New York Before New York: The Castello Plan of New Amsterdam
On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Dutch founding of a colony that would give rise to New York, this special installation is organized around the Castello Plan, a map depicting New Amsterdam around the peak of its settlement circa 1660.
On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Dutch founding of a colony that would give rise to New York, this special installation is organized around the Castello Plan, a map depicting New Amsterdam around the peak of its settlement circa 1660.
On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Dutch founding of a colony that would give rise to New York, this special installation is organized around the Castello Plan, a map depicting New Amsterdam around the peak of its settlement circa 1660, just before the English took control. While modest in size, the map—on loan from the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence—provides a remarkably rare glimpse of everyday life in New Amsterdam revealing a complex colony of about 1,500 people at the southern tip of the island of Mannahatta. The installation unpacks the Plan, highlighting the remarkable global reach of the tiny settlement, its dense mix of ethnicities and languages, the Dutch ideas of tolerance that undergirded it, and the dark legacies of slavery and of the dispossession of Native Americans that it relied upon. Through documents and objects, and a 3D model, the installation explores how settlers, Indigenous people, and enslaved Africans experienced the world illustrated in the Castello Plan. Curated by Russell Shorto, director, New Amsterdam Project. Virtual Castello Plan produced by the New Amsterdam History Center. With special thanks to the New Netherland Institute, the New Netherland Research Center at the New York State Office of Cultural Education, Dr. Barbaro Martinez-Ruiz, Laura Ten Eyck, Dr. Andrew Lipman, and Dr. Joseph Diamond.
Major support for New York Before New York: The Castello Plan of New Amsterdam is provided by the David Berg Foundation. The New-York Historical Society is a Holland Dames Grant Recipient. This program is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, and has received funding through a NY400 grant from the Netherland-America Foundation.
Explore the installation with author and curator Russell Shorto:
Installation Highlights
Philanthropic support for New Amsterdam 400 is provided by New York Life. Lead support is also provided by The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. Major support is provided by Jeffrey Bewkes and the Citco group of Companies, and the Henry Luce Foundation. Additional support is provided by Alex Roepers and Nina and Tim Zagat.
Exhibitions at The New York Historical are made possible by the Saunders Trust for American History, the Evelyn & Seymour Neuman Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.
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