This is the earliest known map of Manhattan and its environs, and may well have been drawn by the cartographer for the Dutch West India Company to encourage settlements. It covers what is now Manhattan Island, Staten Island, a part of Long Island, and the adjacent mainland. Pictorial symbols depict Fort Amsterdam, windmills, plantations, and Indian villages; the names and locations of some forty-five "boweries" or farms are also given. The Dutch encouraged settlement by all comers regardless of race, nationality, or religion. By 1639 this was America's most populous and most diverse region, though the Dutch community remained relatively small. By 1674 it was lost for good to the English.

Medium : The original map was scanned to produce prints

Created/Published : 1639

Creator : Joan Vinckeboons, cartographer

From the Henry Harrisse Collection housed in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress

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Product #: ct000050