On January 1, 2007, I arrived In New York. I, and my eight-year-old son Brendan have relocated to New York to be full time with my husband, Brian Rose, a photographer based in the city. It seemed appropriate to start off my blog with a reference to the history of my new hometown, so closely related to my own roots, coming from Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I read Shorto's book in the first weeks after my arrival. I was quite taken by it, and think it is a great book, but I am not going to review it. There is, however, a point I would like to make.
It is widely known--ever since the murder of Theo van Gogh and Ayaan Hirsi Ali took off to the US--that the Netherlands is struggling with immigration matters, issues of identity and nationality. Complex problems are being simplified, and proposed solutions are unsubstantiated. The latest being that no Dutch citizen should be allowed to have two passports. Now, I know that the people suggesting this do not have my son Brendan--who has two passports--in mind, but I take personal offense. And I can only begin to understand how this must feel to childeren of immigrants, who were born and raised in the Netherlands.
After reading Shorto's book I could not help but feel there is a lot to be learned from history, and that policy makers, politicians and even urban planners should find a way to make history part of efforts to make changes. Shorto's retelling of the history of New York made me feel very proud of being Dutch:
Because of its geography, its population, and the fact that it was under the control of the Dutch (even then its parent city, Amsterdam, was the most liberal in Europe), this island city would become the first multiethnic, upwardly mobile society on America's shores, a prototype of the kind of society that would be duplicated throughout the country and around the world.
It has long been recognized that the Dutch Republic in the 1600s was the most progressive and culturally diverse society in Europe.
The Netherlands of this time was the melting pot of Europe. When this society founded a colony based on Manhattan Island, that colony had the same features of tolerance, openness, and free trade that existed in the home country.
...(New York City)…would develop into a unique place that would foster an intensive stew of cultures and a widely fertile intellectual, artistic, and business environment.
I guess that is--aside from personal circumstances--why I want to be here.
