NETHERLANDERS IN AMERICA, by Jacob Van Hinte. Robert P. Swierenga, General Editor, Adrian de Wit, Chief Translator. Baker Book House, 1985. Hard cover. 1157 pp. Review by the editor.
To anyone interested in tracing the beginnings and early history of our Dutch settlements in the U.S. this massive, handsome book is uniquely interesting. When I first saw it. I expected it to be a new edition of the 1955 book by Henry S. Lucas which had the same title and covered the same subject. Instead, this new publication is a translation of a Dutch work which appeared in 1928, Nederlanders in Amerika. Regarding the relationship between the two works. Dr. Lucas. in his Foreword explained (p.xi) that while his book covered the same ground as can Van Hinte’s, it was “conceived in a very different spirit. My account is that of one brought up in the Dutch settlements of America, of one personally acquainted with some of the pioneers themselves and with some of the communities,” while “Van Hinte’s horne was in the Netherlands and he had spent only a few weeks in America.” Accordingly, Lucas felt that he had covered the hi story of the settlements in greater detail. Since the Lucas book is out of print, this publication of Van Hinte’s gives us a unique access to much of this fascinating early history. The book contains an amazing amount of detail. reflecting a life-time interest of its Dutch author. Even random read ing reveals that there are occasional. sometimes amusing errors. Anyone who has driven the rather spectacular mountain roads into Yosemite National Park will be amazed to learn that there was an irrigation canal “dug through the famed Yosemite Valley, creating the no less famed Yosemite Lake” (p. 641)! And the settlement at Shepherd , near Billings, Montana is moved some 180 miles to the vicinity of Great Falls (p. 696; perhaps the measure of that error is reduced to the extent that the map reduced the 600 mile length of that state to about 90 miles)! Such an occasional slip, however, should not minimize the interest or value of the book. The author shows his enthusiasm for the virtues of the Dutch, but also favors their rap id Americanization. He also reveals a rather consistent prejudice against the churches who seceded , attributing their action to cultural more than to religious reasons. Despite this prejudice, this is by far the most extensive record of the beginnings of our church settlements and the book would be a desirable addition to libraries.
