Historic Huguenot Street and The Netherland-America Foundation invite you to an unforgettable evening of history, culture, and culinary exploration in celebration of the launch of Russell Shorto’s latest book, “Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America”.
The event will take place on March 6, 2025, at 6:00- 9:00 pm at The Explorers Club, 46 East 70th Street, New York, NY. Space is limited.
Admission: $150 per person|$250 per couple. Includes Shorto’s presentation, wine, and a three-course dinner.
Author of the internationally acclaimed “The Island at the Center of the World”, Russell Shorto’s work has been described as “astonishing” (New York Times) and “literary alchemy” (Chicago Tribune). His compelling storytelling invites readers to see history in a new light.
In his fascinating new work, Shorto unveils the dramatic story behind the English takeover of Manhattan and the New York colony. The evening will feature an engaging Q&A session with Russell Shorto, along with the opportunity to purchase signed copies of his book.
Bristling with vibrant characters, “Taking Manhattan “reveals the founding of New York to be an invention, the result of creative negotiations that would blend the multiethnic, capitalistic society of New Amsterdam with the power of the rising English empire. But the birth of what might be termed the first modern city is also a story of the brutal dispossession of Native Americans and of the roots of American slavery. The book draws from newly translated materials and illuminates neglected histories of religious refugees, Indigenous tribes, and free and enslaved Africans.
Despite the region’s transfer to English control, Dutch traditions endured throughout the region. The vibrant Dutch culture flourished in the Mid-Hudson Valley, particularly in the settlement of Die Pfalz (now New Paltz), where French-speaking Protestants, seeking refuge from European religious conflict, as well as economic opportunity, established a community in 1677. Here they intermarried with Dutch Colonists and adopted the Dutch language, customs, and architecture, the persistence of which remained strong well into the post-Revolutionary era, offering a rich contrast to Manhattan’s more rapid Anglicization.
Respected Dutch-American Culinary Historian, Peter G. Rose has curated a menu for the event using recipes from hand-written cookbooks belonging to Dutch settlers that remain in various archives, which she has gathered in her latest book History on Our Plate (Syracuse University Press, 2019), and the gradual incorporation of English influences into the Dutch culinary traditions of the Mid-Hudson Valley.