<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> New Netherland (Dutch: Nieuw Nederland; Latin: Nova Belgica or Novum Belgium) was a 17th - century colony of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of North America . The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod, while the more limited settled areas are now part of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island . The colony was conceived by the Dutch West India Company (WIC) in 1621 to capitalize on the North American fur trade . It was settled slowly at first because of policy mismanagement by the WIC and conflicts with American Indians . The settlement of New Sweden by the Swedish South Company encroached on its southern flank, while its northern border was redrawn to accommodate an expanding New England Confederation . </P> <P> The colony experienced dramatic growth during the 1650s and became a major port for trade in the north Atlantic Ocean . The surrender of Fort Amsterdam to England in 1664 was formalized in 1667, contributing to the Second Anglo - Dutch War . In 1673, the Dutch retook the area but relinquished it under the Treaty of Westminster (1674), ending the Third Anglo - Dutch War the next year . </P>

The dutch colony of new netherlands split to become