Monday, July 19, 2010

New Orange - July 20th, 1673


The Third Anglo-Dutch War In 1672 Brought About A New Name And A Familiar Government To New York City.

City of New Orange, 1673 - NYPL

The City of New York has been called a lot of names but only a handful of them were official. New York City started out as New Amsterdam but for 7 months in 1673-1674 the city was officially named New Orange.

The Anglo-Dutch wars were a series of conflicts between the Commonwealth of England, later the Kingdom of England and the Dutch Republic. In 1672 both the Kingdom of England, under Charles II, and France, under the rule of Louis XIV, (treaty signed 1670 committed France to the English war) declared war with the seven provinces that made up the Dutch Republic. This war is referred to as the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

Admiral Cornelius Evertsen by Nicolaes Maes

During this war, the Dutch Admiral Cornelius Evertsen, in the spring of 1673, attacked English property in the New World starting in the Caribbean and working up the cost to New York. By the end of July, Admiral Eversten had arrived in Sandy Hook, NJ. On July 20, 1673, Eversten's fleet attacked Fort James at the southern tip of Manhattan Island. With help from the Dutch population in the area, the fleet took possession of the fort without firing a shot. New York was renamed New Orange in honor of Prince William of Orange.


Flag - the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands
http://jstevenlovci.blogspot.com/2007/09/city-of-new-york-official-flag.html

7 months later, in February 1674, a peace treaty was signed between England and the Dutch. All conquered territories were returned. New Orange and its Dutch government were reverted back to New York in October of that same year.

Time Line:

New Amsterdam (founded in 1625 - 1664)
New York (1664-1673)
New Orange (1673-1674)
New York (1674-current)

Bibliography:

Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999

Eric Homberger. The Historical Atlas of New York City. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998