Discusses the origins of New York, once the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, with a focus on the leadership of Peter Stuyvesant.

Three years after the Pilgrims founded the Massachusetts Colony in 1620, the Dutch founded their own North American colony on the island that would eventually become New York City. When leading members of the Dutch colony, called New Amsterdam, needed a new governor, the company began looking for a replacement. They wanted someone who was honest, brave, loyal to the company, and experienced in colonial affairs. Peter Stuyvesant had all these qualities and more Stuyvesant remained New Amsterdam's governor from 1647 until 1664, when the city was captured by an English army under the command of the Duke of York. Along the way, Stuyvesant's often narrow-minded beliefs made him a few enemies.

A biography of the leader who brought major reforms to the colony of New Netherland before its surrender to the British in 1664.

This compelling biography delves into the life of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam. From his major role in the early history of New York City, to the landmarks and points of interest named after him throughout the city, Stuyvesant's influence is undeniable. The book explores Stuyvesant's accomplishments, including the expansion of New Amsterdam beyond Manhattan and the construction of significant projects such as Wall Street's protective wall and Broadway. However, it also delves into his controversial views on religious pluralism, which caused conflicts with various religious groups in the city, particularly his antisemitic views towards the Jewish community.

The last two centuries have witnessed a radical transformation of Jewish life. Marked by such profound events as the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel, Judaism's long journey through the modern age has been a complex and tumultuous one, leading many Jews to ask themselves not only where they have been and where they are going, but what it means to be a Jew in today's world. Tracing the Jewish experience in the modern period and illustrating the transformation of Jewish religion, culture, and identity from the 17th century to 1948, the updated edition of this critically acclaimed volume of primary materials remains the most complete sourcebook on modern Jewish history. Now expanded to supplement the most vital documents of the first edition, The Jew in the Modern World features hitherto unpublished and inaccessible sources concerning the Jewish experience in Eastern Europe, women in Jewish history, American Jewish life, the Holocaust, and Zionism and the nascent Jewish community in Palestine on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel. The documents are arranged chronologically in each of eleven chapters and are meticulously and extensively annotated and cross-referenced in order to provide the student with ready access to a wide variety of issues, key historical figures, and events. Complete with some twenty useful tables detailing Jewish demographic trends, this is a unique resource for any course in Jewish history, Zionism and Israel, the Holocaust, or European and American history.