Was there a significant Dutch-speaking minority in New York by the time of the Revolution? If not, what happened to the Dutch settlers?

by sirknowalot

It's in the title.

khosikulu

There was, although many had by then become part of a fusion society. Only about half of the 10,000 settlers in New Amsterdam were actually Dutch, so it was fusion before then too. The commercial connections remained important throughout the era and Anglo-Dutch relations were better after 1689, so certainly prominent families could retain a foot in two worlds. The Dutch Reformed Church in New York, for example, continued to hold services in Dutch exclusively until the 1760s, and Dutch-language education was widespread until after the Revolution. Whether this was seen as a problem or merely a generational shift, I do not know.

Outside the limits of the city there were still many families whose home language was Dutch; some lived in heavily Dutch towns. The Van Burens, including future President Martin van Buren, were one of these; they were capable of dealing in multiple languages, and had valuable social and political connections. The properties of Dutch families were not subject to expropriation on that basis, either with the handover of New Amsterdam after the Anglo-Dutch wars or during the Revolution (The Netherlands being an early recognizer of the US diplomatically) although by that time such families would have been part of the broader colonial society. Organized immigration did not continue as such. But William Penn, as someone with both Dutch and British ties (his mother was Dutch), reputedly had some pull on Dutch-American outward migration from the NY/NJ area. (The Pennsylvania Dutch, however, are of course not actually Dutch.)

I'm looking for something newer than De Gerald's tiny 1975 The Dutch in America but I don't have anything here at home to point you to. If my memory is faulty or others have more information, especially in Dutch-language works (because it is hard for me to keep up with those) please do correct me.