Written in a very readable style, this story of Dutch Manhattan was an eye-opener to me in many ways. History class versions of New World colonies bored me to death, but accounts included here come alive. Not a commercial, not religious, colony, Manhattan became multilingual and multicultural early on. I was amazed that even Native Americans sought financial redress in a Manhattan court – and won! I learned about the Netherlands during that time period, and its role as a haven for persecuted people. I was astounded at my superficial level of knowledge of European and New World colonial history while reading this book and others on my allconsuming.net list, and they’ve spurred me on to MUCH more reading. I’m loving it. Although I thought I had a good idea of how much I didn’t know, I truly didn’t know how much MORE there is to know that I didn’t/don’t know.