Janny Venema is a Project Associate at the New Netherland Project, which is responsible for translating the official records of the Dutch colony and promoting awareness of the Dutch role in American history.

• (Abridged) AcknowledgmentsGlossaryIntroduction Problem definedHistoriography and definitionMethod and sourcesI: Constructing a village: material planningVan Slichtenhorst, Rensselaerswijck, and the IndiansPlanning a center for RensselaerswijckDevelopment of BeverwijckConstructions of general interest to the communityConclusionII: Beverwijck: Creating an orderly villageBeverwijck's societyStabilizing factors in a new society: The stateStabilizing factors in a new society: The churchA new environment: Contacts with IndiansConclusionIII: The Van Rensselaers as commercial entrepreneursTrade in the upper HudsonThe Van Rensselaers and the tradePlace in the community; Life styleConclusionIV: Successful burghersDirck Jansz CroonPieter HartgersVolckert JanszPhilip Pietersz SchuylerSander Leendertsz GlenConclusionV: Busy workersBlacksmiths and gunstock makersBakersBrewersTavern keepersConclusionVI: Strategies of survivalLiving conditionsPoverty: definition and sizeOrganization of poor relief in BeverwijckStrategyMethodsSupervisionThe poor in the communityConclusionConclusionAbbreviationsNotesAppendicesUnpublished primary sourcesBibliographySamenvattingList of maps and illustrationsPersonal Name indexGeographical indexCurriculum Vitae

"Janny Venema has written an exemplary work that sets a high standard for future research into the communities of New Netherland. As further Dutch records become available, it is to be hoped that other scholars will follow her impressive example and apply her thorough methodologies to many other areas of New Netherland." — The Weathercock"…[Venema is] expertly qualified to write a well-researched and appropriately contextualized study of Beverwijck … [it] is a strong addition to New Netherland studies and will remain the most authoritative study of a Dutch community in seventeenth-century North America for considerable time." — H-Net Reviews (H-Low-Countries)"…[Venema] has provided a service to those who work in New Netherland history by uncovering such vast amounts of significant and overlooked data, and by making a significant contribution to the continual revision of New Netherland history." — H-Net Reviews (H-Atlantic)"As a native of Nijeveen, Netherlands, and a recent Albany resident, Venema brings unique talents to unearthing the story of early Albany … Beverwijck is highly recommended for people interested in Albany and New York history. It is also a valuable reference for people interested in the history of the American frontier, colonial women, entrepreneurs, religion and social policy." — Schenectady Sunday Gazette"Beverwijck is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature, based largely on Dutch-language sources, about seventeenth-century New Netherland. Venema has amassed an impressive array of information and presented it in a logical and usable form … [This text] will undoubtedly find a place on many scholars' and libraries' shelves … as the preeminent reference work on the Dutch community of Beverwijck on the upper Hudson." — Itinerario"A sweeping, groundbreaking book on the city's earliest history." — Albany Times Union