Northeast Historical Archaeology Volume 34 From the Netherlands to New Netherland: The Archaeology of the Dutch in the Old and New Article 1 Worlds 2005 Introduction Paul R. Huey Follow this and additional works at: http://orb.binghamton.edu/neha Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Huey, Paul R. (2005) "Introduction," Northeast Historical Archaeology: Vol. 34 34, Article 1. https://doi.org/10.22191/neha/vol34/iss1/1 Available at: http://orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol34/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). It has been accepted for inclusion in Northeast Historical Archaeology by an authorized editor of The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). For more information, please contact [email protected]. Northeast Historical Archaeology/Vol. 34, 2005 1 Introduction PaulR. Huey This: volume is about the archae·ology of The Glorious Revolution was a great Dutch sites in the Old and New Worlds. First, turning point, when William, the Stadholder; in its scope this volume restricts itself to the l>ecame the King of England in 1689. The archaeology of the people in what was the former rivals were now allies against France. 17th-century Dutch colony of New Dutch industries had continued to expand, Netherland, located 'south of French Canada particularly in the manufacture of various and between the Delaware River on the south goods such as paper, Delft ceramics,. and . and the Connecticut River to the east. Second, Gouda pipes (Israel·19~0: 34~354). But with. this volume is about the archaeology of the William III the King of England, new.indus­ Old World culture of the Netherlands quring tries rapidly arose in England; beginning the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, including about 1690 there was almost a "feverish wreck sites worldwide of Dutch ships en route interest'in industrial invention," and cloth to or from the Netherlands. The colony of New making and dyeing as well as other branches Netherland lasted only from about 1614 to of Dutch technology were impottedinto·. 1664, with a brief restoration of Dutch rule in England (Wilson 1966b: 186--i94). The roles of New York in 1673 and 1674, but it had deep producer. and consumer between the roots from the 16th century. Moreover, Dutch. Netherlands and England gradually began to culture persisted in English New York through be reversed. Dutch industry began tp weaken much of. the 18th century. The archaeology of in the 18th century as Dutch capitalists Old World Dutch sites in this broad period is increasingly focused on more· auspicious therefore relevant to the colonial experience in investments in England rather than at home. the New World. Although the Netherlands continued to main­ The. colony of New Netherland existed tain a vast colonial empire, Dutch economic during the great Dutch "Golden Age" of the activities became less visible and mqre finan­ 17th century. English and Dutch hostility cial, and many English economists grew con-, through much of this period stemmed largely cemed about the size of the debt owed to for- . from England's resentment of Dutch economic eigners (Wilson 1966a: 17-18, .72-73) .. superiority and control of trade. Despite wars Nevertheless,· with this· true industrial revolu­ and navigation acts, until late in the 17th cen­ tion, England beca~e a great industrial n~tion tury England could not free itself from and supplier for the world in the 18th century. dependence on the import of high-quality The decline of the "Golden Age" relates to Dutch merchandise and the export of mate­ the decrease in ,visible products of Dutch cre­ rials and semi-finished goods, particularly ativity and innov~tion, but Dutch financial cloth, to the Netherlands. The Netherlands power and wealth· did n9t necessarily· r~ached a low point, economically, in the early diminish in the 18th century. This is .apparent 1670s when France and England finally from· the study of the material from' the Van teamed up against the Netherlands, but the Lidth ·de Jeude family privy by Michiel H. economic weakness of the Dutch was so costly , Bartels, based on a paper initially presented at· to the English.that England was forced to the meeting of the Council for Northeast withdraw from the struggle. The Dutch sur­ Historical Archaeology in Albany in 1996. The vived, b.ut France remained a threat and rival contents of the Van Lidth de Jeude privy pro­ . to the Netherlands (Israel 1990: 279-280, vide an intimate look at the lives of,a very 293-303,309,340,410). wealthy, high-status Dut~h family of the 18th I 2 Introduction/Huey century. The artifacts in the privy are mostly Alb'any waterfront on the Hudson River from two periods, from 1701 to about 1740 and (Hartgen Archeological Associates, Inc. 1987: from about 1760 to 1778. Map 12; Klinge and Rosenswig 2002: 9.2). Born For the entire period, 1701-1778, the rela­ in 1724, by 1755 he was captain of a sloop car­ tive amounts of the ceramics from the privy rying goods between New York and Albany. are of particular interest. While certain types After 1760, while still continuing as a sloop of ceramics and other garbage may have been captain on the river, he also ventured far west­ disposed of elsewhere, it is clear that tin­ ward to trade with the Indians for furs. His glazed earthenware (Delftware or faience) was brother-in-law was Stephanus Schuyler, owner predominant in this privy. Curiously, it is in of the valuable Schuyler Flatts farm north of North American military sites of the 18th cen­ Albany. Lucas owned a number of slaves, tury where such high amounts of tin-glazed inherited in 1750 from an uncle, and the tax earthenware and porcelain also may appear. records show that in the 1760s his property Bartels notes that in the second period of the was assessed at a higher level than that of privy, from about 1760 to 1778, there was a most of his neighbors (Bielinski 2002; rapid transition to the use of English teawares, Christoph 1987: 110; Christoph 1992: 48, 55; such as white salt-glazed stoneware and espe­ Pelletreau 1896: 308; Sullivan 1921a: 862; cially creamware. There was a new demand in Sullivan 1921b: 754-755). the Netherlands among the wealthy for things One remarkable characteristic of the Van English as well as French (Cotterell 1972: 209). Lidth de Jeude privy assemblage is the large For example, three privies in Nijmegen, number and high visibility of diverse chil­ Gelderland, from the third quarter of the 18th dren's and gender-specific artifacts. Not only century had predominant amounts of are there children's shoes but also a toy creamware and other English earthenwares, in wooden boat, a wooden ball, a pewter contrast to the ceramics overall from the Van jumping jack, a doll's head, and doll's dishes. Lidth de Jeude privy (Thijssen 1985: 117). Artifacts that can specifically or most likely be Unfortunately, relatively few 18th-century identified with women in the household privies have been excavated in New York, the include small brass sewing scissors, a worked former New Netherland, with which to com­ ivory needle case, a bobbin for lace making, pare the contents of Dutch privies of the same whalebone corset ribs, an ivory tiara, a gold period. One excavated privy, however, had filigree ear ring, a silver pendant, intact fans almost exactly the same quantitative distribu­ with elaborate ribs, and letter seals that distin­ tion of ceramics as the Van Lidth de Jeude guished unmarried women from other adults. privy. This was the Lucas van Vechten privy of In contrast, gender-specific adult artifacts are about 1745 to 1760 that was discovered in the generally absent or not recognized from colo­ city of Albany, New York; it had only relatively nial American sites, with the exception of the more white salt-glazed stoneware and, of occasional discovery of items such as a bodkin, course, no creamware. Fruit remains in both sewing scissors, or fan fragments. In searching the Van Vechten and the Van Lidth de Jeude for direct evidence of women in the archaeo­ privies included blackberry, raspberry, grape, logical record, American archaeologists have plum, and cherry, while elderberry and blue­ had to accept the fact that almost entirely "arti­ berry were present in the Van Vechten privy facts in themselves do not seem to be simple but not in the other. Walnut remains were markers of ... ethnicity or ... gender" (Stine present in both privies, but only the Van 1992: 106). Instead, American historical archae­ Vechten privy had hickory nut and acorn olOgists have had to move beyond looking at remains. The Van Vechten privy apparently the artifacts themselves and to identify the was emptied and cleaned regularly, and no activities of women through theoretical cul­ evidence of parasite eggs was found in the soil tural perspectives (Seifert 1991: 2). analysis (Bonhage-Freund, Raymer, Cohen, Fan ribs, a lace fragment, needle cases, and and Reinhard 2002: 1, 43, 44, 48). The Van sewing scissors, however, are among the arti­ Vechten privy was located at the rear edge of facts that have been found at a few American the lot owned by Lucas van Vechten near the sites. A lace fragment was recovered in Boston Northeast Historical Archaeology/Vol. 34,2005 3 from the privy of Katherine Naylor, who died frDm the loss of Dutch trade; "by which also in 1716 (MacQuarrie 2004). Excavation of a many thousands of His Matyes subjectes in trash midden at Mount Vernon, home of Virginia Maryland and New England were George and Martha Washington, produced fan furnisht with nefessaries, and will not know fragments and scissors (Marsh 2003; Pogue how tD live without speedy care be taken from 2004).