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The United States of America and the Netherlands
In the summer of 1609 the ship the "Halve Maan" sailing under Captain
Henry Hudson under the flag of the Dutch East India Company searched
in vain for a western passage to the East Indies. Using the maps of the
Amsterdam cartographer Jodocus Hondius he had been searching for a
Northern route through the ice. He did not search very hard it seems, for he believed in the theory
that there was a passage through the continent itself. Since the Venetian navigator Giovanni da
Verrazano had seen New York Bay - well, what was later to be called New York Bay - in the
middle of the 16th century a number of scientists believed that that bay offered the passage
through the continent. After giving up searching for the Norhtern passage Hudson decided to try
his luck here.
On the first of July 1609 he reached Newfoundland, from where he followed the coast southwards until he
reached the bay in the beginning of September. The next day the Halve Maan sailed through
the Narrows and in the afternoon sailed upstream on a river which would
be named after the captain, the Hudson. After having sailed up as far as
where later Albany was to be and seeing that the river was a river and not
the desired passage to the Indies, Hudson gave up, completely disappointed.
He did not even bother to sail back to Amsterdam, but went for England,
which he reached in November. There another captain took over to bring
the ship back to Amsterdam. But the Halve Maan was not a lucky ship:
it perished later in the Indian Ocean on a trip to the East Indies via
the traditional route around the Cape.
The First Dutch Settlers
The first group of Dutch settlers did not stay for long on the new continent and they can hardly be called settlers.
It had not been their choice to stay there: their ship, the Tyger had caught fire sailing on the Hudson. Captain
Adriaen Block was commanding one of the ships that came looking for trade on the American coast in the years after
Hudson's voyage. They exchanged beads and knives for furs from the natives. When Block came in the winter of 1613-1614
he lost his ship in a fire and had to spend the winter in America. He let his crew build a couple of huts and then they
began building a sloop, the Onrust. In the spring Block and his men did some explorations along the coast of
Long Island (Het Lange Eiland). Block Island still bears his name. Finally they were sighted by another Dutch ship and
Block and his crew were off again.
But Block's maps created a new interest in America. A group of thirteen merchants acquired a charter from the
Staten Generaal - the dutch equivalent of the US Congress - for exclusive trade on the American East Coast in
what would be called "New Netherland". This group of thirteen decided that an island just below
present-day Albany would be the ideal place to serve as a centre of trade.
The Dutch had no tradition of colonization. Usually they would found a stronghold in distant territory, which they
called a factorij. They would put a garrison in it and would trade with the locals from there. They had fortresses on
the west and east African coast, on the Cape, on Ceylon, on the Indian coast, and in the East Indies. Some of these
were captured from the Portugese and some had been built by the Dutch themselves. Allthough there was a very high
mortality rate in the factorijen, this policy was still cheaper than having to provide for a real settlement. Since
the colonial activities were in the hands of privately owned enterprises, empire building was not one of their aims.
Only Cape of Good Hope and Surinam were more extensive settlements.
So a fort was to be erected which would bear the name Fort Nassau, becoming one of the first permanent European
settlements in what later became the United States. It was 1614, six years before the Mayflower would bring
the Pilgrim Fathers (the first British Settlers) to the new continent.
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The Star Spangled Banner
The United States National Anthem
I
Oh, say, can you see, by dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O 'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming.
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursing in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
II
On the shore dimly seen, thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In fully glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
III
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has vanished out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
IV
Oh, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand.
Between their loved home and the war's desolation:
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that has made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just.
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust".
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
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Dollars
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The U.S. Flag
In 1777, June 14th, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes pattern for the national flag. This would
follow almost one year after the Declaration of Independence and more than a decade before the U.S. Constitution
was finalized. Flag Day was first celebrated in 1877, the centennial of the U.S. flag's existence. After that many
citizens and organizations advocated the adoption of a national day of commemoration for the U.S. Flag. It was not
until 1949, that President Harry Truman signed legislation making Flag Day a day of national observance.
The Thirteen Stripes
The U.S. Flag has thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, each stripe representing one of the 13 original
colonies of England.
The 50 Stars
The United States Flag has 50 stars, one for each state of the Union. The last star added was for the State of
Hawaii, 1960.
Holiday - Day Off
Very few Americans get the day off from work on June 14th, Flag Day. In the United States, changes in the standards
of the average citizen and permissive legislatures have reduced patriotic holidays to just an extra day off; no more
than part of a long weekend. In the State of Pennsylvania, Flag Day is a state holiday.
How To Display the U.S. Flag
U.S. Flag Names
· Stars and Stripes
· Old Glory
· Star-Spangled Banner
The U.S. Flag and Music
The U.S. National Anthem is titled 'Star-Spangled Banner'. The words were penned by Francis Scott Key during
the War of 1812 and set to the tune of an old English drinking song.
Famed composer and long time U.S. Marine Corps Bandmaster John Philip Sousa wrote the stirring march, Stars and
Stripes Forever.
Related Links
Sunday June 14th is U.S. Flag Day
The flag of the USA
Sheryl's Holiday Site: Flag Day
Bill of Rights Day
The history of Flag Day
Flag Etiquette
Annie's Flag Day page
Flag Day in the United States is June 14th
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Van Assendelft - Batelaan
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Van Assendelft family tree from 1313
Also have a look at:
Buckingham Palace, London, England
Also have a look at: Canada
Also have a look at:
Piccadilly Circus, London, England
Also have a look at:
Tower Bridge (1), London, England
Also have a look at:
Tower Bridge (2), London, England
Also have a look at:
The Union Jack of Great britain
Also have a look at:
The US and the Netherlands (2)