Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1942, Page 12

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in 1623 founded the trading station of Nieuw Amsterdam at the
mouth of the Hudson River, the present New York, and the
other Dutch colonies in Nieuw Nederland (the area which now
constitutes the State of New York). It is on record that during
1630—47 97 Danes settled in Nieuw Amsterdam, a relatively
large number, seeing that in 1642 this colony had only 1000
inhabitants.
In those times it was considered a sign of superior social
standing to have a Dutch name, and many of the first Danish
colonists accordingly changed their names to give them a Dutch
ring; thus Jorgen Thomsen of Ribe became Jurian Tomasen van
Ripen.
One of the first Danish settlers was Jonas Bronck, who came
to Nieuw Amsterdam in 1639 in his own ship, “The Fire of
Troy.” Here he bought 500 acres of land from the Indians in
the area now covered by the densely populated part of New York
known as Bronx after him.
The first family of Danish settlers — husband, wife, a son,
and two daughters — came to America in 1638 via Holland. The
man had changed his Danish name of Jens Jensen into Jan
Jansen. In 1663 the first Danish emigrant ship crossed directly
from Denmark to America. It was called “Te Bonte Ko” (the
Piebald Cow), and sailed from the town of Ribe, carrying 89
passengers: men, women, and children.
Altogether, the first period of Danish emigration to America
was dominated by the Dutch in every respect, and it came to a
complete stop after the English had destroyed Dutch influence
in the Nieuw Nederland colonies in 1664.
It was not until 1730 that a new period of Danish emigration
set in. A large proportion of the Danish immigrants now came
from the Danish West Indian Islands, which then maintained a
lively intercourse with the East Coast of America. Danish West
Indian planters and merchants established branch offices at Phila-
delphia, and many of them sent their children to the excellent
schools which existed there. Other Danish emigrants came out
as members of the Moravian Brotherhood, which had gained many
adherents in Denmark, and which in 1735 began to establish mis-
sions and settlements in America, especially in Pennsylvania.
Among the Moravian settlers there were a considerable number
of Danes — mostly artisans, teachers, and clergymen — and
several of them came to play an important part in the history