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Historical Background

The Dutch and the Swedes: Patroons and Plowmen (continued)

OUR DUTCH AND SWEDISH HERITAGE

Ironically, it was the magnetic influence of English liberty on the Dutch and Swedes that caused the ignominious downfall of the peg-legged tyrant of New Netherland. The New Netherlanders eagerly embraced the British heritage, and New Amsterdam, already a polyglot of races and customs, quickly took on a decided English atmosphere. The Dutch, basically so much like their English cousins, became absorbed in the new way of life and did not cling tenaciously to their traditions.

Nevertheless, the influence of Holland was stamped on the province, and the language, customs, and architecture of Dutch America helped shape the city, as well as the State of New York that was later to emerge. The striking cleanliness of the Dutch villages, the style of their buildings, and their close-knit design lingered for centuries. And, as did the English, French, and Spanish in other areas, the Dutch and Swedes enriched the map with place names. Most important, the solid Dutch families who settled in Manhattan and the Hudson Valley produced an unusual number of prominent citizens and national leaders: the Rensselaers, the Cortlandts, the Schuylers, the Van Burens, and the Roosevelts, among others.

Fewer in number than the Dutch, the Swedish colonists contributed less to the developing American culture. One specific contribution of much importance attributed to them is the introduction of the art of log construction. Whether a Swede or a Finn in New Sweden built the first true log house in America may never be known. But so suitable was it to the environment that the technique spread throughout the colonies. None of the other national groups that came to the New World were familiar with log construction in their native land. Whether known later as a "cabin" or a "dog run," this style and method of construction seems clearly to have originated in New Sweden.