New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (Amerikaens: Nieuw Amsterdam, Lenappi: Mannahata), abbreviated as NAMS, affectionately nicknamed Knickerbock, and often going by the moniker the Green City (De Grüne Metropöl), is the capital and largest city of New Netherland. One of the oldest cities in America, it is considered as a pre-eminent world city. It is recognised as a cultural melting pot, incorporating traits derieved from its large Dutch, Palatine, French, Arab, and African populations. Organisations such as Jonkman Corporation and the OVL are headquartered in the city. New Amsterdam is a hub of fashion, philosophy, music, and cuisine.
Free City and Municipality of New Amsterdam Nieuw Amsterdam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Administrative center | Manhattan Central 40° N, 74° W |
| Official languages | Amerikaens |
| Common languages | Amerikaens French English Spanish Arabic Cantonese Yiddish |
| Demonym | Knickerbocker |
| Government | Municipal council |
| Establishment | 1624 |
| Today part of | New Netherland |
It was founded by the West India Company in 1624 and became a municipal city in 1656. It defended itself against British aggression in the War of 1664. In the 18th century, the patroonship system produced the city's characteristic gentry. Immigration expanded the population rapidly. In the 1790s, civil and foreign conflict brought independence. During the First Statholderate, the city underwent land reclamation projects, urbanisation, and economic reform. After the Constitution of 1870, political instability plagued New Amsterdam until the Republican Revolution, when democracy allowed the city to enter a new era of prosperity. Knickerbockers (New Amsterdam's denizens) were instrumental in civil rights reform in the 1910s and suffered during the Great Economic Crisis.
Etymology
The city was named after the Dutch capital Amsterdam. It was previously mapped as New Angoulême and Estoban Gomez before being dubbed New Amsterdam by the first Dutch colonists around 1614.