the uprising of the Low Countries against Spain. The "Sea Beggars," a largely Calvinist Dutch guerilla and privateering force, would eventually conquer the northern Netherlands and establish a Dutch republic.
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1573
Dutch defeat Spanish fleet at Battle on Zuiderzee
October 11th.
In the Battle on the Zuiderzee, a shallow bay in the northwest of the Netherlands, a Dutch fleet defeats a larger and better equipped Spanish fleet. The Zuiderzee was of major strategic importance, as supply routes for the cities in the area controlled by both the Dutch and Spanish went almost exclusively through it. The defeat helped convince the Spanish to abandon their goal to conquer North Holland.
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1574
Relief of Leiden, lifting of the Spanish siege
October 3rd.
After several months of the Spanish siege on the rebellious city, the second in less than a year, the Prince of Orange instructs the city's inhabitants to break the dykes, flooding the city and allowing the liberators to sail in, ending the Spanish siege and bringing relief to a starving population.
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1575
Founding of Leiden University
Leiden University, the first university in the Netherlands, is founded by Willem the Silent. It is believed Willem chose Leiden as reward for its heroic holdout against the Spanish siege one year earlier.
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1577
Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter
June 28th.
Sir Peter Paul Rubens, an influential Flemish Baroque painter with an extravagant style, is born in Siegen, Germany. In addition to his successful career as an artist, Rubens occupied several influential positions as a scholar, diplomat, and art collector. Rubens was knighted by both Philip IV, King of Spain, and Charles I, King of England.
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1579
Union of Utrecht
January 23rd.
A mutual defensive pact of seven northern provinces against Spain is signed in Utrecht, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands previously under the control of Habsburg Spain. The pact was a response by the Protestant provinces to the 1579 Union of Arras in which the southern states of the Netherlands expressed their loyalty to Spain. The Union of Utrecht would become a de facto constitution and remained the only formal connection between the Dutch provinces until the creation of the Batavian Republic in 1795.
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1579
Willem I serves as first stadtholder
Willem I, prince of Orange-Nassau, serves as first stadholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Willem originally served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Spanish Netherlands, but the centralization of political power and the Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants convinced him to join the Dutch uprising.
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1580
Crowns of Spain and Portugal united
Following a dynastic crisis upon the death of young King Sebastian I of Portugal, who had no dynastic heirs, the crowns of Spain and Portugal are united under Philip II in the Iberian Union.
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1581
Act of Abjuration
July 26th.
Representatives of the United Provinces abjure their oath of allegiance to Philip II with a formal declaration of independence. The act bears a striking resemblance to the Declaration of Independence of the United States written almost 200 years later.
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1584
Willem I assasinated
July 1oth.
Willem I, prince of Orange-Nassau, assassinated at his home in Delft by Catholic Frenchman Balthasar Gérard, who believed William had betrayed the Spanish king and the Catholic religion.
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1584
Prince Maurits assumes stadholdership
Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau assumes the stadholdership of the United Provinces of the Netherlands after the murder of his father.
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1588
Spanish Armada defeated
July 29th.
Spanish Armada defeated by combined English and Dutch fleet. The fleet of Catholic Spain sailed against Protestant England with the intent of overthrowing Elizabeth I and ending her involvement in the Spanish Netherlands. After the repulsion, the people of England hailed Elizabeth as a hero and the Protestant movement across Europe was invigorated.
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1599
Anthony van Dyck, Flemish painter
March 22nd.
Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish Baroque painter with an influential style of relaxed elegance, is born in Antwerp.Van Dyck became the leading court painter in England. He is best known for his paintings of the family of Charles I of England and his work with Biblical and mythological subjects.
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1602
United East India Company chartered
United East India Company chartered by the States General of the United Provinces and granted a 21-year monopoly over the Asian trade. It is widely considered the world's first multinational corporation and was the first company to issue stock. Two years earlier, the English government created its own monopoly enterprise: the English East India Company.
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1606
Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch painter
July 15th.
Rembrandt van Rijn, widely considered the most important painter and printmaker in Dutch history, is born in Leiden. Rembrandt produced his art in a period known as the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world.
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1607
Dutch defeat Spanish fleet at Gibraltar
April 25th.
In the Battle of Gibraltar, a Dutch fleet surprises and engages a Spanish Fleet anchored at the Bay of Gibraltar, destroying most of the Spanish fleet in four hours of fighting.
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1609
Henry Hudson in command of Halve Maen
Henry Hudson, an Englishman in service of the Dutch Republic, is put in command of the East India Company ship Halve Maen. Hudson explores from Delaware Bay to the upper Hudson as far as present-day Albany. His original mission was to covertly find an eastern passage to China.
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1609
Founding of the Bank of Amsterdam
The Bank of Amsterdam, the first exchange bank in Northern Europe, is founded. Its intended purpose is to discourage the circulation of debased coins, a side effect of ordinances set by the Dutch government that set the legal value of coins. The ordinances created an incentive for mints to debase coins and pass them to creditors in Amsterdam at ordinance prices. The bank is widely seen as the precursor to the modern central bank.
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1609
Twelve years' truce with Spain
April 9th.
Twelve years' truce with Spain begins. The truce marks the first time the Dutch Republic is recognized as an independent state by outside powers.
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1614
Fur trading post on Castle Island
Fur trading post Fort Nassau established on Castle Island, present day Port of AlbanyFur trading post Fort Nassau established on Castle Island, present day Port of Albany.
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1614
The name New Netherland first appears
The place name New Netherland appears for the first time in a resolution of the States General of the United Provinces concerning trading licenses between New France and Virginia.
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1614
New Netherland Company licensed by States General
October 11th.
The charter granted a monopoly of trade between the 40th and 45th parallel for a period of three years, starting on January 1, 1615.
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1618
Beginning of Thirty Years' War in Germany
A series of wars fought predominantly in Central Europe involving most of the countries in Europe; one of the longest continual wars in modern history.
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1618
Synod of Dordrecht
November 13th.
The Dutch Reformed Church holds a series of meetings of the church council to settle the controversy over the rise of Arminianism.
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1619
Beheading of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
May 13th.
Beheading of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, leader of the peace party, at the Hague.
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1621
Chartering of the West India Company
June 2nd.
West India Company [WIC] granted charter for a trade monopoly by the States General.
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1621
End of the Twelve years' truce with Spain
End of the Twelve years' truce with Spain; the war against Spain resumes under the leadership of Maurits of Nassau, Prince of Orange.
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1624
First colonists arrive in New Netherland
First colonists arrive in New Netherland where they are settled at Fort Orange (Albany), the mouth of the Connecticut River, on High Island (Burlington Island) in the Delaware River, and on Governors Island. Forts are built on Governors Island and on the upper Hudson ( Fort Orange). Cornelis May, as senior skipper, is considered first director of New Netherland.
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1624
Birthplace of New York State on Governors Island
Birthplace of New York State by de facto transformation of the New Netherland territory into a province by imposing the Republic's legal-political infrastructure with the planting of the first settlers on Governors Island (then named Noten Eylant or, in pidgin English, Nutten Island until 1784); the locus of New York's cultural patrimony of toleration.
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1625
Publication of De Jure Belli et Pacis
September 6th.
The publication of De Jure Belli et Pacis, by Dutch statesman and jurist Hugo Grotius, lays the foundation for the science of international law.
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1625
Prince Frederik Hendrik becomes stadholder upon death of Prince Maurits
Prince Frederik Hendrik, the youngest child of Willem the Silent, becomes stadholder upon the death of Prince Maurits.
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1625
Willem Verhulst arrives as director of New Netherland
Willem Verhulst arrives as director of New Netherland.
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1626
Daniel van Crieckenbeeck killed by Mohawks
Daniel van Crieckenbeeck, commander at Fort Orange, is killed while supporting a Mahican war party against the Mohawks.
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1626
Peter Minuit replaces Verhulst as director
Peter Minuit replaces Verhulst as director, purchases Manhattan Island; moves settlers from Fort Orange, Connecticut, and Delaware to Manhattan.
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1628
Piet Heyn captures Spanish silver fleet for the WIC
Piet Heyn, a Dutch naval officer, captures Spanish silver fleet for the Dutch West India Company.
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1629
Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions
The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, establishing the patroonship plan of colonization and laying the ground rules and expectations of the patroons and inhabitants, ratified by the Dutch West India Company.
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1631
Patroonships founded in New Netherland
Patroonships of Rensselaerswijck (upper Hudson), Pavonia (Jersey City), Swaenendael (Lewes, Delaware), among others, founded in New Netherland.
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1632
Jan Vermeer, Dutch painter
Jan Vermeer, a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class life, is born. Vermeer is known for his use of bright colors and the proficient treatment and use of light in his work.
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1632
Swaenendael Colony destroyed by Indians
January 1.
Swaenendael Colony, built one year earlier, destroyed by Indians. No colonists survived.
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1632
Minuit replaced as director
Minuit removed as director of New Netherland, replaced by Bastiaen Jansz Crol.
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1633
Wouter van Twiller, director of New Netherland
Wouter van Twiller becomes the fourth director of New Netherland after Peter Minuit is recalled by the Dutch West India Company in Amsterdam for unknown reasons.
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1638
Peter Minuit hired by Swedish South Company
Peter Minuit hired by Swedish South Company, establishes New Sweden on the Delaware River (Wilmington, Delaware); Minuit lost at sea while returning to Sweden
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1638
Willem Kieft, director of New Netherland
Willem Kieft becomes fifth director of New Netherland. His authoritarian style leads to conflicts with many of the inhabitants as well as Indians and surrounding colonies.
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1639
West India Company opens fur trade to everyone
West India Company opens fur trade to everyone.
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1642
Johan Printz becomes governor of New Sweden
Johan Printz becomes governor of New Sweden.
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1643
Kieft's war with the Indians
Kieft's war with the Indians around Manhattan Island commences.
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1647
Prince Willem II as stadholder
Prince Willem II, Prince of Orange, son of Frederik Hendrik, serves as stadholder. After serving only three years, Willem II dies of smallpox at twenty-four years of age. The First Stadtholderless Period for the provinces Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel follows. His son succeeds him in 1672 as stadtholder and, in 1689, also becomes king of England.
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1647
Petrus Stuyvesant becomes director general
May 11th.
Petrus Stuyvesant becomes director general of New Netherland, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, and other dependencies in the Caribbean.
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1647
WIC ship Princess Amalia lost in Bristol Bay
September 27th.
WIC ship Princess Amalia lost in Bristol Bay, former Director Kieft and Domine Evardus Bogardus drowned with eighty-two others.
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1648
Peace of Westphalia
May 15th.
Peace of Westphalia, settling Eighty Years' War with Spain; end of Thirty Years' War, ratified.
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1648
Swedish relief ship Kattan (The Cat) lost
August.
Swedish relief ship Kattan (The Cat) bound for New Sweden lost off Puerto Rico.
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1650
Hartford Treaty
August 2.
Hartford Treaty, settling boundary dispute between New Netherland and New England, signed.
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1650
States General assumes control
States General, opposing authority of princes of the house of Orange, assumes control over Dutch general policy.
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1651
Stuyvesant abandons Fort Nassau
Stuyvesant abandons Fort Nassau (Gloucester, New Jersey); replaces it with Fort Casimir (New Castle, Delaware) below Swedish Fort Christina.
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1652
First Anglo-Dutch War
October 23rd.
First Anglo-Dutch War begins.
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1653
Construction of defensive wall across Manhattan
May 14th. The Dutch construct a defensive wall across Manhattan Island (Wall Street) after threat of invasion from New England.
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1654
Swedes capture Fort Casimir
Under new governor Johan Rising, Swedes capture the Dutch post Fort Casimir on Trinity Sunday, rename it Fort Trefaltighet (Fort Trinity).
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1655
Stuyvesant conquers New Sweden
Stuyvesant conquers New Sweden in the Delaware Valley.
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1655
Peach War
September.
Indians around Manhattan attack New Amsterdam, Pavonia, and Staten Island in a conflict known as the Peach War.
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1656
Baruch Spinoza excommunicated from the synagogue
July 27th.
Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish parentage and exponent of pantheism, is excommunicated from the synagogue.
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1659
Esopus Indian Wars in New Netherland
September.
Esopus Indian Wars in New Netherland.
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1664
English naval force captures New Netherland
August 27th.
English naval force funded by the Dukes of York and Albany captures New Netherland in a surprise attack during peace time.
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1665
Admiral De Ruyter retakes WIC trading posts
March 4th.
Admiral Michiel Adriaansz de Ruyter retakes most of the WIC trading posts lost the previous year to English in Africa; De Ruyter's plans to retake New Netherland are aborted.
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1665
Second Anglo-Dutch War
March 4th. In the second of four Anglo-Dutch Wars, England tries to end the Dutch domination of world trade and ultimately fails despite initial successes.
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1667
Admiral Crijnsen retakes Dutch colonies
Admiral Abraham Crijnsen retakes former Dutch colonies in the Guianas (Wild Coast of South America) seized by the English.
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1672
Third Anglo-Dutch War
In the Third Anglo-Dutch War, part of the larger Franco-Dutch War, England's Royal Navy joins France in its attack on the Dutch Republic. Fearful of French motives, Parliament eventually forces the king to abandon the costly and unsuccessful war.
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1673
New York captured by Dutch naval force
August.
Dutch naval force captures New York; New Netherland restored as a Dutch colony.
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1674
Treaty of Westminster
Februrary 19th.
The Third Anglo-Dutch War ends and New Netherland becomes New York once again as a result of the peace of Westminster.
