<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) was a 17th - century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland . The factorij became a settlement outside of Fort Amsterdam . The fort was situated on the strategic southern tip of the island of Manhattan and was meant to defend the fur trade operations of the Dutch West India Company in the North River (Hudson River). In 1624, it became a provincial extension of the Dutch Republic and was designated as the capital of the province in 1625 . </P> <P> By 1655, the population of New Netherland had grown to 2,000 people, with 1,500 living in New Amsterdam . Prior to 1664, the population had exploded in nine years to almost 9,000 people in New Netherland, 2,500 of whom lived in New Amsterdam, 1,000 lived near Fort Orange, and the difference made up other towns and villages . </P>

New amsterdam was the main settlement in the dutch colony of