Point of Divergence (RTL): Difference between revisions

To understand the situation, we need to go 26 years back. The story begins when [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriaen_van_der_Donck Adriaen van der Donck], a Dutch lawyer, arrived in New Netherland in 1641. He was immediately impressed by the land, which, in contrast with the Netherlands, was thickly forested, hilly, and full of wildlife in contrast with the Netherlands. He ended up spending a good portion of his life in the colony, exploring and writing about this beautiful land. He traveled back and forth multiple times between his homeland and New Netherland to promote the Dutch West India Company run-colony.

He was elected into the colony's Council of Nine in 1649. andHe had petitioned the Dutch States-General in Europe to remove the Dutch WIC from the colonial administration and establish a more liberal government. After several years of being ignored, his petition was finally heard and granted by the Dutch States-General on February 2, 1653. He was victorious.

Van der Donck's multiple attempts to return to the colony waswere blocked by the Dutch WIC because of the destabilizing effects of his activism, especially in a time of war. Two years later, Van Der Donck died. His dreams never came to fruition, and he became nothing but a footnote in New York history and American history in general.

This timeline explores what could have happened if his plans had materialized. In this timeline, theThe First Anglo-Dutch war still happensoccurs in this timeline, but Van Der Donck was allowed to proceed with his new government in New Netherland.

Fast forward back to the 2nd Anglo-Dutch war, when four English frigates had sailed to New Amsterdam and demanded New Netherland's surrender. Due to the promotion of the colony and a boom in population thanks to Van der Donck's advocacies, the settlers were able to successfully repel this attempted invasion and secure New Netherland's position for the years to come.