Kieran O’Keefe, Author at New York Almanack

About Kieran O’Keefe

Kieran J. O’Keefe is a Ph.D. candidate at The George Washington University. His dissertation examines Loyalists in the Hudson River Valley, exploring how conflict, upheaval, and forced migration to Canada shaped Loyalist communities during and after the war. Other research interests include the history of the early Hudson Valley, Canada during the American Revolution, the life of George Washington, and the history of Alexandria, Virginia. Prior to attending George Washington, he received his M.A. from the University of Vermont and his B.A. from Mount Saint Mary College.

In the late summer of 1664, four English frigates arrived off shore New Amsterdam. Rather than resisting, the Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, surrendered the city and colony to the English.

Although the Dutch briefly regained control of the colony in 1673, it was restored to English rule in the Treaty of Westminster the following year, marking the end of Dutch New York.

Despite the English conquest, the Dutch language continued to thrive in New York and northern New Jersey for generations, persisting into the twentieth century in certain areas. [Read more…] about When Did New York Stop Speaking Dutch?