New Amsterdam Quotes
The Governor had banished John Bowne, the Quaker from the colony. In general, he was opposed to Quakers, Jews and other “non-Christians.”
The Governor of New Amsterdam, Peter Stuyvesant, was a bigoted Protestant of the Dutch Orthodox church and did not want to allow non-Protestants into the Colony, However, he was overruled by the Directors of the Dutch West India Company which rolled the colony designed to be a money making enterprise. Jews and others were allowed to enter and become citizens, however while they could worship in any way they chose in their own homes, they could not build any places of worship of have any public prayer of other aspects of their religion. This was the hypocrisy to which Bangs refers. However, at the time, it was more liberality and tolerance than most of the Christian world.
The Governor opposed Jews being allowed into the colony at all, but was overruled by the Dutch West India Company. He feared that this would set a precedent and then Catholics and other “dissenters” would come to New York. He then prohibited them from worshipping as Jews {35223} but was again overruled. He was a very unpopular Governor who himself was a Calvinist fundamentalist having been the son of a Calvinist minister and studied for the ministry himself. The company set the standard of religious tolerance and enforced it. See {611104}. The governor predicted the consequence and the precedent did indeed allow Catholics to come to New York and both Jews and Catholics have been significant New York population groups ever since.
This quotation illustrates the negative attitudes towards democracy that existed with many “leaders” of the time. Stuyvesant was appointed by and reported to the Dutch West India Company—not to the government of Holland. New Amsterdam was a commercial venture just as most of the English American Colonies were. Stuyvesant was not a particularly good governor in terms of both making money for the company or governing the new city.
A boatload of 23 Jews had arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654 from a failed colony in Brazil. Governor Peter Stuyvesant, an anti-Semite, wanted to deport them and asked for permission from his superiors at the Dutch West India Company. The Directors of the company wanted good citizens in their colony, and the Jews had been very productive citizens in Amsterdam. The Governor was distressed and took this as a rebuke which it was. Stuyvesant was not a very good governor eaith from the point of view of the colomists or the company.
