According to the legend, New York was founded in 1626 by the Dutch in the southern part of Manhattan Island. Some schoolbooks, history books, television broadcasts - and down to cigarettes makers - even say that the founder of New York was named Peter Stuyvesant.
The reality is somewhat different...
"In 1609, an English sailor named Henri Hudson discovered a great bay with a big river flowing into it from the mountains, at a latitude of forty-one degrees north and a longitude of seventy-four degrees west.
Hudson had been entrusted by the Flemings Emmanuel Van Meteren, Judocus Hondius and Petrus Plancius to discover a new passage to the land of Tartars and to China, on behalf of the East-Indies Company."
...
"From 1615, the region between Virginia and New-England was equally named New-Belgium (Novum Belgium, Novo Belgio, Nova Belgica, Novi Belgii)..."
"In 1626, Pierre Minuit, governor of New-Belgium, became famous by the purchase of Manhattan Island. He bought it from the Manhattes Indians in exchange for glittering beads and other trinkets. The total value was about sixty guilders or $24."
Alas, the worst is yet to come...
"Pierre Minuit was a Walloon, born in Wesel (Rheinland). His parents, from Tournai (Hainault), had settled there in 1581 in order to flee the religious persecutions..."
So you guys descend primarily from Walloons huh? Listen, I've been on this blog now for fifteen months and I have yet to encounter the first person who actually believes me. Fine. Like so many times before, I don't expect you to change. Well, check out this book then:
"The Belgians, first settlers in New York and in the Middle States" - by Henry G. Bayer
(Originally published in New York, 1925 by Devin-Adair.)
MFBB (laughing his *rse off)
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